Temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees continues until March 2026

Temporary protection for Ukrainians displaced by war will be extended until 4 March 2026, according to a decision taken by the EU General Affairs Council on Tuesday, said the Ministry of the Interior.

Granting temporary protection makes it possible to provide protection to a limited group of people through a swift process that is lighter than the asylum procedure.

“There clearly is still a need for temporary protection, and we are committed to providing it. We stress the need for common European solutions and a common approach,” said Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen.

Temporary protection is based on the EU Temporary Protection Directive, which the Council triggered for the first time on 4 March 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s military situation became more dire in spring 2024. It is expected that more Ukrainians fleeing the war will arrive in the EU.

There are no clear solutions to the situation of the beneficiaries of temporary protection already residing in the EU and the need for protection persists.

The number of Ukrainians arriving in Finland has remained relatively stable for a long time.

Ukrainians submitted a total of 70,000 applications for temporary protection in Finland.

The number of applications has fallen slowly. There are around 44,000 Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection in Finland now.

Others are thought to have returned to Ukraine or moved elsewhere in the EU or to a country outside the EU.

The Finnish Immigration Service’s foresight network estimated in February that the number of Ukrainians refugees in Finland will total around 8,000–12,000 this year and around 5,000–10,000 the next year.