Unaccompanied refugee minors in Finland

Almost 13,000 asylum applications were submitted by unaccompanied minors in the EU-countries in 2013. On the one hand, these asylum seekers are children and thus should be treated as migrants in a vulnerable situation requiring special care according to their needs. This research shows that all Nordic countries have fairly well functioning reception systems based on the principle of the best interest of the child, but there are problems: fragmented organizational structures with insufficient cooperation between different administrative sectors and problems with placing unaccompanied children in municipalities which often are unwilling to receive them. There are shortcomings in providing adequate language training and education, in access to health care, especially mental health services and in following up adolescents coming of age with supporting measures.