What documents are needed to enter Finland

The main documents for entering the territory of Finland: a passport with a valid Schengen visa and an international medical insurance policy. If you are traveling to Finland with children or by car, you will need additional documents, which you will also read about in the article.

Map of Finland. Photo: 500px.com

How to get a passport

First of all, to travel abroad you need to get a passport - an identity card outside the country. It is issued by the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, transformed from the Federal Migration Service. To obtain a document, contact the MFC, the local department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or leave an application on the Unified Portal of Public Services. More information about the procedure for issuing a passport can be found on the official website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

How to get a Schengen visa

A Schengen visa, or colloquially "Schengen", gives the right to enter and move around the countries of the Schengen zone, which, in addition to Finland, includes 25 more European states.

For a visa, you need to contact the consular service of the country where you plan to spend most of your trip abroad. That is, if you are going only to Suomi, apply for a Schengen visa to Finland. If, however, through the northern neighbors you will go in transit, for example, on vacation to Spain, it is better to ask for a Spanish visa.

As a rule, for the first time, Russians are given single-entry visas for a specific trip. Later, you can expect to receive a multiple-entry visa, which will allow you to spend up to 90 days abroad in each semester.

The conditions for issuing a Finnish Schengen are among the most humane. Residents of the north-west of Russia receive visas under a simplified scheme at the Consulate General of Finland in St. Petersburg, as well as in representative offices in Murmansk and Petrozavodsk. If you live in another federal district, your documents will be considered at the Finnish Embassy in Moscow.

You can apply directly at the Embassy, ​​at the Finnish visa centers or through accredited travel agencies.

Apply for a visa no earlier than three months and no later than two weeks before the trip. The visa fee will be 35 euros, plus the payment of a service fee if a visa application center is involved. You can read more about the conditions for obtaining a Schengen visa to Finland in the article.

What should be a medical insurance policy

Even at the stage of applying for a visa, you will need a medical insurance policy valid in the Schengen area. You can buy a policy in any accredited insurance company. Many companies make it online and send it by e-mail, you just have to print it.

The main requirements for the policy - insurance coverage must be at least 30 thousand euros, and the number of days in the policy must correspond to the duration of the trip. you can read about other requirements for the policy and calculate its cost.

Traveling to Finland with children

If you are traveling with children, in addition to passports with visas and medical insurance for all family members, take birth certificates of children with you. If the children are not yours, you will need a notarized permission from their parents to export minors.

Driving into Finland

If you are going to Finland by car, be sure to get a "green" card - an international car insurance policy, a variant of our OSAGO. Any insurance company will make a green card for you for a period of 15 days to a year. The rates are the same for everyone.

A driver's license can also be Russian, if you are not going to rent a car abroad.

Don't forget your vehicle registration certificate. And if you drive a car by proxy, then it should contain a clause about the possibility of traveling abroad. These documents are unlikely to be of interest to the Finnish border guards, but you may not be allowed out of Russia without them.

How to confirm the purpose of the trip?

If you are not crossing the Finnish border as part of an organized group, you may be asked to confirm the purpose of the trip. Air tickets, printouts of hotel reservations, correspondence with the owner of the cottage, etc. are suitable for this.