Finland tightens line on Somali asylum applicants
Xinhua, October 28, 2015 Adjust font size:
Finnish Immigration Service announced on Tuesday it has reappraised the security situation in Somalia and updated its guidelines concerning Somali asylum seekers.
The Finnish immigration authority said the security conditions has improved in Somalia, especially in Mogadishu, the largest and capital city of the country, adding it is likely to affect decisions of asylum applications in Finland.
It admitted the situation in Somalia is still rigorous and the poor living conditions bring an additional challenge to major parts of the country.
Compared with the previous assessment, the situation in southern and central Somalia has improved. For this reason, all people coming from those areas cannot be viewed as being in personal danger, said the authority.
Applications for international asylums will be decided on an individual basis rather than the area of origin.
The first immigrant from Somalia arrived in Finland in early 1990s, driven by the unrest in the country. They are currently the third largest group of foreigners in Finland. According to Statistics Finland, a total of 16,600 Somali immigrants lived in Finland by the end of 2014. Endit