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Fri, 01 Jan, 2016 12:08:14 AM FTimes – STT Report, Jan 1  Immigration authority is interviewing an asylum applicant. File Photo Lehtikuva The European refugee crisis in 2015 brought more than 32,000 asylum seekers to Finland, and despite the influx the number of applicants was actually lower than expected.
At one point, it was estimated that applications could number as many as 50,000.
The Finnish Immigration Service hired and trained new staff to deal with the influx of applications.
At the end of the year, almost 7,200 applications had been processed. Slightly more than a quarter of them have been approved and about a fifth rejected.
Approximately 3,000 applications lapsed, with the applicants withdrawing the applications or leaving the country willingly. Of the rest, about 1,000 applications have been referred to other EU countries as per the Dublin Regulation.
At the turn of the year, Finland is receiving much fewer asylum seekers than during the peak in the fall. Also, the number of asylum seekers for this time of year is lower than in previous years.
Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of the Interior Päivi Nerg said if the inflow of asylum seekers begins to grow again, there are plans in place to quickly set up new reception centres.
The capacity of the reception centres is freed up as asylum applications are processed.
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Finland Times
| Saturday, 27 July, 2024 |
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