[ad_1]
Yesterday, on February 14, Finland accepted the first Ukrainian refugees coming from Estonia.
Through a statement, the Finnish Immigration Service emphasised that the first group consisted of less than five people, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The same said that no further information can be given about them in order to respect their privacy.
The Immigration Service met the Ukrainians at the port and simultaneously arranged for them to be transported to a reception center where they would stay.
“We have considerable previous experience of receiving relocated asylum seekers from other EU countries, and that has helped us prepare for receiving Ukrainians from Estonia as well,” Planning Officer Camilla Rautala, who is responsible for the transfer arrangements pointed out.
The Finnish Immigration Service together with the Estonian authorities are providing information to Ukrainians about the Finnish reception system and the possibility of moving from Estonia to Finland. In addition, everyone has the right to decide whether they want to stay in Estonia or go to Finland.
According to Rautala, Estonia has started to inform about this possibility on a trial basis, but it is still too early to say how many Ukrainians will be interested in moving to Finland.
In addition, 100 Ukrainians from Estonia are expected to arrive in Finland this week.
In December last year, the Finnish Ministry of the Interior offered Ukrainian refugees in Estonia the opportunity to resettle in Finlandin an effort to help the currently overburdened Estonian authorities.
In this regard, the Ministry explained that Finland is ready to host every week from 50 to 100 Ukrainians who have taken refuge in Estonia.
At the end of January this year, the Finnish Immigration Service revealed that in 2022, Finland registered 47,302 applications for temporary protection, of which 46,641 were applicants from Ukraine.
In the same month, the same authority announced that all residence permits granted for temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees would be automatically extended until March 4 next year.
According to the Finnish authorities, this year the country will receive around 30,000–40,000 new applicants for temporary protection from Ukrainian refugees.
According to the Finnish Minister of the Interior Krista Mikkonen taking into account that the winter has approached together with the frequent attacks of Russia on the energy infrastructure, the situation in Ukraine is now even more difficult than in the past months, and Ukrainians need even more help than ever.
[ad_2]
Source link