Skip to Content

Procedures

Applications for international protection are processed by the Finnish Immigration Service in different procedures. Under law, your application will be referred to one of the following procedures:

Border procedure:

  • In the border procedure, your application is processed already at the border or near the border. You must stay in the area of the reception centre or detention unit in which you have been ordered to reside.
  • Your application is referred to the border procedure if you have applied for asylum at Finland’s and European Union’s external border and your application would be referred to an accelerated procedure or is considered inadmissible. 
  • Unaccompanied children who apply for international protection may be subject to the border procedure only if the authorities have reasonable grounds to consider that: 
    • the child is a danger to national security or public order of Finland, or
    • the child has been forcibly expelled under law for reasons of national security or public order.
  • The maximum duration of the border procedure is 12 weeks. This time period includes the processing of the application at the Finnish Immigration Service and the processing of the possible appeal at an administrative court.

Admissibility procedure:

  • Your application is referred to the admissibility procedure if the authorities estimate that your application may be inadmissible. This may be the case if, for example:
    • you have submitted a subsequent application or you have already been granted international protection by another EU Member State.
  • The maximum processing time of the application is either 10 days or 2 months from when you lodged the application.
    • The maximum processing time is 10 days in the following situation:
      • You have been served with a decision on removal from the country and you have been told what happens if you do not make an application for international protection within 7 working days of being served with the decision. However, you have made an application after the time limit given to you. In addition, no new elements relevant to international protection have arisen in your matter. 
    • In all other situations, the maximum processing time of the application is 2 months.

Accelerated procedure:

  • Your application is referred to the accelerated procedure in for example the following situations:
    • The grounds for your application for international protection you have presented are not relevant to meeting the requirements for international protection or are unconvincing.
    • You have intentionally misled the authorities.
    • You come from a safe country of origin.
    • At EU level, less than 20 per cent of applications for international protection submitted by citizens of your country of nationality or by citizens of your country of habitual residence lead to granting of international protection.
  • The maximum processing time is 3 months from the lodging of the application.

Normal examination procedure:

  • Your application is referred to the normal procedure if there is no basis for processing it in the border procedure, admissibility procedure or accelerated procedure.
  • The maximum processing time of the application is 6 months from when you lodged the application.

Responsibility determination procedure

  • You application is referred to the responsibility determination procedure if there are indications that an EU+ country other than Finland may be responsible for examining your application for international protection. The responsibility determination procedure may overlap with the other procedures: an application may be subject to for example the border procedure and the responsibility determination procedure at the same time.