Removal from the country 

When a decision is made to refuse a foreign national entry into the country or to deport a foreign national, the person in question must leave Finland. The decision to refuse a person entry into the country is taken by the police, the border control authority or the Finnish Immigration Service. The decision to deport a person from Finland is taken by the Finnish Immigration Service. The decision to remove a person from the country may be appealed against to an administrative court. Provisions on removing a person from the country are laid down in the Aliens Act.

• Refusal of entry: The Finnish Immigration Service can decide that a foreign national can be refused entry into the country if the person in question has entered Finland without a residence permit and the person’s application for a residence permit has been rejected.
• Deportation: A foreign national who possesses or has possessed a residence permit or right of residence in Finland may be subjected to a deportation decision so that the person in question can be removed from the country.

Voluntary exit and escorted removal from the country

The person issued with a decision on removal from the country should leave the country by a specific date and, primarily, voluntarily. In Finland, the system of voluntary return for certain groups (such as persons whose asylum application has been rejected) is administered by the Finnish Immigration Service and reception centres. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) also provides return counselling.

A person that has refused to leave the country voluntarily can be escorted from the country. The person may be escorted for a part of the journey or all the way to the country of return. In principle, police officers act as escorts in escorted removals from the country. 

Implementing the decision to remove a person from the country (removal from the country) is the responsibility of the police or the border control authority. The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman monitors the enforcement of the removals from the country.