On Monday 24 August, the travel restrictions approved a week ago for 10 countries will take effect.
Based on the current epidemiological assessment, restrictions on entry into the country will be reinstated for traffic between Finland and Iceland, Greece, Malta, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Cyprus and San Marino.
In addition, the restrictions will apply to Japanese residents on flights arriving in Finland from Japan.
The decision to reestablish border controls for the aforementioned countries was adopted by the government in its meeting on 20 August.
Internal (within the Schengen area) border control with Iceland, Greece, Malta, Germany, Norway and Denmark will be restored. As has been the case until now, return traffic to Finland, commuting and other essential traffic will be permitted across the Schengen borders.
Local border communities
Traffic across border crossing points at the land borders with Sweden and Norway will be facilitated between local border communities, even though Sweden and Norway exceed the limit values set by the Government for the incidence of the disease (8 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants during the previous 14 days).
"Although the European Commission has emphasised the equal treatment of Member States in the epidemic, an exception can be made with regard to local border communities," the government said in a press release.
Local border communities are areas located on both sides of the border where people naturally cross the border on a daily or weekly basis while going about their daily lives. As a rule, this involves going to shops, accessing services and running other errands. In this case, self-isolation is not required.
This concession for local border communities does not apply to holidays in another country, and more extensive travel in the territory of another country is not permitted.
Persons crossing the border must have ordinary travel documents and be able to prove their identity. If necessary, travellers must be able to demonstrate that they reside in the territory of the border community.
The 14-day incidence rate in Italy, Lithuania, Slovakia and Estonia exceeds the limit value 8 but is currently below 10. Internal border control will therefore not be reinstated for traffic between Finland and these countries.
External border traffic
Restrictions on external (with non-Schengen countries) border traffic will be also reinstated on Monday 24 August for traffic into Finland from Ireland, Cyprus and San Marino, as well as to Japanese residents on flights arriving in Finland from Japan. Return traffic to Finland, transit traffic at Helsinki Airport and other essential traffic will be allowed at the external borders.
Under section 9 of the Constitution of Finland, Finnish citizens always have the right to return to Finland, and everyone has the right to leave Finland if they so wish, provided that there is no legal impediment to this.
However, the Government still recommends avoiding unnecessary travel to other countries than those for which the restrictions on entry have been lifted.
Self-isolation is recommended for all those arriving in Finland who come from countries that are still subject to internal or external border control. According to the guidelines of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, it is not recommended to go to a workplace, day care centre or school during the 14-day period of self-isolation.
Essential travel is possible. In this case, it is recommended to wear a face covering or a face mask. Travellers arriving in the country will be given instructions on how to proceed.
At present, some of the passengers arriving in the country are required to get tested for coronavirus. During the flight, travellers arriving in Finland from so-called high-risk countries will be informed of the pending measures in Finland.
