Coronavirus makes entering Finland more restricted

The government on Thursday adopted a decision on restrictions on entry into the country in the wake of the recent rising trend in the number of coronavirus infections. The decision will come into force on 28 September, said an official press release.

Restrictions on entry will be reintroduced for traffic between Finland and Estonia, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Slovakia, and Sweden, as well as for the residents of Canada, Georgia, and Tunisia who are travelling from their home country to Finland.

Restrictions, however, will be lifted for inbound traffic from San Marino, while day-to-day travel will still be permitted for local communities in Finland's land border areas with Sweden and Norway.

In addition, from 28 September, Monday, people will be able to come to work in Finland from Sweden and Estonia without a 14-day self-isolation period.

Leisure boating from the EU and Schengen countries to Finland will not be restricted either.

From now on, the list of restricted and permitted countries will be reviewed on a weekly basis and updated as necessary.

Changes in entry restrictions will be made based on an expert assessment of data every Monday by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

The limit value of 25 new cases per 100,000 persons in the previous 14 days will apply to the EU and Schengen countries and the countries on the Green List defined by the Council of the European Union. Any changes will be decided on at the government session held on Thursdays.

Internal border traffic refers to traffic between Finland and other Schengen countries. Starting from 28 September, entry into Finland from Cyprus, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Poland, San Marino, and the Vatican will not be restricted.

As a result of the government’s decision, restrictions on internal border traffic will be in force from 28 September for traffic between Finland and Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, apart from certain exceptions.

At the internal borders, restrictions on entry allow only return traffic to Finland, transit traffic, work-related travel and travel for other essential reasons, apart from the above-mentioned exceptions. A 14-day period of self-isolation is recommended for travellers arriving in Finland. Starting from 1 October, travellers may, at their discretion, shorten their period of self-isolation by taking two voluntary COVID-19 tests.

External border traffic refers to traffic between Finland and non-Schengen countries. Starting from 28 September, restrictions on external border traffic will be lifted for traffic arriving in Finland from Cyprus, San Marino and the Vatican, and for traffic between Finland and Australia, Japan, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, New Zealand, and Uruguay.

People may also come to Finland from Andorra, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ireland, Monaco, Romania and the United Kingdom. A 14-day period of self-isolation is recommended for travellers arriving in Finland from those countries for work or any other essential reason.

Finland will introduce new travel-related health security measures from 1 October.