Customer service at Finland’s Consulate General in St Petersburg to close on 1 September, applications for visas and residence permits not received in Russia in August

On 6 July 2023, Russia announced the closure of Finland’s Consulate General in St Petersburg as of 1 October 2023. Consequently, the customer service at the Consulate General will close as of 1 September 2023.

The St Petersburg office of the Visa Facilitation Services Global (VSF) will not receive applications for visas and residence permits to Finland as of 1 August 2023. Moreover, due to limited resources, applications for visas and residence permits to Finland will not be received at the Embassy of Finland in Moscow or at any of the VFS offices in Russia between 1 August and 31 August 2023. Applications submitted before 1 August 2023 will be processed as normal.

As of 1 September 2023, Finland’s Embassy in Moscow will take on the duties for consular and immigration matters previously handled in St Petersburg. From that date onwards, the Embassy in Moscow will be responsible for all passport and notarial services and deal with all cases of Finnish nationals needing help in Russia.

The Foreign Ministry will inform later regarding the possibility to submit applications for visas and residence permits at the VFS office in St Petersburg as of 1 September 2023.