Visas issued by Finnish missions in 2019 post 14% rise

Finland processed a total of 895,679 visa applications in 2019 which is about 14 per cent more than the number of visas processed in 2018 (768,978), said an official press release.

Furthermore, 5,854 visa applications to Finland were processed by the foreign missions of other Schengen countries representing Finland.

By far, the highest number of visas to Finland was applied for in Russia. In 2019, Russians submitted 786,407 visa applications, only 0.7 per cent of which were refused on an average.

The number of tourist visas issued in China and the United Arab Emirates was also on the rise.

People in Russia continue to be interested in travelling to do shopping in Finland. The processing of applications remained on schedule during the busy Christmas season. This was largely due to the fact that many tourists had submitted their applications earlier, at the end of the summer.

In Russia, St Petersburg remained the busiest place for visa applications, with 644,844 applications received. This was 19 per cent more than that in the previous year.

The Finnish embassy in Moscow was the second busiest place with 75,716 visa applications. The year-on-year increase was four per cent.

Petrozavodsk came third with 39,849 applications (23 per cent increase) followed by Murmansk with 25,998 applications (15 per cent increase). The Petrozavodsk Office of the Consulate General of Finland in St Petersburg handles visa matters in the Republic of Karelia, representing also Sweden and the Netherlands. The Murmansk Office represents Iceland in visa matters.

In Beijing, the number of visa applications to Finland increased by 15 per cent and in Shanghai slightly more, by 18 per cent.

In the United Arab Emirates, the growth of visa applications was 45 per cent compared with the corresponding figures in 2018.

The number of visas issued in Kiev in 2019 decreased by 43 per cent mainly because the majority of Ukrainians have biometric passports with visa-free travel to the Schengen area.

In the United States, the reception of visa applications to Finland was outsourced in 2019.

Visa applications there are now received in six different cities. Meanwhile, in Russia, with 17 new visa application centres being opened, the number of visa centres there has increased to 40.