Travel Documents

The Border Guard is in charge of border checks on persons at border crossing points.

Finland and the other Nordic countries began the application of the Schengen acquis on 25 March 2001. The Schengen countries have agreed on the joint management of the external border. Therefore there are no border checks in traffic across their internal borders.

The Schengen area is composed of the following countries:
Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Passports

When leaving the country, a Finnish citizen usually needs to carry a passport.

When you cross the border from one Schengen country to another, your travel documents are normally not inspected by authorities. Nevertheless, you must still carry a valid travel document accepted by the member state in question (passport or the new type of ID card). Please note that transport companies may inspect their passengers' travel documents in internal traffic too.

For further information about passports visit the website of the Police or the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

ID cards

In accordance with Government Decree 1244/2006, Finnish citizens may travel from Finland to the following countries using a photo ID card (issued by the Police on or after 1 March 1999) referred to in Section 1(1) of the Identity Card Act (829/1999) or an electronic ID card (issued on or after 1 December 1999) instead of a passport:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy,  Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom,

A driving licence is not an identity card. For further information about ID cards valid as travel documents visit the website of the Police

Passport exemption

Citizens of the Nordic countries may travel in the Nordic countries without a travel document but must be able to prove their identity on request. Documents accepted include a driving licence.

But if a Nordic citizen enters a Nordic country from a country other than a Nordic country, they must carry a passport or ID card.

Travel documents of non-Finnish citizens

When arriving in Finland, a non-Finnish citizen must carry a passport. They will also need a visa unless they are exempt from the visa obligation under EU regulations. Citizens of most European Union member states may also use an ID card as their travel document.

Period of exemption from the visa obligation

Following negotiations with the Legal Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior, the Border Guard Department of the Ministry of the Interior makes the following announcement:

According to the judgment, "Article 20 (1) of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders signed at Schengen on 19 June 1990 must be interpreted in a manner whereby the concept of ‘the date of first entry’ in the Convention means not only the date of the very first entry into the territories of the Contracting Parties but also to the first entry into these territories after the completion of the period of six months following the date of the very first entry as well as all other first entries into the territories that take place after the completion of a new period of six months following the previous date of first entry into the territories".

From 1 January 2007, the period of visa exemption will be calculated as shown below.  Foreign nationals may visit Finland without a visa for a period of three months within the period of six months as specified in the above judgment. The new period of visa exemption will begin immediately on the completion of the previous period of six months. 

Previous periods in Finland - whether while holding a visa or a residence permit - are not taken into consideration when specifying the period of stay exempt from the visa requirement.

For further information about travel document and visa requirements for foreign nationals, visit the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.