19.2.2021

Research report: The combined effects of the amendments to the Aliens Act and the practices of applying the Act with regard to the status of those requesting and receiving international protection

The research team, which carried out a study on the amendments to and application of the Aliens Act during the years 2015-2019, submitted its report to the Ministry of the Interior on 16 February 2021. The government-commissioned study was part of the implementation of the Government Plan for Analysis, Assessment and Research. The research team included experts from the Institute for Human Rights at Åbo Akademi University, the University of Turku, the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI) and the Migration Institute of Finland.

During the research period, many changes were made to the Aliens Act as separate projects, which has made it difficult to get an overall picture of the situation. According to the report, the attention has been on making the asylum process more efficient, rather than on the right to seek asylum. Streamlining the process has at the same time weakened the position of asylum applicants and increased the number of appeals and re-applications. The improvements that have been made in order to protect children have not completely prevented the negative effects of the general amendments in the Aliens Act on children. In the report, ten measures are recommended, such as mapping out the need for a comprehensive reform of the Aliens Act, developing the impact assessment on human rights and children, and paying more attention to the vulnerability of asylum applicants.

The report is available online (in Finnish, with an abstract in Swedish and English).

Link to the press release of the Ministry of the Interior.