Customer at the Punavuori reception centre in Helsinki. LEHTIKUVA
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Nearly 600 Russian asylum seekers are awaiting decisions from the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), with most applications linked to fears of military conscription. Migri has stated that while avoidance of military service alone does not automatically qualify as grounds for asylum, cases are being assessed individually.
Many of the pending applications date back to 2022, when a wave of young Russian men fled to Finland following Moscow’s announcement of partial mobilisation.
The situation escalated after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, prompting tens of thousands to seek refuge in neighbouring countries.
Migri Senior Adviser Eppu Ojala said the agency is prioritising cases that have been pending for more than six months, with decisions expected by the end of April.
“The key factor in our assessment is what kind of punishment or persecution a person would face if they refuse to participate in the war,” Ojala told the Finnish News Agency STT.
Migri has reiterated that fear of conscription alone is not considered sufficient grounds for asylum under Finnish or international law.
“If you look at the UN Refugee Handbook, military service itself is not considered persecution. However, if military service includes war crimes or similar activities, it could be a basis for asylum,” Ojala explained.
Migri’s internal guidelines recognise that Russian soldiers deployed to Ukraine may be at risk of involvement in war crimes, which could factor into their asylum claims. However, Finnish authorities assess each case individually rather than granting asylum to all Russian draft evaders by default.
According to a report by journalism students at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, Migri has begun issuing negative decisions to Russians who fled mobilisation. The Initiative for Resistance and Dialogues, an organisation assisting Russian asylum seekers, claimed that Migri has not granted asylum to a single applicant solely on the grounds of avoiding conscription.
Instead, cases where asylum has been approved have involved additional factors, such as political persecution or threats unrelated to military service.
Since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Finland has received more than 70,000 Ukrainian refugees. Over 27,000 of them have been granted right of domicile in Finnish municipalities.
In October 2022, Finland began housing Ukrainian and Russian asylum seekers at separate reception centres, following concerns raised by the Ukrainian Association in Finland about the psychological impact of housing them together.
With Finland’s eastern border now largely closed to asylum seekers due to migration restrictions imposed in 2023, the number of new Russian applicants has declined. However, those who arrived earlier are still awaiting final decisions on their cases.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
