Appeal authority The decision of the Finnish Immigration Service may be appealed to the Administrative Court as enacted in the Administrative Judicial Procedure Act.
Term of appeal and how it is calculated The complaint must be lodged within thirty days of the serving of the decision. The date of serving is not counted when calculating the term of appeal.
The date of serving is indicated by the certificate of service or acknowledgement of receipt. In the case of substitute service, the decision is deemed to have been served, unless demonstrated otherwise, within three days of the date shown on the certificate of service or acknowledgement of receipt.
If the decision is sent by post to an address in Finland stated by the alien, service is deemed to have occurred, unless demonstrated otherwise, within seven days of the date when the document was handed over to the Post Office for delivery by mail.
If the decision is sent by post to an address abroad stated by the alien, service is deemed to have occurred, unless demonstrated otherwise, within thirty days of the date when the document was handed over to the Post Office for delivery by mail.
Authority with whom the complaint must be lodged The complaint must be lodged with the Finnish Immigration Service.
Abroad, the complaint may be lodged within the above deadline with a Finnish diplomatic or consular mission. A person who has been taken into custody is entitled within the said deadline to submit a complaint to the head of the place of custody for forwarding to the Finnish Immigration Service.
The complaint must be lodged within the deadline with the authority.
Form and contents of complaint The complaint must state -the appellant's name, place of residence, mailing address and telephone number -the decision which is being appealed -the desired amendment to the decision -the grounds for the appeal
The complaint must be signed personally by the appellant or by whoever else draws up the complaint. If only the appellant's lawful representative or agent has signed the complaint, it must also state the person's place of residence, mailing address and telephone number.
Complaint enclosures -the decision being appealed -an acknowledgement of receipt or some other evidence of the date of the start of the term of appeal -documents cited by the appellant -agent's power of attorney
How to contact the Finnish Immigration Service visiting address Lautatarhankatu 10, 00580 Helsinki, Finland mailing address PL 18, FI-00581 Helsinki, Finland fax 0295 411 720