2 refugee centres to go, capacity of 7 to drop

The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) has decided to close down two refugee reception centres, one in Halikko and the other in Imatra following the decrease of the influx of asylum seekers in the country due to coronavirus situation across the world.

The authorities will also reduce the accommodation capacity of seven refugee centres, said Migri in the press release on Tuesday.

The closure and reduction of the centres will reduce the total number of refugee accommodation capacity by 700 beds.

“Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we aim to reduce capacity at this point instead of closing down several centres. In this way, we will be better prepared to react when the number of asylum seekers possibly grows at some point,” said Migri Senior Adviser Mikko Välisalo.

Migri said the number of new asylum seekers was low in 2020, during which 1,275 new asylum applications were submitted.

The number of new asylum seekers has been low even this year. Between January and February, the number of first asylum applications was 96.

About 5,800 asylum seekers are currently registered with the refugee reception system and about 2,800 of them live in the centres. The number of available beds is currently around 1,600, of which about 600 to 700 are extra beds. During the coronavirus pandemic, the need for beds has decreased by 150 beds per month.

As per the decision, Imatra Reception Centre with the capacity of 200 beds and Halikko Reception Centre with the capacity of 150 beds, both operated by the Finnish Red Cross, will be closed down by 30 September.

Meanwhile, the Helsinki Reception Centre, Kotka Reception Centre, Tampere Reception Centre, Vaasa Reception Centre, Kristinestad Reception Centre, Pori Reception Centre, and Rovaniemi Reception Centre will reduce the capacity by 50 beds each as of 1 July.

Every reception centre currently has the capacity of 200 beds.