Many expats travel to their home countries for the Holidays. How do the COVID-19 restrictions and Brexit affect traveling? Here are answers to some common questions.
Restrictions on entry
- Travel restrictions in other countries should be checked from the authorities of the destination country.
- Finnish border authorities allow employees living in Finland to return to Finland. Detailed instructions: The Finnish Border Guard
- However, when traveling to Finland, the airline may require a certificate of residence in Finland for the passenger to board the aircraft. Therefore, we recommend that the passengers have with them (in addition to the passport):
- EU citizens: Extract from the Population Information System in English, and EU registration certificate from the Finnish Immigration Service
- UK citizens: Certification for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement, or certificate of pending application
- UK citizens who have lived and registered in Finland before 1.10.2020 and have not yet applied for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement can present the same documents as EU citizens
- Citizens of other countries: Residence permit card
- In addition, it’s good to have your employment contract with you.
Quarantine recommendations in Finland
- Employees arriving to Finland from abroad (from most countries) have two options:
- 10 days voluntary quarantine
- Shortening of quarantine with two coronavirus tests with negative results.
- It is recommended to take the first test in the country of origin, no more than 72 hours before the trip.
- The second test should be taken no earlier than 72 hours after arrival in Finland.
- More information: THL (Finnish institute for health and welfare)
The effects of Brexit
- UK citizens should check the validity of their passports from British authorities. More information on travel from 1.1.2021 can be found here: gov.uk/visit-europe-1-january-2021
Other recommendations
- When boarding an aircraft, make sure you have the right type of face mask (many airlines don’t accept face shields, masks with a valve, or scarves.)
- In this blog post, you can find the updated information on travel restrictions, quarantine recommendations and other instructions in Finland.
- Update 23 December: All passenger air services from Great Britain to Finland are suspended for two weeks from 21 December 2020.
