Over 54,000 Ukrainians Applied For EU Temporary Protection In Finland - Helsinki

Over 54,000 Ukrainians have applied for EU temporary protection in Finland since February 2022, the Finnish Immigration Service said on Thursday

HELSINKI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th May, 2023) Over 54,000 Ukrainians have applied for EU temporary protection in Finland since February 2022, the Finnish Immigration Service said on Thursday.

Following the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the European Union introduced a temporary protection mechanism for displaced persons for the first time in its history. Under the program, refugees arriving in the EU receive rights and social security guarantees almost equal to those of the bloc's citizens.

"A total of 55,457 applications for temporary protection have been submitted. Ukrainian citizens filed 54,390 applications. Citizens of other countries have submitted 1,067 applications," the migration service said in a statement.

Currently, the average processing time for an application is one week, the statement read.

On Wednesday, Finnish authorities said that 6,003 Russian nationals migrated to the country in 2022, which is a 30-year record.