Finland is expanding police information-sharing powers under legislation approved by President Alexander Stubb on 9 July. From 1 October 2026, new rules will make it easier for the police, immigration authorities and other security bodies to exchange information when preventing or investigating crime, protecting national security or responding to threats to public safety.
The reform amends legislation governing the police, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), the Border Guard, Customs and the Finnish Defence Forces. It forms part of the government’s programme to strengthen crime prevention, national security and Finland’s ability to withstand crises.
What changes for Migri and the police
Under the new rules, Migri will be allowed to obtain information about certain warrants for apprehension. The immigration service will also have to inform the police when a person subject to such a warrant is identified and present at one of its premises.
The police will receive broader and more clearly defined powers to obtain and disclose information. This includes the possibility of sharing otherwise confidential information with other public authorities when it is necessary to prevent, detect or investigate an offence.
In specific circumstances, information may also be shared with private organisations responsible for critical infrastructure, such as companies operating essential services. Police will similarly be able to request information from private bodies when this is considered necessary to prevent a threat to someone’s life or health.
The amendments also update the corresponding information-sharing rules applying to the Border Guard, Customs and the Finnish Defence Forces.
Finland’s police information-sharing rules extend to healthcare
One of the most sensitive parts of the reform concerns information held by healthcare and social welfare providers.
In individual cases and under legally defined conditions, police will be able to ask providers to confirm a person’s identity and whether that person is present at a particular location. The power may be used when investigating certain offences, protecting national security or searching for a missing person.
However, the legislation does not give officers access to the content of confidential conversations between individuals and healthcare or social welfare professionals. Authorities may obtain only the information considered essential to establish a person’s presence in a specific case.
The distinction is intended to allow the police to locate people in urgent or security-related situations without granting broader access to medical records, social welfare files or discussions protected by professional confidentiality.
A wider preventive approach to security
The Ministry of the Interior (Sisäministeriö) says the reform is designed to remove practical obstacles that have limited cooperation between authorities. The government argues that more effective access to relevant information will improve the prevention and investigation of crime while strengthening security across society.
The legislation reflects a broader Finnish approach that increasingly treats crime prevention, national security, critical infrastructure and crisis resilience as connected areas. Instead of focusing exclusively on investigations after an offence has taken place, the new framework gives authorities more room to exchange information before a threat materialises.
At the same time, the provisions concerning social and healthcare services highlight the delicate boundary between preventive security and the protection of personal data. Their implementation will therefore depend on how narrowly police interpret the requirements of necessity and relevance in individual cases.
When the amendments enter into force on 1 October, the practical use of these powers will show whether Finland can strengthen cooperation between its authorities while preserving professional confidentiality and public trust.
