The Finnish Immigration Service has reported that since the Russian occupation of Ukraine, Finland has received 23,781 applications for temporary protection.
In a statement issued on May 20, the Finnish authorities stated that as of May 18, 29,622 decisions had been made based on the applications, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“Finland grants temporary protection to those who have fled Ukraine as a result of the Russian attack. Applications are submitted to the police or the Border Guard. The Finnish Immigration Service is responsible for the related decision-making,” the statement reads.
In addition, almost all of the concluded applications, which include about 20,427, are positive. Meanwhile, a small number of applications representing 195 of them, have expired after the applicants withdrew their applications.
According to Finnish Immigration, the number of temporary protection requests received each day is lower than in the early stages of the war.
“The police and border authorities currently register approximately 100–300 applications for temporary protection per day. In mid-March, more than 1,200 applications were submitted per day. Most of the applications for temporary protection have been submitted by Ukrainian citizens (23,482),” the statement also reveals.
The Finnish Immigrationexplains that the introduction of partial automation has been a key tool to speed up the processing of temporary protection applications.
Yet, the Service does not use automation in processing asylum applications because decision-making always requires the consideration of each case individually.
It also explains that temporary protection is granted to a limited group and does not undergo individual consideration of each applicant’s need for safety, as in the case of an asylum seeker.
In this regard, the Director of the agency Asylum Unit, Antti Lehtinen, said that the number of decisions for temporary protection per day had multiplied thanks to the successful introduction of the partial automation system.
According to him, this is reflected after a significant reduction in processing time for those fleeing the war.
On May 6, the Finnish authorities had revealed that a total of 20,380 applications for temporary protection had been submitted to Finland by Ukrainians.
Considering the decisions that have been taken until April 27, it is implied that 70 per cent of those who have submitted a request have already received temporary protection.
Compared to March, the number of applications was four times higher. At the same time, the Finnish authorities revealed that in mid-March, they received over 1,200 applications per day.
SOURCE: Schengen Visa Info
