The Consulate General of Finland in St. Petersburg will be closed from October 01 .jpg” alt=”Finland retained and tightened restrictions for Russians” />
The Finnish government has extended restrictions for Russian citizens indefinitely. The ban, as before, applies to non-essential travel, primarily for tourism purposes, transit through Finland to other Schengen countries, as well as the issuance of visas, except on special grounds.
The State Council of the country (the official name of the government in Finland) made the following decisions in addition to the current and indefinitely extended restrictions on Russian citizens:
– business trips will be allowed directly and exclusively to Finland itself, but not in transit through it to other states. In addition, business travelers will have to justify the need for their personal presence in Finland;
– property owners who are now allowed into their own apartments and houses located in Finland exclusively for construction or repair work will also have to provide evidence that it is impossible to carry out these works without them;
– Applicants who intend to take entrance exams to worker and public schools/colleges will be denied entry. As for those already enrolled in such institutions, there is no clarity.
Those who are going to enroll in degree programs in Finland will still be let through. As well as exchange students.
The new restrictions will come into effect on July 10, 2023 until further notice.
As one of the countermeasures after the “confrontational action by Helsinki”.
In addition, Russia has declared nine Finnish diplomats persona non grata and is expelling them from the country.
Last month, Finland sent home nine employees of the Russian embassy.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö called the measures announced by Russia today a “tough and asymmetric response” and threatened to close the Russian Consulate General in the city of Turku.