Government proposes changes to rights of migrants with illegal status to healthcare services
The Government proposes that Parliament amend the Act on Organising Healthcare and Social Welfare Services, the Act on Cross-Border Health Care and the Act on Organising Healthcare, Social Welfare and Rescue Services in the Region of Uusimaa. The proposed amended acts are scheduled to enter into force on 1 October 2025.
According to the government proposal, the Act on Organising Healthcare and Social Welfare Services would be amended so that the wellbeing services counties, the City of Helsinki and the joint county authority for the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (the HUS Group) would no longer have a statutory obligation to organise essential non-urgent healthcare services in addition to urgent care for third-country nationals staying or residing illegally in the country as referred to in the Aliens Act.
However, essential non-urgent care based on an individual medical assessment of a person’s needs should be organised if denying the care would be manifestly unreasonable considering the person’s health status or disability. Such care should also be provided for the person if denying it would seriously endanger the health of another person or the population or the wellbeing of a minor for whom the person is responsible.
The wellbeing services counties, the City of Helsinki and the HUS Group would still be responsible for organising healthcare services related to pregnancy for women staying or residing illegally in the country. Furthermore, children should receive necessary healthcare services to the same extent as the residents of the wellbeing services counties. Unfinished care initiated for a person as a minor should be continued until completion even if the person has come of age. The Government also proposes that the Act on Cross-Border Health Care specify that the Social Insurance Institution of Finland continues to be obliged to reimburse the wellbeing services counties, the City of Helsinki and the HUS Group for any care provided to third-country nationals staying or residing illegally in the country. Moreover, the Act on Organising Healthcare, Social Welfare and Rescue Services in the Region of Uusimaa would be made more specific.
The proposed amendments are based on those entries in the Government Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government which, for the implementation of migration policy, aim at more effective departure or removal of migrants with illegal status from the country and strive to better safeguard public order and security.
According to the Government Programme, the Government will implement a set of measures related to voluntary return and departure. One of these measures is to withdraw the right of those staying or residing in the country illegally to health and social services other than urgent ones and to social security. In other words, the legal situation prevailing before the previous parliamentary term will be restored in this respect. The proposed amendments are aimed to eliminate incentives for illegal stay and residence in the country and to promote the return of persons with such status. The elimination of incentives for illegal stay and residence is also intended to address problems related to this phenomenon.
The proposal is included in the budget proposal for 2026. The proposed amended acts are scheduled to enter into force on 1 October 2025.
Link to the government proposal (in Finnish)
Inquiries:
Nuutti Hyttinen, Special Adviser to Minister of Social Affairs and Health Kaisa Juuso, tel. +358 295 163 073
Eveliina Pöyhönen, Director, tel. + 358 295 163 303