Finland Times

The Ministry of Employment and the Economy said currently there are about 4,700 municipal places for the refugees, but about 7,000-8,000 more places are needed.

“About 600 of these [existing] places are now estimating how many people they may admit,” said Ministry of Labour and the Economy Migration Director Sonja Hämäläinen.

Reception centres currently accommodate about a thousand of refugees who got positive decisions, and they are waiting to be directed to particular municipalities.

The Ministry of the Interior had earlier said he transfer of refugees granted residence permits has been slower than expected.

The slow transfer, according to Hämäläinen, has been due mostly to a shortage of housing.

“It is the most common reason. The municipality may be computationally involved, but the practical arrangement has not yet been done,” Hämäläinen added.

Some of the refugees, who are granted residence permits, are searching for housing by themselves.