Finland closes refugee centers: what will change for Ukrainians
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Finland will almost halve its network of centers where asylum seekers live. The reason is a decrease in the number of people who need a place in the state reception system.
This is reported by Yle with reference to the Finnish Migration Agency.
Eight more such institutions are planned to be closed in the country by the end of February. Another eight centers will cease operations during 2026. As a result, the system will have approximately half the number of units than before.
The Migration Agency explains this by several reasons. The flow of Ukrainians coming to Finland because of the war is not increasing, and the number of applicants for international protection from other countries is decreasing. In addition, some people are leaving the centers after finding rented accommodation.
“The number of Ukrainians fleeing the war to Finland is not increasing, and the number of asylum applicants from other countries has decreased,” explained Elina Nurmi, head of the refugee reception services department.
Additionally, the number of residents in the centers was affected by changes that came into effect in September. If a person has received a residence permit and can already move into rented housing, state reception services for them are terminated after three months. This also applies to people with temporary protection, including Ukrainians.
The closure of individual centers does not mean that their residents will be left without a place to live. If a person still needs help from the state system, they will be moved to another institution where there are free places.
During such relocation, Finnish authorities try to take into account each person’s circumstances – including work, education and other ties to a particular settlement. At the same time, they cannot guarantee the desired place of residence to all residents of the centers.
As previously reported, Poland stopped funding the accommodation of most Ukrainian refugees in collective accommodation centers on July 1. Some of the displaced people lost their right to free housing, while support was maintained for certain categories.
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