Number of faulty asylum decisions decreases in Q1

The number of errors in the interpretation of law and procedural faults in decisions on asylum applications was extremely low in the early part of 2021, said Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) in a press release on Tuesday.

Between January and March 2021, the administrative courts processed 537 appeals on decisions on asylum applications, which were mainly based on decisions made by the Migri in late 2019 and early 2020.

The number of errors in the interpretation of law and procedural faults was very low and one of each were detected (0.38%).

The Supreme Administrative Court gave decisions on 378 cases, in which no errors in the interpretation of law or procedural faults were identified.

If a decision is returned for processing at the Migri owing to an error in the interpretation of law or a procedural fault, this means that the administrative court has found the asylum application process flawed.

The target set by the Ministry of the Interior is that less than 3% of the decisions are returned for processing due to errors in the interpretation of law and procedural faults.

“The most common reason for an application to be returned for processing is that the applicant has provided new information or their circumstances have changed since the Finnish Immigration Service gave its decision. Under the law, this warrants a reconsideration of the applicant’s situation”, said Tirsa Forssell, Head of the Migri Legal Services.

Among the most typical changes in an applicant’s circumstances is their conversion to Christianity or additional information provided on a conversion.

The Finnish Immigration Service has developed its oversight of legality and quality assurance practices in many ways in the past few years.

Decisions on asylum applications are reviewed, for example, by spot checks and controls focusing on certain specific aspects. Particular attention is paid to issues that are subject to recent legislative amendments, updated regulations or new legal practice.