646 rejected refugees leave Finland voluntarily last year

A total of 646 rejected asylum seekers left Finland voluntarily 2018, said a press release issued by the Finnish Immigration Services (Migri) on Friday.

The number of voluntary returnees was 1,425 in 2017.

All of the returnees met were asylum seekers who had had one or more asylum applications rejected.

The largest group of returnees are Iraqi. The leading destination for voluntary returns from Finland is Iraq, with 449 returnees last year; by comparison, 18 people returned to Afghanistan and 11 to Somalia.

“The most common reason for returning was having an asylum application rejected. Some withdrew from the process at their own initiative for various reasons. Many were surprised when they were told the criteria for being granted a residence permit,” said Tarja Rantala, project manager of the Auda project, which supports voluntary return.

At the moment, there are nearly 7,900 asylum seekers registered at reception centres whose applications have been rejected. Most of these are appealing their rejection to the Administrative Court. An asylum seeker is allowed to stay in Finland for the duration of the processing of his or her asylum application.