The registration centre in Tornio is up and running. Finnish authorities have now managed to halt the uncontrolled flow of asylum seekers from Northern Finland to other parts of the country. All those registered in Tornio have been provided with accommodation. For those registered today, 200 people already have a reception place and the rest will be accommodated later during the day.
Ms Päivi Nerg, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior, has appealed to municipalities to find more premises for the reception of asylum seekers. According to the Finnish Immigration Service, there are suitable premises available in municipalities, but the authorities have not been able to take them into use quickly enough to meet the increased demand for reception places. If municipalities do not provide suitable reception facilities voluntarily, they may be ordered to do so by government decree. This week, close to 500 asylum seekers have arrived in Finland every day.
The Immigration Service is making preparations to open new reception facilities across the country. Today, new reception places will be available in Turku, Ylihärmä, Seinäjoki, Lahti and Kemijärvi, and tomorrow on Friday at least in Lieksa and Vantaa.
More premises are needed especially in Eastern Finland, where there are very few reception centres. The rent and other costs incurred in running reception centres are paid by the State.
New operators needed to run reception centres The Ministry of the Interior and the Immigration Service are responsible for the reception of migrants. The Immigration Service may transfer the responsibility for the practical operation of reception centres to municipalities, companies or other organisations.
At the moment, most reception centres in Finland are run by municipalities or the Finnish Red Cross. However, there are no obstacles for private care service providers, for example, to run reception centres. In that case, they would receive from the State the same compensation as the Red Cross. Companies have also shown an interest in the activity, and the first business-run centres have been opened in Espoo and Vantaa.
Inquiries:
Päivi Nerg, Permanent Secretary, tel. +358 50 456 1012
Jorma Kuuluvainen, Director of Reception Unit, Finnish Immigration Service, tel. +358 295 433 396