Police deport 2,400 rejected asylum seekers last year

The police deported a total of approximately 2,400 unsuccessful asylum applicants from the country and referred hundreds to the voluntary return scheme in 2017. 

Asylum seekers were returned to approximately 100 different countries, according to a report released by police recently.

Finland received a total of 5,081 asylum applications during 2017 and a total of 5,651 applications in 2016. 

A total of 1,963 of the 5,081 asylum applications submitted in 2017 – almost 40 per cent of all applications submitted in 2017 – were reapplications.

The number of people residing in the country illegally does not appear to have increased so far, but the risk of an increase still exists.