Govt to further tighten laws to make deportation faster, entry ban in advance

An appeal against a deportation decision would no longer automatically postpone or prevent the enforcement of the decision. A deportation decision could be enforced 30 days after the decision was served, that is, after the time allowed for appeal has expired. “The aim is to ensure that persons whose applications have been rejected either leave or are removed from the country promptly. The proposed legislative amendments would expedite deportation procedures and strengthen Finland's security by introducing an entry ban that could be imposed in advance,” said Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen in the press release. The proposal applies to aliens who have a residence permit in Finland on the basis of work, studies or family ties. Provisions governing the removal of asylum seekers from the country are laid down separately. Another objective of the legislative proposal is to prevent persons who pose a serious threat to public order, public security or national security from entering the country. In future, an entry ban could be imposed in advance on an alien staying outside Finland even if the person has no permit history in Finland. This would prevent, in advance, known terrorists or terrorists who have been sentenced abroad from entering Finland and the Schengen area. An entry ban would be imposed by the police either on the proposal of other security authorities or on their own initiative. The entry ban would apply to the entire Schengen area. The Government has also previously made legislative amendments to expedite the enforcement of deportation decisions and to make the imposition of entry bans more effective. A legislative amendment that entered into force in June 2025 enables faster enforcement of deportation decisions in asylum matters. In May 2025, a legislative amendment entered into force according to which an entry ban can be imposed on an alien staying outside Finland due to the person being a danger to public order and security or to national security in situations where the person already has a previous permit history in Finland. In October 2024, the government proposed that the provisions of the Aliens Act on detention be tightened and the provisions on entry bans be reformed. In May 2024, the government has taken an initiative to tighten the migration law with the view to ensure efficient removal of individuals who are staying in the country illegally, possibility of withdrawing a residence permit from an alien staying outside Finland and imposing an entry ban for security reasons.