Steps for counselling and organising return in Finland
| AVRR Counsellor | Client | IOM | Migration office / state department | Police | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actors in return field in Finland | Finnish Immigration Service, Migri (including several reception center service providers) | Returnee | IOM Finland | Finnish Immigration Service | Finnish Police |
| First time counselling / perspective counselling | X | X | |||
| Assisting with organizing travel documents | X | X | X | ||
| Preparing the return of vulnerable clients | X | X | X | X | |
| Registering clients for professional training in EU country | NA | ||||
| Offering professional training in EU country | NA | ||||
| Applying for return budget | X | X | |||
| Granting return budget | X | X | |||
| Applying for plane ticket | X | X | X | ||
| Booking the plane / bus ticket | X | ||||
| Applying for reintegration budget | X | X | X | ||
| Preparing a business plan ( in case of business start-up) | X | X | |||
| Granting reintegration budget | X | X | |||
| Final counselling | X | X | |||
| Organizing medical escort | X | ||||
| Disbursing return budget in EU country / giving cash assistance just before the departure | X | ||||
| Escort to airport | X | X | |||
| Connecting returnee with reintegration partner | X | X | X | X | |
| Staying in touch with returnee | NA |
Return budget
Cash assistance is between EUR 200 and 1,500 / adult and between EUR 100 and 750 for each child under 18 years old.
Reintegration budget
In-kind support is between EUR 3,000 and EUR 5,000, depending on the home country. The returnees can choose if they want the assistance paid in cash or in kind.
Increased cash assistance can also be applied for health reasons, for example. The increased assistance is paid on a case-by-case basis taking the entire situation into account.
Return numbers in Finland
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of assisted voluntary returns | 391 | 217 | 148 | 130 | 181 |
Top 5 countries of return
| Top countries of return in 2023 from Finland |
|---|
| 1. Iraq (37) |
| 2. Georgia (33) |
| 3. Russian Federation (21) |
| 4. Turkey (13) |
| 5. Iran (Islamic Republic of) (10) |
Return counselling providers
- Return counselling is done in Finland by several actors, but mostly by social workers and counsellors at reception centers.
- Finnish Immigration Service (Migri, in English FIS) provides some return counselling, especially to undocumented migrants.
- IOM Finland (partner of Migri) provides some counselling to voluntary returnees regarding travel arrangements and reintegration support.
Source: Migri (Finnish Immigration Service)
Contact in Finland
Postal address
Finnish Immigration Service
PO Box 10
FI-00086 Maahanmuuttovirasto
Email: migri@migri.fi (official registry office e-mail address)
Tel.: +358 50 413 8625 Return help desk
Tel.: +358 295 433 280 (authorities, stakeholders, partners)
Head office
Opastinsilta 12 A
Helsinki
Useful links and statistics
https://migri.fi/en/return
https://intermin.fi/en/areas-of-expertise/migration/voluntary-and-forced-return
Last update: May 2024