Evolution of the legal and policy framework

• Author: Mehtonen, Susanna
• Pages: 18-23

IPOL | Policy Department for Economic, Scie ntific and Quality of Life Policies

18 PE 638.397

3. EVOLUTION OF THE LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK

3.1. Evo lution of the legal and policy approach and strategies

Since 2014, the alie ns’ legi slation of Finland has bee n amended on num erous oc casions for example

relating to access to protection, the asylum procedure, access to services, and legal aid.

In 2014, the Aliens Act was am ende d to incl ude vol untary r etur n in the definition of a “retur n” of a

migrant. The amendment followed a decision by the Supreme Administrative Court that individuals

who had objected to voluntary re turn, and who coul d not b e returne d forcib ly due to technical or

dipl omatic reasons, s hould be gr anted a tem porary r esidence. W ith the inc lusion of vol untary re turn in

the definition, individuals who refused a voluntary return were no longer eligible for a temporary

residence permit57. At the same time, the reception legislation was amended so that asylum seekers

who have bee n deni ed international prot ection i n an asy lum de termination procedur e and

subsequently refuse to take part in a voluntary return can be denied reception services after 30 days

and at the lates t 90 days after t he asy lum ap pli cation has be en rej ected 58.

As not ed above in chapter 1 .1, i n mid-2016 humanitarian protec tion as a ground for a t em porary

residence permit was repealed with retroactive effect on applicants and persons who previously had

enjoy ed int ernati onal p rote ction on that ground. Those w ho had pe nding asy lum ap pl icat ions during

2016 were not eligible to receive humanitarian protection 59. In addition, residence permits on

humani tarian grounds were not rene wed on t he sam e grounds, but applicants were forced to file a

new asy lum ap pl ication or an ap pl icatio n for res idency on ot her grounds . Those who would not re ceive

a new permit on other grounds would be r eturned. A re port by Amne sty International noted that the

amendment “may force people into irregular migration status”60.

A num ber of changes in the asylum determination procedure came into effect during 2016. Th e r ig ht

to free l egal aid in the first instance of the asylum determination procedure was restricted so that only

minors or vulnerable individuals have the right to free legal assistance at the asylum interview.

Furtherm ore, t he provi sion of legal aid was c entral ised to P ublic Legal Ai d Office s, whic h have a var ying

degree of exp er ience in handling c ases concerning international prote cti on61. A submission by

Amne sty Inte rnational p rovides that the Pub lic Le gal Office s are not spec ialised in c ases conc erning

international protection62.

The deadline for submitting appeals before the Administrative Court was re duced from 3 0 days t o

21 days. The deadline for submitting a leave of appeal before the Supreme Administrative Court was

redu ced fr om 3 0 days to 14 day s. These reductions are only applicable to cases pertaining to migration

57 Hallituksen esitys eduskunnalle laeiksi kansainvälistä suojelua hakevan vastaanotosta annetun lain ja ulkomaalaislain muuttamise sta ,

HE 170/2014. Available at : https://www.finlex.fi/fi/esitykset/he/2014/20140170.

58 Section 1 4 a, Act on Recept ion Services of Persons Seeking Inter national Protection and Identi fication and Support of Victims of

Traffic king, avai lable at: https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/2011/20110746.

59 Halli tukse n esitys e duskunnal le laiksi u lkomaalaislai n muuttami sesta, HE 2/2 016.

Avail able at : https://www.finlex.fi/fi/esitykset/he/2016/20160002.

60 Amnesty International, 2018, Fin land, Su bmi ssion to the Un ited Nati ons H uma n Rig hts Comm ittee 125th Sess ion , 4-29 Marc h 2019, List of

issues p rio r to rep orti ng , Index : EUR 20/9685/2019, p. 7.

Avail able at : https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/EUR2096852019ENGLISH.pdf.

61 Alien’s Act, chapter 1 , section 9, avai lable i n Finnish at : https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/2004/20040301#L1P9.

62 Amnesty International, 2018, Finland, Submission to the United Nations Human Rights Commi ttee 125th Session, 4-29 Ma rch 2019, List of

issues p rio r to rep orti ng , Index : EUR 20/9685/2019, p. 7.

Avail able at : https://www.amnesty.org/download/Doc ume nts/ EUR2 09 68520 19E NGLI SH. pdf.