Amendments to the Aliens Act related to detention and refusal of entry circulated for views

The Ministry of the Interior is requesting views on a draft proposal for amending the Aliens Act. Amendments are proposed, for example, to the grounds for detention and to requests for review concerning refusal of entry. The proposal is based on the EU Return Regulation, the Reception Conditions Directive and the Schengen Borders Code. The consultation round closes on 16 October 2026.

In future, detention could also be continued when a person applies for international protection for the first time at the return stage. This could be done if the person applies for international protection in order to delay or prevent the return, even though they have previously had the opportunity to apply for international protection. At present, continued detention is only possible in the case of subsequent applications. The amendment would harmonise the provisions with the Reception Conditions Directive.

In addition, the provisions on requests for review concerning refusal of entry of third-country nationals at external borders would be harmonised with the Schengen Borders Code.

In line with the Government Programme, Finland's asylum system has been made more efficient. Best practices will be introduced to support the objective of tightening asylum policy. Rejected asylum applicants will return or be returned to their countries of origin as soon as possible.

Return Regulation to make returns of persons staying illegally in the EU more effective