Important Changes Ahead: What You Need to Know About Finland’s Quota Refugee Selection

Yesterday, I blogged about how Finland plans to enhance the use of its development aid funds. Additionally, two weeks ago, I wrote that even in the long term, Finns do not benefit from humanitarian immigration from developing countries.

Today, Finland's largest newspaper reported that the second main party in Finland's government, the Finns Party, plans to reduce the proportion of Muslims among the quota refugees. This would mean, for example, that Venezuelans would be prioritized over Afghans when selecting newcomers.

In practice, Finland will take 500 quota refugees next year. This happens in such a way that the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) presents a group of individuals, from which Finnish authorities ultimately select the quota refugees for Finland, based on the government's defined regional allocation.

The decision-making process in Finland proceeds as follows: under the leadership of the responsible minister from the Finns Party, a draft proposal is prepared and will be discussed by the government's Ministerial Committee on Internal Security and Justice at the end of October. Finally, the parliament will decide on the refugee quota based on the government's proposal toward the very end of the year.

One can hope that the Finns Party's proposal goes through, and that fewer individuals with a poor assimilation outlook will arrive in Finland this year. As a result, the societal burden related to quota refugees will hopefully decrease – or even turn into a positive outcome. 

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Responsible Development Aid and New Priorities: Finland's Development Cooperation Reforms
The attractiveness of Finland to welfare-seeking economic migrants reduces
Humanitarian immigration does not provide a solution to Finland's demographic dependency ratio

Information for Asylum Seekers in Finland

Since the beginning of September, Finnish border control authorities have been able to direct asylum seekers from the country's external border to a border procedure. In this process, the border control authority registers the asylum seeker’s application and records their fingerprints, signature, and photograph.

Afterward, the applicant is directed to a reception center or a detention facility, and they are not allowed to leave the premises until a decision on the asylum application has been made. If the grounds for the application indicate that there is no need for further processing, the application may be rejected or processed in an expedited procedure, after which the applicant must leave the country.

The Finnish government is currently preparing also a legislative amendment concerning the reception of those seeking international protection, as well as the identification and assistance of victims of human trafficking. Once it comes into effect, the reception allowance will be reduced to the minimum allowed by the Constitution and the Reception Directive.

With these decisions, Finland is aligning its humanitarian immigration policy to better fulfill its purpose—ensuring the rights of those in genuine need while preventing the settlement of people who arrive due to economic or social security reasons, or as a result of hybrid influence by foreign powers.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Sweden's Gang Crime Recruits Children – Is It Time for the EU to Reevaluate Asylum Policies?
Mass immigration is the greatest concern for EU youth
Getting asylum in Finland becomes significantly more difficult