Finland Finland — entry & visa requirements

Visa-exempt for many nationalities; Schengen visa for others

Max stay: 90 days in any 180-day period (authority block: 90–100 days depending on passport)

Short answer

Nationals of visa-exempt countries can visit Finland without a visa; everyone else needs a Schengen short-stay visa, applied for in person at a Finnish mission or Visa Application Centre up to six months ahead. Short visits are capped at 90 days in any 180-day period, with a passport valid three months beyond departure and travel insurance of at least EUR 30,000. Processing normally takes 15 days, and fees are paid on submission — the archived fee table lists EUR 35 for citizens of eleven visa-facilitation countries.

Max stay

90 days in any 180-day period; authority block gives 90–100 days depending on passport[1]

Application in person

Yes — all visa applications are submitted in person with biometrics[1]

Earliest you can apply

6 months before the intended visit[1]

Visa fee

EUR 35 for citizens of the listed visa-facilitation countries; standard fee not stated[5]

General information

The archived pages set out the framework rather than a single rule: Schengen states may let one country represent another in visa matters, and the Schengen states jointly decide which nationalities need a visa while each state decides which travel documents it accepts. They also list the countries with visa facilitation agreements and explain when a granted visa can be annulled or revoked.

A Schengen state can represent Finland in visa matters, but residence permit applications must always be lodged at a Finnish mission.[3]
Finland has visa facilitation agreements with Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine.[3]
A granted visa is annulled if the conditions for issuing it were not met at the time, and revoked if those conditions no longer apply.[1]
The Schengen states jointly decide which citizens must present a visa, while each state separately decides which passports and travel documents it accepts on entry.[1][4]
Visa applications are made through Finland's official online portal finlandvisa.fi and the Finnish missions or Visa Application Centres.[1]

Not included in this section: Left out the D-visa eligibility list and residence-permit processing notes, which concern permit holders rather than visitors.

Who can enter visa-free

Citizens of visa-exempt countries may visit Finland without a visa, and the Schengen short-stay rules apply to them. Thirteen non-EU countries also have visa facilitation agreements that simplify short-stay visas, but the agreement with Russia is suspended and part of the Belarus agreement is suspended.

Citizens of countries exempt from the visa requirement do not need a visa for a short visit, including a D visa.[2]
Visa facilitation agreements cover Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine, easing visas for stays of no more than 90 days in a 180-day period.[3]
The EU suspended its visa facilitation agreement with Russia from 12 September 2022.[3]
Part of the EU-Belarus facilitation agreement has been suspended since November 2021, applying to official delegations and to government, parliamentary, constitutional and supreme court members travelling on official duty.[3]
From 6 March 2026, Georgian holders of diplomatic and service passports need a visa to enter Finland, under a rule in force for 12 months.[3]

Not included in this section: Left out residence-permit and single-entry facilitation details for categories that do not concern ordinary visitors.

How long you can stay

A Schengen visa is an entry permit for a short, temporary visit of less than 90 days in any 180-day period, and visa-free visitors have the same 90-day ceiling. The authority block states 90 days, or 90–100 days depending on the passport, and Our official archive does not explain the higher figure.

A Schengen visa is an entry permit for a short, temporary visit of less than 90 days in any 180-day period.[1]
If you do not need a visa, you can stay in Finland or elsewhere in the Schengen area for 90 days in any 180-day period.[1]
Visa facilitation agreements only facilitate short stays of no longer than 90 days within a 180-day period.[3]
A limited territorial validity visa lets you travel only in the Schengen states named on it and is issued in exceptional cases such as humanitarian reasons, national interest or international obligations.[1]

Not included in this section: Left out the D-visa and residence-permit rules covering stays beyond 90 days, as these apply to permit holders.

How to apply

If Finland is your main destination, you lodge the application in person at the Visa Application Centre indicated by a Finnish mission, at a Finnish mission, or at a Schengen mission representing Finland, and your biometrics are taken at the same time. You can apply up to six months before travel, and processing normally takes 15 days.

Apply in person at the Visa Application Centre named by a Finnish mission, at a Finnish mission, or at a Schengen mission representing Finland, and give your biometrics then.[1]
Fingerprints are not taken again if you gave them in connection with a visa application less than 59 months ago.[1]
You may submit an application no more than six months before the intended visit, and processing normally takes 15 days, longer if closer examination is needed.[1]
Complete the form online at finlandvisa.fi or fill in a PDF Schengen application form by hand or on a computer, then sign it.[1][6]
Within the EU, Schengen visa applications can only be lodged at the Finnish embassies in Berlin, Dublin, Madrid, Nicosia, Sofia and Stockholm; honorary consuls cannot grant visas.[1]

Not included in this section: Left out seasonal-work and wild-berry-picking application routes, which are work arrangements rather than visitor travel, and the residence-permit process.

Documents and evidence

Besides the completed form, applicants must show a passport meeting the Schengen validity rules and travel insurance covering the Schengen area. The mission may also ask for evidence of the purpose, conditions and length of the visit, and a refusal would be issued on a decision form with its grounds.

Your passport must be valid for at least three months after the end of your intended travel and must have been issued no more than ten years ago.[1]
Travel insurance must be valid for the whole visa period, cover the entire Schengen area and at least EUR 30,000, including sudden illness, accident, repatriation and death.[1]
The mission may request documents showing the purpose, conditions and duration of the visit, such as tickets, a hotel confirmation or an invitation letter.[1]
An invitation letter is free-form and states the host's contact details and the invited person's details.[1]
A refusal and its grounds are supplied on a decision form under the EU Visa Code; grounds include no valid travel document, unjustified purpose of stay, insufficient means of subsistence, doubt that you will leave before the visa expires, an entry ban or a risk to public order and security.[1]

Not included in this section: Left out fee rows for unrelated consular services and the list of non-English application-form languages.

Fees

A visa fee is charged when the application is submitted, and applying at a Visa Application Centre adds a separate service fee. The archived fee table gives EUR 35 for citizens of eleven visa-facilitation countries; the standard fee for other nationalities is Not stated in our archive.

A visa fee is charged for processing the application, an extra service fee applies at Visa Application Centres, and all fees must be paid in full on submission.[1]
The archived fee table lists EUR 35 for citizens of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine.[5][3]
A visa can be granted free of charge after major disasters or similar situations for humanitarian reasons, for invited groups of schoolchildren or under-18s at cultural or sports events, and for diplomatic or service passport holders and their family members when it matters for relations with Finland.[1]
No visa fee is charged for family members of an EU citizen, who may lodge the application at a Visa Application Centre or a Finnish mission abroad.[1]
The fee that applies to nationalities outside the visa-facilitation list is Not stated in our archive.[5]

Not included in this section: Left out fee table rows for consular services unrelated to visitor visas, such as document legalisation, alien's passports, seafarer cards and identity cards.

Official downloads

7 documents · grouped by how they are used7 files as ZIP ≈2.9 MB

These files are the Schengen visa application forms in several language versions plus one supporting document from the same set. For a visitor visa you only need the application form itself, completed and signed.

PDF

32495490 UM Viisumilomake Schengen taytettava EN 2024

The four-page Schengen visa application form; complete and sign it and submit it with your application.

RequiredApplication form4 pp274 KBen32495490_UM_Viisumilomake_Schengen_taytettava_EN_2024.pdf

[6]
PDF

32495490 UM Viisumilomake Schengen taytettava ES 2024

A language variant of the same four-page Schengen application form; use it if you prefer that version.

OptionalApplication form4 pp264 KBen32495490_UM_Viisumilomake_Schengen_taytettava_ES_2024.pdf

[7]
PDF

32495490 UM Viisumilomake Schengen taytettava FI 2024

A language variant of the same four-page Schengen application form; use it if you prefer that version.

OptionalApplication form4 pp354 KBen32495490_UM_Viisumilomake_Schengen_taytettava_FI_2024.pdf

[8]
PDF

32495490 UM Viisumilomake Schengen taytettava FR 2024

A language variant of the same four-page Schengen application form; use it if you prefer that version.

OptionalApplication form4 pp270 KBen32495490_UM_Viisumilomake_Schengen_taytettava_FR_2024.pdf

[9]
PDF

32495490 UM Viisumilomake Schengen taytettava RU 2024

A language variant of the Schengen application form; the archived description places it with long-stay, work and study material, so it is normally not needed for a visit.

BackgroundVisa information4 pp290 KBru32495490_UM_Viisumilomake_Schengen_taytettava_RU_2024.pdf

[10]
PDF

32495490 UM Viisumilomake Schengen taytettava SV 2024

A language variant of the Schengen application form; the archived description places it with long-stay, work and study material, so it is normally not needed for a visit.

BackgroundOther4 pp265 KBen32495490_UM_Viisumilomake_Schengen_taytettava_SV_2024.pdf

[11]
PDF

yll%C3%A4pitositoumus eng

A six-page document from the same set; the archived description puts it with long-stay and permit material, so it is normally not needed for a visitor visa.

BackgroundVisa information6 pp1287 KBenyll%C3%A4pitositoumus_eng.pdf

[12]

Official sources

39 citations · 6 unique pages · 1 official domains

All archived official sources come from Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs (um.fi) and cover visa exemption, documents, fees, process and border rules reasonably well, but there is no material for an FAQ tab and the standard visa fee is not given.

Numbers match the markers in the text above; click a marker to jump here. Groups are collapsed by domain - click a heading to expand. A source cited more than once keeps a single number.

um.fi6 URLs · cited 39 times

Popularity rank #50 (score 17.37). This page was written by an AI from the official material listed above and adds no facts from outside it; visa rules change, so always confirm on the official portal before you apply.