Current affairs

All Finnish missions abroad responsible for entry matters accept visa applications submitted by representatives of defined special groups. Representatives of such special groups include, for example, persons applying for a visa on the basis of family ties or an established relationship. The conditions for issuing a visa under the Schengen Visa Code must also be met.

The Consulate General of Finland, together with the City of Helsinki and Kuittinen Consulting, hosted a Virtual Seminar showcasing virtual employee training projects and XR conference platforms by Finnish XR companies Zoan, 3DBear, 360Mediahouse, and Immersal on November 24th. Finnish XR expertise is making its way to New York also via new accelerator program by Microsoft and WarnerMedia in December 2020.

In a move that capitalizes on collective forestry knowledge and a commitment to smarter, sustainable use of natural resources, Finland and the states of Maine and Michigan are elevating a cooperative effort in bioeconomy and clean technologies.

In a move that capitalizes on collective forestry knowledge and a commitment to smarter, sustainable use of natural resources, Finland and the states of Maine and Michigan are elevating a cooperative effort in bioeconomy and clean technologies. This week, the team will host a webinar to introduce the formation of working groups open to those in industry, research and governmental sectors.

The year 2020 has been like no other year in recent memory. Anytime humanity faces difficult challenges, children have even more questions and concerns than usual about what is happening in the world. The coronavirus has affected the lives of just about everyone on the planet, regardless of age.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to influence the entry permit services of the Finnish diplomatic missions abroad. All missions are not able to provide these services in the same way and to the same extent as in normal circumstances before the pandemic. The missions have been able to serve customers in questions related to entry matters in the countries where this has been possible taking into account health security and local official regulations. In this fall, the missions have been reopening their services as far as possible, and currently entry services are provided in most countries at least to a limited extent.

According to the Government decision made in September, restrictions on entry may be lifted for traffic between Finland and those EU and Schengen countries and the counties on the green list specified by the Council of the EU where the incidence of COVID-19 has not exceeded 25 new cases per 100,000 persons in the previous 14 days. The Government assesses the situation in different countries once a week. This news article will be updated with changes to the guidance and restrictions.

The ancestors and grave items, which are estimated to date back to the 13th century and were part of the National Museum of Finland’s Mesa Verde collection, have been repatriated to the Hopi Tribe, the Pueblo of Acoma, the Pueblo of Zia, and the Pueblo of Zuni, indigenous tribes of the United States, to be reburied on Saturday 12 September 2020. This repatriation respects the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and its Article 12 on indigenous peoples’ right to the repatriation of their human remains. This repatriation is the first to return grave findings of the indigenous peoples in the Mesa Verde region from abroad to the representatives of the descendants. The National Museum of Finland and representatives of the indigenous peoples of the Mesa Verde region carried out the return, in cooperation with the Finnish and United States authorities. The four-year repatriation process also came up in the meeting between President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö and President of the United States Donald Trump in October 2019.