Finland pilots a reception centre specialised in promoting returns

“The pilot scheme is necessary because voluntary and forced returns are currently not sufficiently quick and efficient in situations where right of residence in Finland cannot be granted. New ways to increase the effectiveness of returns are currently being sought at EU level as well,” says Ilkka Haahtela, Director General of the Finnish Immigration Service.

The return centre pilot will be launched in June 2025 at the reception centre at Robert Huberin tie in Vantaa. The service producer running the centre is Luona Oy. The centre has functioned as a normal reception centre since 2015.

“The return centre will provide more extensive and more intensive support for voluntary return and forced returns than normal reception centres provide. A personal return plan will be drafted for all return centre clients, and voluntary return is encouraged,” says Haahtela.

The centre will primarily house asylum seekers who have submitted a subsequent application or received a final decision on removal from the country. The centre will also house asylum seekers whose applications show signs of being manifestly unfounded. In addition, the centre will accommodate asylum seekers whose applications will be examined by a country other than Finland.

The Finnish Immigration Service is responsible for referring clients to the return centre in cooperation with reception centres and the police. Clients will be informed personally of their possible move to the return centre. All asylum applications submitted by return centre clients will be decided on individually.

Return centre to support a functioning asylum system 

The asylum system works sustainably only if returns are efficient in cases where international protection cannot be granted. One principle of Finland’s immigration system is that a person who resides in the country without authorisation will leave the country independently. If the person does not leave voluntarily, he or she will be removed from the country. Assisted voluntary return is an important tool in cases where the applicant’s circumstances in the country of origin change or where applicants feel that they have submitted an asylum application based on erroneous impressions. Applicants may have a misleading impression of Finland as a country of destination or of the grounds on which international protection can be granted, for example.

“Our goal is that applicants who have received a negative decision return to their countries of origin as soon as possible and that a larger number of applicants will use the voluntary return option. There has been an increase in the numbers of assisted voluntary return and decisions on removal from the country already during the year 2024. The pilot scheme aims to test whether the number of returns can be further enhanced by centralising the return support operations and clients who will benefit from them,” says Haahtela.

During the pilot, the cooperation between the Finnish Immigration Service and the police in matters related to enforcement of decisions on removal from the country will be intensified, building an even more efficient model for returns. The police are responsible for enforcing returns. 

The effects on voluntary return and forced returns and on the general willingness to return will be assessed regularly since the launch of the pilot scheme.

Similar models are in operation in other Nordic countries.

Media enquiries

• To request an interview with Director General Ilkka Haahtela, please contact the Press and Communications Services of the Finnish Immigration Service, tel. +358 295 433 037, email: media@migri.fi