Image: Anni Reenpää / Lehtikuva

On Tuesday, the Ministry forwarded its recommended guidelines to local officials in the country. These specify who is responsible for providing services to undocumented migrants and how the costs of services can be recovered.

By law, the public healthcare system is required to provide urgent essential care to everyone, regardless of residence status. The evaluation of the need for urgent care is made by a healthcare professional.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health now says that if a patient does not have a valid residence permit and is not registered as a resident in Finland, he or she must pay for services received. This also applies to non-essential care, but local governments are not obligated by law to provide non-essential services unless they fall under EU legislation or international social security agreements.

The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Kela, will reimburse municipalities for the costs of care in cases in which it has not been possible to get payment from patients.