Because Norway, like Finland , is part of the Schengen area, anyone can enter Finland through Norway without having to go through passport control. This makes the entry of Russian tourists completely legal, and the Finnish authorities are powerless to do anything.
According to the Finnish broadcaster Yle, every day at the border between Finland and Norway there are lines of cars in which Russian citizens arrive.
Because they enter Europe through the border crossing point Storskog in Norway , Finnish border guards do not check their passports and do not require a visa — there are no internal border controls between Norway and Finland.
The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on this situation and stated that stores in the country should not sell goods to Russians if it is understood that they will export products and goods subject to sanctions to Russia.
A number of Finnish sellers said that they continue to sell goods to Russian customers, others have stopped issuing TAX FREE checks.
As for the goods that Russians are allowed to purchase in Finland, they can buy whatever they want, because the store does not have the right to require a passport to establish citizenship. The passport will appear only when the buyer wants to return the VAT. That's when you need a passport, and you may be denied the sale of certain goods.
The opinion of Finnish officials is as follows: “Our task, of course, is to control the export of products from Finland. If the goods enter Russia via Norway, the responsibility for compliance with the rules lies with the Norwegian customs. We really can't do anything about it.
Finland officially closed its borders to Russians on September 29, 2022. Since then, Russian citizens have been banned from entering Finland for tourism purposes.