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Interior Minister: Gov't drafting law to allow for deporting asylum seekers convicted of serious crimes

The government’s proposed new asylum seeker policy will tighten Finland’s policies and aim to improve the safety and security of citizens, said Interior Minister Petteri Orpo in an Yle interview on Tuesday.

Petteri Orpo
Image: Milla Vahtila / Yle

The Ministry of the Interior is stressing that the legislative change would have to be in line with international agreements.

”It includes several legislative proposals, which would tighten Finnish migration policy. The goal is that we would be able to take care of our citizens' safety and the general level of safety in Finland,” said Petteri Orpo, Minister of the Interior, in an Yle radio interview on Tuesday.

The proposed legal changes would allow for the deportation of asylum seekers who have been found guilty of committing a serious crime.

”If refugee status requirements are fulfilled, asylum status must be granted according to international conventions. But if (an asylum seeker) in Finland commits a serious crime, we are preparing a legislative change that would allow for that person to be deported,” said Orpo.

The interior minister emphasised that the proposed legislation must be in line with international agreements such as the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees.

”We will be watching very closely what international agreements we need to honour and act within,” said Orpo.

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