The Finnish visa is popular among Russians, because it is much easier to get it in other European Schengen countries, especially in the border St. Petersburg.
On the territory of Russia, the Finnish Schengen visa is done at the Finnish Embassy in Moscow, at the Consulate General in St. Petersburg, as well as at the consulates in Murmansk and Petrozavodsk.
The Consulate General serves only residents of the Northwestern Federal District, except for the Kaliningrad region. Consulates in Murmansk and Petrozavodsk serve only residents of their region.
If you live in other regions, you can apply through the embassy in Moscow, the regional visa center or an accredited travel agency.
For citizens of other countries, when registering in Russia, you will need to provide a justification for the legal stay on the territory of the Russian Federation (residence permit, registration, work permit, student ID).
Also, each applicant will have to sign a consent to the processing of personal data. If the Schengen visa to Finland is done through a third party, you must prepare this form in advance with your signature. For children, the signature is put by a legal representative.
In some cases, the consulate, at its discretion, may require an interview or the provision of additional documents to clarify the purpose of the trip.
Insurance, photocopies, photos can be made directly at the visa center. But if you want to save money, it is better to do them in advance, as the prices on the spot are several times higher.
Photo Requirements
- 35*45mm.
- The photograph must not be older than 6 months.
- The size of the face from the chin to the top of the head is 25-35 mm.
- In total, the face should occupy about 70% of the entire area, the upper part of the shoulders is visible.
- The photo must be in color, taken on a light background without retouching, with natural colors.
Passing Biometrics
Starting from September 2015, once every 5 years, all applicants for a Schengen visa are required to undergo a procedure for submitting biometric data. Biometrics is the taking of fingerprints and photographing with special equipment to obtain a biometric picture. That is why personal presence is necessary. The data is stored in a single database for 59 months, so you do not need to submit it every time you get a visa.
If the applicant for some reason cannot appear in person, then for a fee (about 150 euros) you can order mobile biometrics at home or at the place of work.
The following are exempted from submitting biometric data:
- children under 12;
- disabled or physically impossible to take fingerprints;
- applicants who have already submitted biometric data earlier within the last 5 years.
Cost and terms of registration
To Finland will depend on the place where you will draw up the documents. It will be cheaper to apply directly at the consulate, but if you want to make everything easier, faster and without queues, contact the visa center. There, you will be charged an additional service fee for processing documents.
Payment occurs when submitting documents at the cash desk of the EC or at the bank if you submit documents to the consulate. Payment is made in rubles at the exchange rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
In case of refusal, fees are not refundable.
How much is a Finnish visa? On average, the processing time takes 10-12 days, regardless of where you applied. During the season, this figure may increase due to the large influx of tourists, for example, on New Year's Eve.
If you need a visa urgently, then you need to pay a double consular fee. In this case, the terms of production of documents will be no more than 3 working days. This service is available only for citizens of the Russian Federation.
If you apply to the Moscow consulate and permanently reside at a distance of more than 500 km from Moscow, then the terms for obtaining a Finnish visa can be reduced to 3 days, upon presentation of a passport with a residence permit.
You can not submit documents earlier than 3 months before the trip.
A visa is issued with a validity period of up to 1 year, sometimes for active travelers it is issued for 2 years. If you are traveling for the first time, you will most likely receive a single-entry visa with the length of stay you requested in the application form. In the future, you may be issued two-entry or multiple visas. If you have previously received a Finnish Schengen, then you should provide copies of them for a more loyal attitude.
For short-term visas, regardless of their validity period, a limit is set for the stay of foreign citizens in the Schengen area. It is a maximum of 90 days for the last six months. To remove the limit, you must obtain a residence permit.
Failure cases
First of all, it is worth understanding that you do not need to lie to the employees of the border service or the consulate, all the data must be reliable.
For example, there were cases when a visa was canceled right at the border. When crossing the Finnish border, customs officers ask questions about the purpose and place of the trip. If you do not have explicit confirmation, such as a hotel reservation, then the car and personal belongings may be searched. If they find any tickets or hotel reservations in other countries, after checking these data with your application form, the visa will be canceled and you will be punished in the form of quarantine for a period of 3 months to several years.
A refusal of a Finnish visa can be received for a variety of reasons, but in reality such cases rarely happen.
For example, you may be denied entry due to violation of the terms of stay, if the purpose of the trip is not clear, if you have violated the law during past travels.
Also, a refusal can be obtained if the main time is spent in another Schengen state. If you violate this rule for the first time, then you may be given a warning in your passport, but the next time they may refuse. In any case, there is no need to take risks.
Why are visa rolled back?
To roll back a Finnish visa means to visit Finland in order to affix a stamp and then visit other Schengen countries on it.
After you have rolled back your visa, you can fly to any other Schengen country. Now the number of days of stay is not considered, since it is difficult to track them, but they are counted by the number of entries. Transit trips do not count.
How to roll back a visa from St. Petersburg to Lappeenranta in 1 day
That is, if you visited Italy 3 times, then you will need to enter Finland at least 4 times, otherwise you may be refused later. For this, there are even special one-day bus tours from St. Petersburg.
To avoid problems, follow these simple rules:
- If you know in which state you will be staying most of the time, do the registration at its representative office.
- If you cannot determine your main country of residence, apply to the first country of entry into the Schengen area. It should be indicated in the application.
Many people drive without problems from St. Petersburg on a Finnish visa to Spain, Italy, Germany and other countries. But if you fly by plane, then the fact of crossing the border will be counted only at the airport upon arrival.
