Finland's Interior Ministry to Pay Asylum Seekers Up to $5,500 in Aid for Voluntary Return

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Finnish Ministry of Interior said Thursday that it would pay asylum seekers up to 5,000 euros ($5,500) in assistance for their voluntary return to their homeland within 30 days after they receive the first negative asylum decision or withdraw their application for the asylum.

"Under the new decree, the assistance for voluntary return will be EUR 5,000 if the asylum seeker applies for the assistance within 30 days of the notification of the first negative asylum decision or the withdrawal of the application," the ministry said, adding that the decree will go into effect on January 1, 2024.

The aid will be reduced to 2,000 euros in the event of applying for the assistance after 30 days, the ministry said, adding that 3,000 euros in assistance may be given to "victims of human trafficking who are not resident in Finland and to people who have been issued with a temporary residence permit because they are prevented from leaving the country."

"The new decree will implement the Government Programme objective of staggering the assistance for voluntary return to encourage people to leave the country as quickly as possible and refrain from requesting a review of their asylum decision. The decree will also harmonise the level of assistance with Finland's reference countries," the ministry said.

Four groups of countries had been set out in an annex to the previous decree to determine the amount of payments to asylum seekers for voluntary return. The new decree abolishes these groups, meaning that everyone receives the same amount of assistance regardless of the country of origin, the statement said.

The assistance for voluntary return will not be provided for "moving to another EU or Schengen country or a country whose citizens are not required to have a visa to Finland," the ministry said.