Finland plans to extend special border regime with Russia

The Finnish government has proposed extending until December 31, 2028 the special border security law adopted amid the threat of so-called instrumentalized migration from Russia. Meanwhile, land border crossing points on the Russian-Finnish border remain closed indefinitely.

The Ministry of the Interior of Finland announced this on September 3.

This concerns the law on temporary measures to counter instrumentalized migration. It is currently in force until December 31, 2026. The government proposes extending it for another two years — until the end of 2028.

The authorities do not plan to change the content of the law. The amendments concern only its period of validity.

Finland's Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen stated that the country intends to maintain capabilities for rapid response in case of a serious deterioration of the situation on the eastern border.

According to the Finnish Border Guard's assessment, the threat of instrumentalized migration on the border with Russia remains high. The authorities have not recorded significant changes compared to 2025.

What the special law allows

The border security law allows the government, in an exceptional situation, to restrict the acceptance of applications for international protection at a certain section of Finland's state border and in its immediate vicinity.

This mechanism can be applied only on the basis of a separate government decision and only if other measures prove insufficient to protect the country's sovereignty and national security.

In Helsinki, this mechanism is considered a means of countering a situation where a foreign state deliberately directs migrants to the Finnish border, using them as an instrument of pressure.

At the same time, the special law itself has not actually had to be applied so far. The Finnish authorities believe that closing border crossings has been enough to stop the flow of migrants.

Border with Russia closed separately and indefinitely

Extending the law until the end of 2028 does not mean that Finland has simultaneously set a specific deadline for closing the border with Russia until that date. These are two different legal decisions.

All land border crossing points on the Finnish-Russian border have been closed since December 15, 2023. The government made the latest decision on this issue on June 4, 2026 — the crossings were decided to remain closed until further notice.

Thus, there is currently no specific date for the opening of the eastern border. The government regularly assesses the need for restrictions and may change or lift them if the threat to national security decreases.

Applications for international protection are currently accepted at other open sections of Finland's external border — primarily at air and sea border crossing points.

Finnish authorities claim that after the closure of land crossings, instrumentalized migration across the eastern border has ceased. However, the Border Guard considers it likely that such a flow would resume if the crossing points were opened.

The border security law originally entered into force on July 22, 2024. In 2025, parliament already extended its validity — until the end of 2026. Now the proposal for a new extension must be considered by the Finnish Parliament.

Based on materials from: Finnish government, Ministry of the Interior of Finland, Yle