A visa to visit Finland

A Schengen visa is an entry permit for a short, temporary visit of less than 90 days in any 180-day period.

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, Croatia, 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:

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 main country of destination is Finland, you must apply for a visa at the Visa Application Centre indicated by a Finnish mission, at a Finnish mission or at a Schengen country mission representing Finland. 

All visa applications must be submitted in person. Your biometric identifiers will be collected at the same time. Fingerprints are not taken if the fingerprints were given in connection with a previous visa application less than 59 months ago.

Book an appointment for submitting your application. An application cannot be sent by e-mail or telefax. You will find country-specific instructions on the website of the mission(Link to another website.).

In the EU area you can apply for a Schengen visa in the following Finnish embassies: Berlin(Link to another website.), Dublin(Link to another website.), Madrid(Link to another website.), Nicosia(Link to another website.), Sofia(Link to another website.) and Stockholm(Link to another website.).

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.

To apply for a visa you need the following

You will find country-specific instructions and document requirements on the finlandvisa.fi(Link to another website.) website. Below is general guidance on document requirements.

  1. The visa application form completed and signed
  2. One photograph
  3. A passport
  4. Travel insurance
  5. Supporting documents
  6. Parental consent is required for minors
  7. Possible interview

Include a colour photograph from which you are recognizable. Please visit the Police website (Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)for guidance.

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.

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.

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). If the host pays for the applicant's trip, a proof of sponsorship form with its supporting documents (see below) is attached to the application instead of the invitation. Even if the host pays for the trip, applicants need to provide information on their financial situation in their application. If the host does not pay for the applicant's trip, it is enough to attach a free-form invitation letter to the application.


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. Some Schengen States require that they be consulted on visa applications submitted to Finland by citizens of certain countries. Such consultation is required for nationals of the countries listed here(Link to another website.).

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 50 a day is required.

The inviting party may undertake to use its own funds to finance the visa applicant's travel. For this purpose, the inviting party must fill in the proof of sponsorship form. The form must be signed in the presence of a notary public, who authenticates the signature. The following documents should be attached to the form:

  • a copy of the inviting party’s identity card and residence permit if the inviting party is not a Finnish citizen 
  • a copy of the inviting party’s employment contract
  • a copy of the inviting party’s last three months’ payslips 
  • a copy of the inviting party’s last three months’ bank statements
  • a copy of the right of possession of the dwelling (a lease agreement, a deed of sale, a register of occupants, or similar) if the visa applicant stays in your dwelling
  • evidence of family relationship if the inviting party and the applicant are relatives, or details of previous meetings, if any (passport stamps, travel tickets, or similar) if the relationship between the inviting party and the applicant is not based on family ties

Proof of sponsorship form (pdf, 1MB) (Opens New Window)

Unaccompanied minor children need a parental consent for their travel.

The mission may also ask you for a personal interview to find out about the purpose of your visit.

The visa application form

Fill in the visa application form at the website finlandvisa.fi(Link to another website.). At the website, you will find information about the documents, appendices and passport photo you need to submit an application. You can check the required visa application documents without logging in on the website finlandvisa.fi.

You can even fill in an application in pdf format either by hand or with computer. Even when filling in a pdf application, you should check the required visa application documents at the website finlandvisa.fi(Link to another website.).

Processing fee

A visa fee will be charged for processing a visa application. When applying for a visa at a Visa Application Centre, an additional service fee will be charged on top of the visa fee.

All fees must be paid in full when a visa application is submitted. Some missions accept bank transfers paid in advance. Visa fees prices are available in the price list for services provided by Finnish missions.

For more detailed information about different missions’ practices and ways of payment, please visit the missions’ websites(Link to another website.).

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

You must submit your application well in advance. You may submit an application no more than six (6) months before the start of the intended visit. The processing time of a visa application is 15 days.

The processing time may be longer if a more detailed examination of the application is required.

Refusal, annulment and revocation of a visa

If the conditions for issuing a visa are not met, the visa will be refused. A decision to refuse a visa and the grounds for the decision will be supplied on a decision form, which complies with the EU Visa Code.

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

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. A decision to refuse, annul or revoke a visa and the grounds for the decision will be supplied on a decision form, which complies with the EU Visa Code(Link to another website.).

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 255. 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 270.

In visa matters relating to the free movement of EU citizens and their family members(Link to another website.), 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 other travel document, an insurance document for the duration of your stay and the supporting documents.

You must prove that you have enough funds (EUR 50 per day) to support yourself.  The funds need to be sufficient for your stay and return or continuation trip. 

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

The Schengen category C visa allows its holder to travel in the Schengen Area on a short-term and temporary basis for no more than 90 days over a period of 180 days. A C visa can be obtained in the form of:

  • Single-entry visa
    allows the holder to enter Finland once 
  • Double-entry visa
    allows entry into Finland twice 
  • 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.

The Schengen category A visa is an airport transit visa which allows its holder to travel through the international transit area of an airport during a stopover or a change of flights. The visa does not permit its holder to leave the international transit area of an airport. The nationals of the following countries need an airport transit visa:

  • Afghanistan
  • Bangladesh
  • Eritrea
  • Ethiopia
  • Ghana
  • Iraq
  • Iran
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Nigeria
  • Pakistan
  • Somalia
  • Sri Lanka

The Schengen category D visa allows its holder to travel in the Schengen Area for no more than 90 days over a period of 180 days. Finland grants D visas to certain categories of applicants.

For more information, visit the website of the Finnish Immigration Service(Link to another website.). If your residence permit is valid and your Finnish residence permit card has been lost, stolen or expired, you may apply for a D visa for return to Finland.

For more information, see the section Loss of residence permit card.

Limited territorial validity visas (VLTV) allow their holders to travel in one or more Schengen States that are specifically mentioned in the visa. They do not allow their holders to travel in any other Schengen State. This type of visa may be issued in exceptional cases, such as for humanitarian reasons or for reasons of national interest or international obligations.

See Article 3(5) of the EU Visa Code(Link to another website.) for the categories of persons who are exempt from the requirement to hold an airport transit visa.

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:

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(Link to another website.).

Loss of residence permit card

If your Finnish residence permit card has been lost, stolen or expired, you may apply for a D visa for return to Finland if your residence permit is valid. To apply for a D visa, you must visit the Finnish mission in person and present there proof of the loss of your card.

You must report a lost or stolen card to the authorities of the country where your card was lost or stolen.

Read more about the D visa on the website of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri)(Link to another website.).

Expired residence permit

If your residence permit has expired while you have been abroad, apply for a new residence permit at a Finnish diplomatic or consular mission. A visa cannot be granted for this purpose, because the return requirement set out in the Visa Code is not met. A visa may be granted only in situations referred to in the Visa Code, such as in a serious humanitarian situation – not because the applicant is in a hurry, has lost his or her air ticket or cannot pay the residence permit fee, for example.

If a mission cannot grant a visa under the Visa Code, you must apply for a residence permit before returning to Finland.

Family members of an EU citizen who are covered by EU Free Movement Directive

According to the EU Free Movement Directive(Link to another website.), a family member means:

  1. the spouse;
  2. the partner with whom the EU citizen has contracted a registered partnership, on the basis of the legislation of a Member State, if the legislation of the host Member State treats registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage and in accordance with the conditions laid down in the relevant legislation of the host Member State;
  3. the direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or are dependants and those of the spouse or partner as defined in point (2);
  4. the dependent direct relatives in the ascending line and those of the spouse or partner as defined in point (2).

Family members of an EU citizen who are covered by the EU Free Movement Directive may submit their application for visa either at a visa application centre or at Finland’s mission abroad. No fee is charged for the visa.

Check the website finlandvisa.fi for more detailed country-specific instructions on the documents required for visa applications of family members of an EU citizen who are covered by the Free Movement Directive(Link to another website.). You can check the required visa application documents without logging in on the website finlandvisa.fi.

Seasonal workers' visa

You normally need a residence permit to be allowed to work in Finland. However, for seasonal work of maximum 90 days you do not need a residence permit but a visa or a seasonal work certificate as a citizen of a visa free country.

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. The picking of wild berries takes place by virtue of the Act on the Legal Status of Foreigners Collecting Natural Products (487/2021). The Employment and Economic Development Office of North Ostrobothnia follows the fulfilment of the conditions specified in sections 5 and 7 of the Act, which entered into force on 14 June 2021, applying to operators in the natural products sector.

Wild-berry picking is permitted under a Schengen visa for a maximum of 90 days over a period of 180 days. Visa applications for the purpose of wild-berry picking, submitted by third-country nationals who are subject to the visa requirement, are processed individually in accordance with the Visa Code and based on all available information. These kinds of visa applications must be submitted at a Finnish mission(Link to another website.).

Seasonal work refers to work in agriculture and tourism that is done at certain times of the year.  Examples of seasonal work include work in forestry, plant production and festivals.

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. A visa granted for seasonal work contains the additional information “Kausityö” and its validity period starts on the date when the employment relationship starts.

You can find instructions on how to apply a visa in the paragraph Where and how to apply for a visa.

If the seasonal work exceeds 90 days, apply for a seasonal work permit from the Finnish Immigration Service. (Link to another website.)

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