Roughly 1,300 migrantsHe arrived in Finland via Russia last fall when the eastern border was open 120 people are reported missing.. They are not in centers now. They may already be in other EU countries, agreeing to Finnish migration services.
“Karjalainen” newspaper reported that reception centers for foreigners do not know the current location of about 10 percent of asylum seekers who arrived in Finland via Russian border crossings between August and December.
“It's a big number,” admitted Anti Lehtinen, director of the immigration office, pointing out that it mainly concerns Syrians. He added that the only concrete information about their stay will come when another country files an official procedure to return them to Finland.
So far, the Finnish authorities have processed several dozen applications from migrants who came through the Russian border. No one was granted asylum.
Major Finnish newspapers, including: “Helsingin Sanomat” and “Ilta-Sanomat” also reported on Wednesday, citing government sources. The closure of the entire eastern border to traffic (initially valid till January 14) will be extended for another month.
The border was closed in mid-December. Authorities closed some of the crossings again within two days of opening them. At the time, it was noted: A “threat to national security” in the face of Russia's “hybrid operation”, consists of controlling the organized flow of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Northeast Africa. The border was closed for the first time for two weeks in November.
According to local media, the Russians transported the migrants to the border zone, from where they reached the border checkpoints on foot – despite the difficult winter conditions – on bicycles or scooters.