In the future, people crossing into Finland via Tornio will be checked at the border by police in line with the statutes contained in Finland’s Aliens Act. If the person entering Finland requests asylum, he or she will be directed to an emergency shelter in Tornio through to Monday.
Starting Tuesday, however, asylum seekers will be directed to a registration centre charged with processing applications. People entering the country will not be able to continue their trip to other locations in Finland until they have duly registered as asylum seekers.
“If they do not register as asylum seekers before they travel onward, they will be considered immigrants who have entered the country illegally,” says the Interior Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Päivi Nerg.
On Thursday the Prime Minister’s Office decided to found the dedicated registration centres for processing asylum seekers, and the matter was considered on Friday in the ministerial committee for foreign and security policy. The government says it will monitor the situation in the Tornio area closely, and that the authorities have increased preparedness in Northern Finland.
More than 1,000 people were expected to enter Finland via Tornio on Friday, but less than 500 people actually arrived.
