🇫🇮 🇷🇺 Finland tightens entry rules for Russian business travelers and property owners

By Thomas Nilsen, The Independent Barents Observer July 10, 2023
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From July 10, Russians traveling with business visas to Schengen-Europe will no longer be allowed to transit through Finland.

Fewer cars with Russian registration plates are seen in Finland, like here at the airport in Ivalo. Photo: Thomas Nilsen

The Finnish Government on Thursday decided to limit further which Russian citizens can enter the country. The move comes the same day as the Foreign Ministry in Moscow told Finland to close its Consulate General in St. Petersburg and expelled nine diplomats.

It is especially citizens traveling with business visas that will have to find new entry and transit routes to Europe.

“In the future, business travelers will only be allowed to travel to Finland, i.e. transit to other countries will be prohibited. Business travelers must also have an essential reason to come to Finland in person,” the Foreign Ministry writes in a press release.

Similar restrictions are from before introduced by the Baltic states and Poland.

New entry rules also apply to Russian citizens owning property in Finland.

“Property owners will require to provide grounds for their personal presence,” the Government says.

For students from Russia, Finland allows entry for those participating in programs leading to a degree or exchange studies.

“This will exclude participation in courses offered by folk high school, for example,” the new regulations state.

The new rules enter force on July 10. At the same time, Finland prolongs the restrictions from last fall limiting all non-essential travel. Russian citizens will not be allowed to enter Finland with tourist visas.

Located in Kirkenes, Norway, just a few kilometers from the borders to Russia and Finland, the Barents Observer is dedicated to cross-border journalism in Scandinavia, Russia, and the wider Arctic. As a non-profit stock company that is fully owned by its reporters, its editorial decisions are free of regional, national or private-sector influence. It has been a partner to ABJ and its predecessors since 2016.

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