Visa processing by Finnish missions falls 83% in 2020

The Finnish missions abroad processed a total of 152,543 applications for a Schengen visa in 2020, which was 83% fewer than that in 2019 (895,781), said the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a press release on Wednesday.

The number of visa applications decreased due to the travel restrictions imposed by the Schengen countries following the coronavirus outbreak.

Finland, like the other Schengen countries, suspended the reception of regular visa applications, including tourist visas, on 19 March 2020.

Since that date, visa applications had been accepted only for certain exceptional categories identified jointly within the EU and by the Finnish government, observing Finland’s national entry restrictions.

Constraints on all activities, including the provision of entry services in both Finnish missions abroad and through the reception services of external service providers, have moreover been imposed by the local authorities, depending on each country’s specific disease situation.

The great majority of visa applications for Finland and a significant number of residence permit applications are normally received by an external service provider.

These exceptional circumstances are ongoing.

Like in the past, in 2020, by far the largest number of applications received by Finland was made by Russian nationals. While in 2019 Russians submitted 786,407 visa applications, the number fell significantly in 2020, being a mere 116,818.

There was similarly a significant decrease in the number of visa applications submitted in China, a country that had shown a growing interest in travel to Finland before the pandemic.

Visa applications received from Beijing decreased by 81% and those submitted in Shanghai fell by 77% in 2020 as compared to that in the previous year.