A visa to visit Finland
A visa is an entry permit for a short, temporary visit of less than 90 days.
Find out if you need a visa?
The Schengen states have jointly agreed which countries' citizens are required to present a visa. Each Schengen state decides which passports and travel documents it accepts from different countries' citizens.
Schengen member states are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Check if you need a visa to visit Finland and what travel documents are accepted in Finland:
Visa requirement and travel documents accepted by Finland
Even if you did not need a visa to visit Finland, you need a valid passport or some other travel document accepted by Finland. It must be valid for at least ninety days after your intended date of departure from the Schengen area.
In addition, the passport or other travel document must have been issued no later than ten years ago.
In case you do not need a visa, you can stay in Finland or in the territory of other Schengen state for ninety days in any 180-day period.
Upon arrival in Finland, you must meet the general entry requirements according to which a person must not constitute a danger to public order and security, national health, or Finland’s international relations.
Where and how to apply for a visa?
If your country of destination is Finland, apply for a visa from the nearest Finnish mission or the visa centre that the mission advises to you. Honorary consuls and consulates cannot grant visas.
It has been agreed with some countries that Finland may be represented by another Schengen state. In such cases, apply for a visa to Finland from the mission of that Schengen state.
Submit your visa application at a mission or visa centre in person. An application cannot be sent by e-mail or telefax.
Visa application form
Viisumihakemus - Ansökan om visering (suomi, på svenska)
Application for Schengen Visa (English)
Demande de visa Schengen (Français)
Solicitud de visado Schengen (Español)
Анкета-заявление / Schengen Visa (По-русски)
To apply for a visa you need the following
1. The visa application form completed and signed
2. One photograph
Include a colour photograph from which you are recognizable. Please visit the Police website for guidance.
3. A passport
Make sure your passport is valid for at least three (3) months after the end of your intended travel and that it has been issued no later than ten (10) years ago.
4. Travel insurance
Your travel insurance must be in force for the period of the validity of the applied visa and cover the entire Schengen area. The minimum coverage of the policy must be EUR 30,000 and the insurance must cover expenses arising from a sudden illness and accident (also the patient's repatriation) and repatriation expenses in case of death.
5. Supporting documents
As the required appendices vary by country, contact the mission to make sure which ones you need. The mission may request that you append certain documents to the application to show the purpose, conditions and duration of the visit. Examples of such documents are tickets, a confirmation of hotel reservation, a private invitation letter and an official invitation.

The invitation is a free-form letter indicating the host organisation’s or private host’s contact details and the invited person's details, such as name, date of birth, address, passport number, and purpose and length of visit.

In case of a private visit, it is advisable to mention if your host is a friend or your spouse or relative. Please note that an invitation does not guarantee that a visa will be issued. The host’s wealth is not taken into account when the applicant’s economic situation in the home country is assessed (a business visit, for example, is an exception to this, because the applicant is not responsible for the travel costs).

In addition to the above, you may be asked to provide information concerning the itinerary, means of transport, return trip, financial means of support and assets and employment.

The applicant must have proof of sufficient financial means to cover the duration and purpose of the stay and the cost of living in the country. In Finland a minimum of EUR 30 a day is required.
6. Parental consent is required for minors
Unaccompanied minor children need a parental consent for their travel.
7. Interview
The mission may also ask you for a personal interview to find out about the purpose of your visit.
Visa fee
The processing fee must be paid in cash upon application. Some missions accept bank transfers. For more detailed information about different missions' practices and ways of payment, please visit the missions' websites.
A visa from 2 February 2020 onward
Visa fee (also for a negative decision) EUR 80
Visa fee for children aged 6 to 11 (also for a negative decision) EUR 40
In accordance with the visa facilitation agreementbetween the EU and a third country, the visa fee payable by a citizen of the country in question is (also for a negative decision) EUR 35
In accordance with a separate visa facilitation agreement the fee for an accelerated procedure is (also for a negative decision) EUR 70
Forms to which a visa is affixed for persons whose travel document is not accepted by Finland. EUR 10
A visa can be granted free of charge:
• in the event of major disasters or other similar situations whenever supported by humanitarian reasons
• for groups of schoolchildren or adolescents under 18 years of age participating in cultural or sports events to which they have been invited by the event sponsor
• to holders a diplomatic or service passport or their family members, whose visit will be of considerable importance for the relations between Finland and the foreign state in question.
Processing time of the application
Submit your visa application at a mission of Finland or a visa centre no later than 15 days before travel. The application can be submitted at the earliest six months before the intended visit. In case Finland is represented in the country by another Schengen state, the processing time is usually longer.
Refusal, annulment and revocation of a visa
To be entitled to a visa, you must live or reside legally in the country where you submit the application. If the conditions in your case are not fulfilled, the visa is refused. You will be notified about the refusal in writing.
A visa may be refused on certain grounds mentioned in the Schengen states' common Visa Code. Examples include:
• you do not have an approved, valid travel document
• you do not provide justification to prove the purpose and conditions of your stay
• you do not have sufficient means of subsistence for the duration of the stay
• you are not entitled to return to the country of origin or to continue to a third country
• the mission has well-grounded reasons to doubt that you do not intend to exit the Schengen area before the expiry of the visa that you are applying for
• you may have an entry ban to Finland or to some other Schengen state or be considered to be a danger to a member state's public order, internal security or international relations.
The visa that has already been granted to you will be annulled if the conditions for issuing it were not met at the time when it was issued.
The visa that has already been granted to you will be revoked, if the conditions for issuing it are no longer met.
Requesting review of a visa decision, as of 1 May 2019
The recipient of a decision made by a Finnish mission by virtue of the Visa Code to refuse or annul a visa or to revoke a visa (otherwise than at the request of the visa holder) may request an administrative review of the decision from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Instructions for requesting an administrative review are appended to the decision. The request must be submitted within 30 days from the receipt of the decision on the visa application, and it must be made in writing in Finnish or Swedish. The processing fee for a request for an administrative review is EUR 170. Payment of the fee is a prerequisite for processing the request.
A decision of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on a request for an administrative review of a visa matter may be appealed to the Helsinki Administrative Court. The appeal document must be delivered to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Abroad, the appeal document may be delivered to a Finnish mission. The Ministry or the mission submits the appeal file to the Helsinki Administrative Court. The appeal must be submitted within 30 days from the receipt of the decision on the request for an administrative review. The appeal must be made in writing in Finnish or Swedish. The Administrative Court fee for appellate proceedings is EUR 260.
In visa matters relating to the free movement of EU citizens and their family members, the applicant may appeal to the Administrative Court without first requesting an administrative review.
Entry check
Your conditions of entry to Finland are re-evaluated upon arrival in the country. In addition to your visa, you are asked to produce a valid passport or travel document, an insurance document for the duration of your stay and the supporting documents.
You must prove that you have enough funds (EUR 30 per day) to support yourself. The funds need to be sufficient for your stay and return or continuation trip. If you have a valid return ticket, its value reduces the amount of funds you are required to have with you.
You must not have an entry ban to the Schengen area. Your entry into the country can be prohibited also if you are considered to constitute a danger to the public order and security, public health, or Finland's relations with other countries.
Furthermore, your entry may be refused if there is reason to suspect that you intend to earn money by dishonest means.
Extending the visa's validity while in Finland
Local police authorities can extend the visa's period of validity in Finland, if you cannot leave Finland and the Schengen area due to a force majeure or humanitarian reason. Examples of such reasons include last-minute cancellation of the flight or an acute illness. In these cases the extension is free of charge.
Extending the visa’s period of validity may be possible also for serious personal reasons, such as a severe sudden illness of an immediate family member who has a permanent residence in Finland. In such cases, a 30-euro fee is charged for the extension of the visa.
Decisions on extending the validity of a visa are made by the Police.
Visa types
• Single-entry visa
allows the holder to enter Finland once and stay for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
• Double-entry visa
allows entry into Finland twice and may be valid within the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
• Multiple-entry visa
is granted for several consecutive visits to the Schengen area. The total duration of the stays may not exceed the number of days stated on the visa sticker, that is, up to 90 days in a 180-day period. A multiple-entry visa is valid for a maximum of five (5) years.
• Airport transit visa
allows the visa holder transit via the international zone of the airport during a stopover or change between two flights. Entry in the national zone is prohibited. Citizens of the following countries need a transit visa:
• Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
• Eritrea
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Iraq
• Iran
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Somalia
• Sri Lanka
Visa and residence permit of a Finnish citizen's family member
In accordance with section 37 of the Aliens Act (Ulkomaalaislaki 301/2004), a Finnish citizen's foreign family members are:
• the spouse of a Finnish citizen
• a person in a registered partnership with a Finnish citizen
• an unmarried child under 18 years of age, whose guardian or the spouse of the guardian resides in Finland
• if the person residing in Finland is a minor, his or her guardian is the family member
Persons living in a marriage-like relationship and sharing the same household are comparable to a married couple regardless of their sex, provided that they have lived together for at least two years. The two-year requirement does not apply if the persons have a child in their joint custody or if there are other weighty reasons.
Residence permit application by a family member who is a visa national
If you are a family member of a Finnish citizen and you intend to travel to Finland for a period of time exceeding three months, please follow the instructions:
• Apply for a residence permit at a Finnish mission either in your home country or in the country of departure where you have a legal residence well in advance. The residence permit application must be submitted in person. Read more about the application of a residence permit at the Finnish Immigration Service website.
Residence permit application by a family member who is exempt from the visa requirement
If you do not need a visa to Finland, you can stay in the country for a maximum of 90 days.
If you are a Finnish citizen's family member and you intend to travel to Finland for a longer stay than three months, you can apply for a residence permit in advance at a Finnish mission.
You can submit a residence permit application at the Finnish Immigration Service, too. For further information, please visit www.migri.fi.
Seasonal workers' visa
You normally need a residence permit to be allowed to work in Finland. However, for seasonal work you do not need a residence permit but a visa.
From 1 January 2018 seasonal work done in Finland will be governed by the Seasonal Work Act based on the new EU Directive on seasonal workers. The Seasonal Work Act does not apply to picking of wild berries because this does not involve an employment relationship. Picking of wild berries will continue to take place in accordance with a letter of intent and the advance clearance procedure.
A visa for seasonal work in Finland is applied for at a mission of Finland. It cannot be applied for at a mission of any other Schengen state. The visa is intended for seasonal work in Finland only. The visa can be granted for up to 90 days.
The regular processing times set out in the Visa Code apply to the processing of seasonal visas. A permit for engaging in seasonal work is granted for working for one or more designated employers and a seasonal worker may not change the employer during the seasonal work period. A visa granted for seasonal work contains the additional information “Seasonal Work FI” and its validity period starts on the date when the employment relationship starts.

Information Source: https://um.fi/
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