Finland Unable to Confirm 40% of Asylum Seekers' Identities - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) is still unable to confirm 40 percent of the identities of asylum seekers who submitted their applications for the first time this year, Yle news agency reported on Friday.

About 1,300 migrants have applied for asylum in Finland since the beginning of the year, 520 of whom are yet to have their identities confirmed with official documents, Yle news agency reported citing Migri.

"People who are fleeing do not have the possibility of leaving with the required documents in their pockets. Some of them come from countries that don't even have passport systems," Esko Repo, director of the Migri's asylum unit, was quoted as saying by the media outlet.

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However, the number of confirmed identities in Finland has significantly increased since 2015, when the European migration crisis was in its peak and the country had only confirmed 20 percent of migrants' identities. This improvement could be attributed to the reduced number of asylum applications, the publication said.

READ MORE: Finnish Woman Detained After Trying to Stop Flight With Deported Migrant

Earlier in August, Yle reported that the rate of asylum denials in Finland was high. Out of the 11,400 people currently located in the country’s reception centers, 9,000 had their applications denied. Since many reapply for asylum, the process can last for years.

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Europe's migration crisis was caused due to the mass influx of migrants and refugees fleeing crises and poverty in the Middle East and North Africa.