Finnish missions handle 550 deaths abroad in 2021

The Unit for Consular Assistance of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs was involved in managing 550 cases of death abroad in 2021, said the ministry in a press release on Tuesday.

The unit also assisted 75 people, who were victim to a crime, 309 persons who had fallen ill or been in an accident and 175 persons who had been arrested or imprisoned.

The number of incarcerated people, however, does not include the Nordic countries, as such cases are handled through direct contacts between the Nordic authorities. The numbers have increased slightly from the previous year.

The second year of the pandemic was busy for the consular assistance services provided by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Finland's missions abroad, and the number of clients continued to increase.

In 2021, the Ministry and the missions abroad provided consular services to a total of 255,000 people.

The number of customers continued to grow, increasing by almost a quarter from the previous year.

In particular, the demand for advisory services increased. As in previous years, most of the assistance was needed in the countries to which Finns prefer to travel, i.e., Spain, Germany, Estonia, Sweden and Thailand.

The biggest single crisis situation of the year was the crisis in Afghanistan. In August-September 2021, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs helped over 400 people escape the country to safety.

In 2021, 21,443 new passports and 4,013 identity cards were issued by Finland's missions abroad. Compared to the previous year, these figures have also increased. Many people need to renew their passports after a long period of not having travelled abroad.

”The global demand for consular services has clearly increased in the past year. The number of registered cases reached one quarter of a million, despite the fact that people travel less than normal. The restrictions related to the pandemic and various crises have increased the demand for consular services provided by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Finnish missions abroad and for advisory services in particular,” said Outi Saarikoski, Director of the Unit for Consular Assistance.

In addition to the coronavirus pandemic, the total number of other natural or man-made crises and disasters that were significant from the perspective of protecting Finnish travellers amounted to 118.

The emphasis was particularly on internal conflicts and unrest in foreign countries (e.g., Myanmar, Afghanistan, Sudan and Ethiopia). In addition, natural disasters (such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions) meant work for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

In 2021, almost 78,000 travellers filed a travel notification on their trips to 199 countries via the Matkustusilmoitus.fi service. The highest number of notifications concerned trips to Spain, Greece, France and Turkey. The number of travel notifications has fallen, which is due to a decrease in the amount of travel, but, in relative terms, the proportion of travellers who have submitted travel notifications has increased. The problems encountered by Finnish travellers and the need for information around the world have not decreased.