The Finnish Immigration Service has revealed that people who fled Ukraine due to the war until August 4 had submitted 35,074 applications for temporary protection in Finland.
The same source has also noted that more than 37,000 people are registered in the reception system, which is a number higher than ever before, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Through a statement issued today, on August 8, the Immigration Service also stated that the highest number of people registered within the reception system was recorded in 2015 when over 32,000 asylum seekers arrived in Finland.
“All applicants and beneficiaries of temporary protection are registered at a reception centre, even if they live in private accommodation or accommodation provided by a municipality. However, most applicants and beneficiaries of temporary protection, approximately 65 per cent, are currently living outside the reception centres,” the statement reads.
As the Immigration Service explains, reception centres provide all applicants and beneficiaries with temporary protection with reception services, including health and social services. The centres also provide information, advice, and guidance on various day-to-day matters.
Currently, in Finland, there are a total of 77 reception centres, their secondary branches and service points for persons in private accommodation, and, at the same time, eight reception wards for minors. Before the war in Ukraine began, Filnadan had about 20 reception centres and seven units for minors.
The Immigration Service has registered about 33,480 decisions for temporary protection. As a result, around 95 per cent of applicants have received a decision on their application.
“Weekly, the number of temporary protection applications has varied more during the summer than during the spring, but monthly the numbers have remained roughly the same since May. The weekly number of applications has varied between under 700 and 1,400, whereas the monthly number of applications is around 4,500 on average,” Director of Asylum Unit Antti Lehtinen pointed out in this regard.
Almost 33,231 decisions on temporary protection are positive. In addition, some negative decisions were also given. Applicants who received this negative decision are citizens of countries other than Ukraine. However, a small number of applications have expired because the applicant has cancelled their application.
At the moment, a decision on temporary protection in Finland is issued within a week in a typical case where no additional information is required. Therefore, the applicant has the right to work immediately after registering his application for temporary protection with the police or border control authorities. Moreover, persons who flee Ukraine and are granted temporary protection are also given a Finnish personal identity code.
Previously, the Finnish Immigration Service announced that it has become possible to speed up payment procedures for Ukrainian refugees who have been granted temporary protection.
At the same time, the Immigration Service revealed that the reception centre services had recorded more than 20,000 new clients in the system during the months of April and May.
SOURCE: Schengen Visa Info
