Decision on eastern border on Thursday as influx of asylum seekers on rise

The government on Wednesday at a meeting decided that measures to ensure border security following the rapid increase in illegal entry at the eastern border will be taken on Thursday, said an official press release.

The decisions will be made at the government plenary session at 13.00.

Meanwhile, influx of the asylum seekers at the eastern border continued and 75 Asylum seekers arrived in Southeast Finland on Wednesday, said the South-eastern Finland border in a post in social media platform X late Wednesday night. The number was 55 on Tuesday.

Most of the asylum seekers are arriving through two of Finland’s biggest and most southern land border crossing points, Vaalimaa and Nuijamaa.

“Asylum seekers come mainly (almost all) to two of Finland’s biggest and most southern land border crossing points, Vaalimaa and Nuijamaa. They are in Southeast Finland. This is statistics today. Numbers keep growing,” Matti Pitkäniitty, Head of International Affairs Unit of Finnish Border Guard wrote in a post in X.

Meanwhile, Finnish Border Guard on November 9 stopped allowing border crossing by bicycle via the border crossing points in Southeast Finland.

The decision was taken as foreigners travelling from Russia to Finland by bicycles were found without adequate travel documents.

Earlier on Tuesday the Ministry of the Interior said, the government may decide to restrict cross-border traffic or to close border crossing points at eastern border with Russia against the backdrop of the influx of increasing number of asylum seekers.