Last year a record number of asylum seekers arrived to Finland. Around 3,000 of the applicants are under the age of 18 - in the eyes of the law, still children.
Nearly two thirds of those underage asylum seekers are still waiting for Immigration Service decisions on their asylum applications. Many of the roughly 1,800 underage applicants have been waiting for nearly a year now.
On average, adult asylum seekers have waited around 117 days to get a decision from the Immigration Service. But for minors the average waiting time is about 260 days.
And as those underage applicants continue to wait, some will legally become adults before the time a decision is reached.
The Immigration Service's asylum division head Esko Repo says the department was burdened by the applications of all asylum seekers - adults and children alike.
He says that the asylum department has been working as hard as it is able.
But as some of the underage asylum seekers still waiting may turn 18 by the time the agency makes a decision - and that could change things for those applicants.
Unlike their underage counterparts, adult asylum seekers do not have the right to an adult representative who could help in appealing a negative decision. In the case of deportations of people over the age of 18, there is no requirement in Finnish policy to ensure there will be someone waiting when they're returned to their home country, like there is for minors.
The Immigration Service says that they have not received complaints about child applicants becoming adults during the processing period.
Repo says his department has done what it has been able to under the circumstances. He said, however, it is a fact that when applicants turn 18 they will be treated as adults in the eyes of the law.
