Reception System Monitoring Report 2019: Reception centre operation largely successful

“The operations of the centres have, in most cases, fully complied with our guidance and it is evident that the centres have the clear intension of adhering to correct and appropriate conduct at all times,” says Olli Snellman, Head of Section in charge of the reception centres.

The Finnish Immigration Service identified only a few errors or deficiencies in the reception centre operations, and these were mainly to do with inappropriate treatment of a resident, procedures in managing the reception allowance and data entries in the information system. In the case of such shortcomings, the Finnish Immigration Service advised the centres in question to remedy their conduct. The observations made during the monitoring process are also incorporated in the overall final assessment carried out on the closure of a centre.

In 2019, the Finnish Immigration Service made a total of 105 monitoring visits to the centres. There were a total of 40 reception centres in Finland at the end of 2019, of which 5 were intended for minors.

It was discovered in last year’s customer survey that asylum seekers are more satisfied with the reception centres than the year before.

Reception centres receive intensive support

In 2019, the reception centres consulted the Finnish Immigration Service on a high number of cases. The areas that the centres sought guidance on included the customers’ and the staff members’ ability to cope, challenging customer situations and the complex needs of the customers.

“A customer’s situation may be very difficult and complicated and there are not always precedents on how to manage each unique case. As the supervising authority, it is our genuine goal to guide and support the centres in their daily operations rather than assess possible failures or errors in the aftermath,” Snellman says.

In addition to guidance and support, the Finnish Immigration Service Reception Unit aims to serve the centres by developing the operations of the entire reception system under a number of AMIF projects funded by the EU. With these projects, the Finnish Immigration Service has, for example, made progress in the mental health services within the reception system and introduced the Let’s Talk about Children method to offer specific support for children and families.

Read the full Monitoring Report on the reception system (in Finnish).

The reception system monitoring programme was reformed in 2019. The monitoring programmes for the reception system and detention centres is available at migri.fi/vastaanottokeskukset (in Finnish).

FACTS: The Finnish Immigration Service is responsible for guidance, planning and monitoring

• The Finnish Immigration Service is responsible for guiding, planning and monitoring the praxis of asylum seeker reception. The Reception Unit is responsible for this task within the Finnish Immigration Service.
• Reception centres in Finland are maintained by several operators, local authorities, businesses and NGOs.
• More information on the operation of reception centres is available in the data bank