Current affairs

We have put together frequently asked questions with answers about travel and coronavirus.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs urges to avoid all travel to the Brazil, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa and the United Kingdom in accordance with the recommendation of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. For all other countries, the Foreign Ministry’s general travel advice due to the COVID-19 pandemic is to avoid all but essential travel.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs urges to avoid all travel to the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa in accordance with the recommendation of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. For all other countries, the Foreign Ministry’s general travel advice due to the COVID-19 pandemic is to avoid all but essential travel.

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.

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 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.

The Government plans to lift the internal border control from 13 July for those countries where the incidence of COVID-19 is at a sufficiently low level. Based on the current development of the epidemic, internal border control could be lifted for the following countries: Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

Coronavirus and its spread are still a global risk. Starting on 15 June, internal border control and quarantine recommendations will change in respect of certain countries, but it is recommended to avoid non-essential travel to other countries. The changes will apply to travel to Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Although Finland has abandoned internal border controls and quarantine recommendations for certain countries, the country of destination may have its own restrictions on the entry of tourists. Always check the up-to-date entry regulations from the authorities of the country of destination, for example from the country’s nearest mission.

On 11 September, the Government adopted a decision on restrictions on border traffic, which will enter into force on 19 September. Restrictions on entry will be lifted for traffic between Finland and Cyprus, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Poland and Sweden, as well as for residents of Australia, Canada and Japan who are travelling from their home country to Finland. Restrictions on entry into the country will be reintroduced between Finland and Hungary and Italy.