Parliament's Constitutional Law Committee has approved the government's proposed deportation law, but the decision was not unanimous.
The matter was approved by a vote of 15–2, with Green and Left Alliance committee members voting against.
If MPs approve the draft law, Finland would have the ability to prevent people seeking asylum at the Finnish border or close to it.
The law has been controversial, with legal experts saying it breaches Finland's international obligations and the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner asking MPs to think again.
The committee's statement includes a dissenting opinion from the Green and Left committee members recommending the law be thrown out.
The Social Democrats on the committee did not support the dissenting opinion but voted to approve the law, provided it is amended in Parliament.
The proposed law would give Finland the option of refusing to accept asylum claims at or near the border for a time-limited period.
It was introduced in response to what the government says is instrumentalised migration at the Russian border. The Border Guard and other Finnish agencies say that this has been happening at the eastern border since last autumn.
Finland has since partially or wholly shut the land border since the end of last year.
The Constitutional Law Committee was tasked with coming to an opinion on whether or not Finland can temporarily breach its own constitution.
Five-sixths majority needed
Many of the experts called by the committee said that the law could not be approved, and that was cited by committee member and Left Alliance MP Anna Kontula when she explained her dissenting opinion.
"It is not just a question of individual laws, but when you talk about constitutional law committee opinions you are always talking about the kind of precedents that last for years and decades into the future," said Kontula.
SDP MP Johannes Koskinen, who supported the majority opinion in the committee, said that in ordinary circumstances the bill would have been sent back to the government for changes.
"But there are time and circumstance pressures, so it makes sense to try and make those changes in Parliament," said Koskinen.
As an emergency exception to the constitution, the law must be approved by five-sixths of MPs.
Most MPs from the four parties that make up Finland's coalition government are expected to back the bill, although the liberal Swedish People's Party will give its legislators a free vote.
The opposition Centre Party has said it will support the bill, while the Left Alliance and Green Party have been opposed.
The Social Democrats had not announced their view on the bill before the Constitutional Law Committee's decision.
At least some MPs from the SDP and SPP groups will therefore need to back the bill for it to become law.
