russia tourist visa from finland

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Finland set to 'limit or stop' entry of Russian tourists

HELSINKI - Finland said on Wednesday it is is preparing a national solution to "limit or completely prevent" tourism from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

"This national solution may include new legislation, which would be adopted very quickly," Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told a press conference.

Since Russia's Covid-19 restrictions expired in July, there has been a boom in Russian travellers and a rising backlash in Europe against allowing in Russian tourists while the war continues.

Finland drastically limited tourist visas for Russians in September.

But they continue to enter Finland with visas issued by other EU countries in the Schengen borderless travel area.

"Finland does not want to be a country that is a transit country for Schengen visas issued by other countries either," Haavisto said.

According to a poll published by Finnish daily Ilta-Sanomat on Wednesday, around 70 per cent of Finns want the Nordic country to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians.

Finland has been calling for an EU decision to limit visas for Russians, but Haavisto noted, "It cannot be guaranteened that this move would happen very quickly."

The Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania - which border Russia - have already toughened their own visa rules leaving Finland as Russia's last EU neighbour for Schengen visa holders to transit through.

The Finnish border guard said the situation has "not changed significantly" on the border, despite Russia's announcement on Wednesday of military mobilisation, denying rumours spreading online of kilometres long queues. AFP

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Reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Stine Jacobsen, Bernadette Baum and Alex Richardson

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• Finland – Changes for Tourist Visas from Russia; Issuance of Tourist Visas Stopped

GMS Flash Alert 2022-178

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The Finnish government has placed new restrictions on the entry of Russian nationals travelling to Finland based on tourism. Finland has also stopped accepting tourist visa applications and issuing tourist visas.  The restrictions entered into force on 30 September at midnight (local time) and will remain in force for the time being. 1, 2

WHY THIS MATTERS

Entry to Finland is further restricted for Russian nationals traveling for tourism purposes, which should be considered by anyone planning to travel from Russia to Finland with a tourist visa. Finland has stopped the issuance of new tourist visas, and visas issued by Finland can be revoked at the border if the conditions of entry are not met. The decision of entry is always based on individual overall consideration conducted by the Border Guard of Finland.

The restrictions may also affect Russian nationals travelling with visas issued by other Schengen countries, as Finland can ban the entry of a Russian national travelling with a visa issued by another Schengen country if the conditions of entry are not met. Finland would not, however, revoke a tourist visa issued by another Schengen country, unless another Schengen country has requested to do so. 3

More Details

On 29 September 2022, the Finnish government announced that tourists arriving from Russia in high volumes and tourists transiting to other countries through Finland after the mobilization declared in Russia on 21 September 2022 put Finland’s international position and relations at danger. 4  Therefore, Finland decided further to restrict the entry based on tourism from Russia.  The new restrictions are based on Article 6(1)(e) of the Schengen Borders Code.  In short, the Article states that the entry of third-country nationals into any Schengen country requires that they do not pose a threat to public policy, internal security, public health, or the international relations of any of the member states. 5     

According to a press conference held by the Finnish government on September 29, the border will remain open for persons entering for essential purposes, as well as for people travelling to Finland with D visas or Finnish residence permits.  According to the new restrictions, the Border Guard can revoke visas issued by Finland, but Finland would not revoke visas issued by other Schengen countries unless requested.  The Border Guard can, however, prevent a person travelling with a visa issued by another country from entering Finland. 6

Exemptions for Certain Groups

According to the Border Guard, the restrictions do not currently apply to the following special groups when certain terms are met (please see The Finnish Border Guard’s webpage " Restrictions on the Entry of Russian Citizens ") for the detailed terms for each category):

—   Family members of Finnish citizens and third-country nationals permanently residing in Finland

—   This includes family members of Finnish citizens and third-country nationals permanently residing in Finland (spouses, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, and dependents, as well as persons applying for a visa based on an established relationship).

—   Transit travel to other Schengen countries based on meeting relatives is not allowed. Entry of family members is only allowed in connection with travel to Finland.

—   Proof of family ties must be presented at the border.

—   Family members of citizens of a member state of the European Union (EU), a member state of the European Economic Area (EEA), or the Swiss Confederation

—   Employment

—   Proof that the purpose for entry is work must be presented at the border.

—   Logistics and transport industry personnel exercising their duties

—   Business travellers

—   Students

—   People arriving in Finland for treatment

—   Owners of an apartment or property

—   Personnel of diplomatic missions and consular representations

—   Other special reasons (necessary reasons, such as humanitarian reasons). 7

The purpose of the travel must always be proven at the border.

For previous issues of GMS Flash Alert on this topic, please see GMS Flash Alert 2022-156 (29 August 2022) and GMS Flash Alert 2022-171 (23 September 2022).

The visa restrictions will not have an impact on residence permit processes from Russia to Finland.

The KPMG International member firm in Finland continues to monitor these matters closely.

1  See (in English) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Finnish government issues a resolution to strongly restrict entry of Russian tourists into Finland” by clicking here .

2  See (in English) “Q&A 29 September 2022, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, Border Guard: Government Resolution 29 September 2022 on the restriction of entry of Russian citizens” by clicking here .

3  See (in English) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Finnish government issues a resolution to strongly restrict entry of Russian tourists into Finland” by clicking here and “Q&A 29 September 2022, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, Border Guard: Government Resolution 29 September 2022 on the restriction of entry of Russian citizens” by clicking here .

4  Ibid.

5  See (in English) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Finnish government issues a resolution to strongly restrict entry of Russian tourists into Finland” by clicking here ; and for reports in the press, see: ”Haavisto: Suomi alkanut valmistella lakia venäläisten viisumien rajoittamiseksi – ’Eduskunta tulee saamaan tämän nopeasti käsittelyyn’” (Julkaistu 21.09.2022 19:19 (Päivitetty 21.09.2022 20:13)) at: https://www.mtvuutiset.fi/artikkeli/haavisto-suomi-alkanut-valmistella-lakia-venalaisten-viisumien-rajoittamiseksi-eduskunta-tulee-saamaan-taman-nopeasti-kasittelyyn/8518284 .  Please note, that by clicking on the afore-noted links, you are leaving the KPMG website for an external site, that KPMG is not affiliated or nor is KPMG endorsing its content.  The use of the external site and its content may be subject to the terms of use and/or privacy policies of its owner or operator . 

6  For reports in the press, see: Tulikuuka de Fresnes and H. Tikkala, "Suomen raja sulkeutuu torstaina keskiyöllä venäläisiltä lomamatkailijoita – Sisäministeri Mikkonen: "Vaikutus liikennemääriin on merkittävä” in Yle (online)  (29.9. 10:27, Päivitetty 29.9. 15:28)." 

7  See (in English) The Finnish Border Guard, ”Restrictions on the entry of Russian citizens” by clicking here .

* Please note the KPMG International member firm in the United States does not provide immigration or labour law services. However, KPMG Law LLP in Canada can assist clients with U.S. immigration matters.

The information contained in this newsletter was submitted by the KPMG International member firm in Finland.

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A Growing Backlash Against Russian Tourists Is Dividing Europe

L aplandia greets the shopper with the powerful aroma of smoked salmon. The sprawling warehouse of a store—located on the outskirts of Lappeenranta, Finland—opens to a display counter stocked with great slabs of the fish on plastic trays, some of it cured with herbs, some of it sprinkled with local lingonberries. But Elena wasn’t there for fish. On the morning of Aug 31, the 30-year-old Russian (who declined to give her last name to avoid social media criticism) had driven about 125 miles from St. Petersburg, Russia to buy warm clothing and shoes for her young son, plus other household supplies that EU and American sanctions had made it difficult to find at home . There was an urgency to her shopping as she beelined past the candy-colored heaps of plastic sandals and gigantic bags of chips, to a row containing industrial-sized bottles of laundry detergent—aware of a looming decision by the Finnish government “I’m worried they’re going to close the border again,” she said. “So we’ve been stocking up. This is my third trip in a week.”

Elena had reason for concern. Ever since Aug. 8, when Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called for Western countries to ban visas for Russian tourists, some European countries have been taking the suggestion very seriously. On Sept. 1, Finland—which shares a 830-mile land border with Russia—began sharply restricting the number of tourist visas it issued, from 1,000 to 100 per day. And the day before, when Elena made her third trip to Laplandia, the E.U.’s foreign ministers agreed at a meeting in Prague to make it harder—but not impossible—for Russians to travel. If some of those ministers have their way, more restrictions could be coming.

“It’s not right that at the same time as Russia is waging an aggressive, brutal war of aggression in Europe, Russians can live a normal life, travel in Europe, be tourists,” Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin told broadcaster Yle on Aug. 8.

Read More: ‘There’s an Atmosphere of Fear.’ With Flights Banned, Russians Are Fleeing By Train for Europe

Marin’s country is one of the few access points into Europe after the E.U. imposed a blanket flight ban to and from Russia three days after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Since Russia lifted its remaining COVID-19 restrictions on July 15, the number of people driving across at border station Nuijamaa near Lappeenranta—as well as others—has surged. “I would say it has grown about 5% per week,” says Petri Kurkinen, deputy chief of the local Finnish border police. “Right now, we’re at about 3,000 people per day.”

Many of those people, like Elena, had just come for a day’s shopping and would return to Russia that same evening. But others would travel to coastal cottages in Finland for summer vacations or drive straight to the airport in Helsinki, the country’s capital, and then board flights for Spain, France, and Greece. According to Frontex, the E.U.’s border agency, more than 1 million Russians have done just that since the invasion, most of them via Finland and Estonia, which also shares a land border with Russia.

For some of Europe’s leaders, the sight of Russian tourists sunning themselves on their beach or sitting in outdoor cafés while some of their fellow citizens participate in the devastation of Ukraine, was morally untenable. They also worried about the security threat. “What do the chemical attack in Salisbury in 2018, the Czech arms depot explosion in 2014 and the killing of a Chechen dissident in Germany in 2019 have in common?” wrote Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in a statement to TIME. “The answer: Russian agents using European tourist visas. We can see a clear pattern. Amidst aggressive Russia next door, the risk of Russian agents posing as tourists in [the] E.U. is logically higher than ever. And they do not just spy, they are often an active part of Russia’s hybrid and information warfare that’s happening alongside conventional war.”

On Aug. 18, Estonia stopped issuing tourist visas to Russians and stopped permitting entry under ones previously issued. Since then, it and other countries like Lithuania, Denmark, and the Czech Republic, have advocated for an outright ban on all Russian tourists throughout the Schengen Area—which covers 26 European countries and stretches across most of the continent. (European travel for other purposes, such as humanitarian reasons, visiting family, or to seek asylum, would remain protected.) “I simply don’t think that it is appropriate that at the same time when Ukrainian men and families have to defend their country, Russian men and Russian families can enjoy beaches in southern Europe,” says Estonian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Urmas Paet, who serves as vice-chair of the E.U.’s Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Beyond that moral reasoning lies a political calculation: that increasing the pain for those Russians with enough disposable income to travel in Europe will encourage opposition to the Putin regime. “So far, people from Russian cities don’t actually feel the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine,” says Paet. “The majority of soldiers come from poor provinces, not from Moscow and St. Petersburg. But if Europe bans tourists from coming, it will also increase the understanding in Moscow and St. Petersburg. And that may influence policy making.”

Yet other countries, including Germany, France, Spain, and Greece, have pushed back against that argument. Some leaders say that it is unfair to punish ordinary Russians for the policies of their government, particularly in an authoritarian country where the costs of dissent are high. Others contended that a visa ban would impede the work of dissidents attempting to collaborate with their counterparts outside Russia. “While limiting contacts with regime representatives and authorities to areas of vital EU interest, we need to strategically fight for the ‘hearts and minds’ of the Russian population—at least the segments not yet completely estranged from ‘the West,'” read a joint memo from France and Germany, according to a Reuters report on Aug. 30.

Opponents to the ban also expressed doubt that, in a country where it remains illegal to refer to the war as, in fact, a war, it would generate enough dissatisfaction inside Russia to have any kind of meaningful impact on the regime. “The political argument is completely misleading because less than a third of the Russian population has a passport to travel abroad,” says Marie Dumoulin, director of the Wider Europe program at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) Instead of leading to policy change, it would instead be “a wonderful argument for Kremlin propaganda. It will be presented as proof that it’s not about Russia waging a war against Ukraine, it’s the West waging a war against Russia, because the West is Russophobic. The Kremlin will say, ‘see, they don’t like Russians, they don’t want to see Russians in Europe.’”

Read More: In a War of Ideas, Banning Russian Propaganda Does More Harm Than Good

Ahead of the Prague meeting, tension between E.U. states over the proposed ban had grown quite sharp. But with European unity at stake, the bloc’s foreign ministers managed to reach a compromise, and decided to suspend a 2007 agreement that facilitated visas for Russians. (It’s unclear when this will take effect.) As a result, the cost of a tourist visa will rise from 35 euros to 80, the amount of documentation required from applicants will increase, and the length of time for obtaining a visa will stretch from a maximum of 10 days to 15.

The ECFR’s Dumoulin sees the decision as a success simply because it represents a compromise. “At some point, European unity is itself a policy goal. And it’s a much more important goal than setting symbols.”

Yet others aren’t so sure. The decision represents “a step in the right direction,” according to MEP Paet, but it “doesn’t go far enough.” And because it doesn’t prevent some countries from taking further action, as Finland and Estonia have done, the debate may not be over yet. As the border closures of the pandemic have shown, the Schengen agreement requiring visa-free travel among member states can be more flexible than expected in certain cases.

Those cases include security risks. “By the end of the meeting in Prague, a big number of E.U. countries were convinced that 12 million Russian citizens with valid, long term Schengen visas is a problem to E.U. security,” Lithuanian minister of foreign affairs, Gabrielius Landsbergis, wrote to TIME. “Thus, E.U. member states bordering Russia may apply national or regional security measures. Together with Estonia, Latvia, and Poland, in the coming weeks, we will seek to find solutions that will allow us to significantly limit the flow of Russian tourists.”

Back in Lappeenranta, which sits less than 40 miles from its sister city Vyborg in Russia, Finns are largely happy with the new restrictions, says Mayor Kimmo Jarva. The city has a long history of peaceful ties with its neighbor to the south, and in fact, counts some 3,000 Russian-speakers among its population of 72,000. Lappeenranta’s economy also relies—or has relied— heavily on Russian shoppers for years. “Before COVID, there were about 4,000 Russians coming every day,” Jarva says. “Now we are losing about 1 million euros every day. That started with COVID, but even now, many think we shouldn’t let them come. Although his city is “suffering economically,” Jarva says the sacrifice is worthwhile.

From his window in city hall, Jarva can gaze out at a cemetery where every headstone, he says, belongs to a soldier shot by Russians in the Second World War. That memory helps explain the local population’s desire to show its support to Ukraine—and just maybe irk Russian tourists.

So every evening at 7:30 p.m. for the past month, city hall speakers have boomed Ukraine’s national anthem. “We wanted to show our support, but also put a little bit of pressure on Russians, because we think it’s wrong that they can come and live a normal life,” Jarva says of the initiative. “Our citizens told us to do something. This is democracy.”

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Finland limits tourist visas for Russians

Finnish foreign minister says decision comes amid influx of Russian tourists using Finland as a gateway to European holiday destinations.

Finland will limit the number of visas issued to Russians to 10 percent of the current volume from September 1 due to rising discontent over Russian tourism amid the war in Ukraine , the government has said.

“Tourist visas will not stop completely, but their number will be significantly reduced, ” Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said on Tuesday in Helsinki, amid a rush of Russian visitors bound for Europe.

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Haavisto said the decision had come as an influx of Russian tourists began using Finland and its Helsinki-Vantaa airport as a gateway to European holiday destinations, after Russia lifted pandemic-related border restrictions a month ago.

Tourist visas from neighbouring Russia will be limited by restricting the allotted opening hours for tourism visa applications, as an outright ban based on nationality is not possible, Haavisto said.

“This means that other types of visas – visits to relatives, family contacts, work, study – will be given preference and more time,” the minister explained.

Currently, Finland processes approximately 1,000 Russian visa applications a day, Haavisto told public broadcaster Yle separately.

Finland will also look into establishing a specific humanitarian visa category, which the country lacks.

“This could make the situation in certain circumstances much easier for journalists or NGO workers”, Haavisto said.

Just days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Finland joined a string of Western countries in closing their airspace to Russian planes in response, making it difficult for Russians to travel to Europe .

The foreign minister also announced that Finland and the Baltics would together propose that the European Union discontinue a visa facilitation agreement with Russia. This would increase the price of tourist visas from 35 euros to 80 (from $35 to $81).

Finland intends to raise the issue at the next meeting of European Union (EU) foreign affairs ministers in the Czech Republic on August 30.

The Nordic country has applied for NATO membership after political and popular support for the alliance soared following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but it remains Russia’s only EU neighbour without restrictions on tourist visas for Russian citizens.

“It’s not right that Russian citizens can enter Europe, the Schengen area, be tourists … while Russia is killing people in Ukraine. It’s wrong”, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Monday.

While the numbers are still well below pre-COVID-19 levels, there were more than 230,000 border crossings in July – up from the 125,000 seen in June.

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