On reflection, you decided not to rush anywhere and learn in practice how a visa to Finland is issued on your own in 2017. Let others overpay travel agencies: we will slowly but surely make the coveted Schengen with our own hands! Moreover, the number of refusals for Finnish visas in Russia is small.
To begin with, we will find out where it is possible to receive it yourself, where you will have to apply. There are visa centers of Finland in both capitals, as well as in Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Vladivostok, Petrozavodsk, Murmansk, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk.
In addition to visa centers, you can also use the services of consular departments.
Firstly, you can contact the Embassy of Finland in Moscow, most of the population of our country territorially belongs to it. The Consulate General in St. Petersburg will serve only residents of the North-Western District, and Petrozavodsk and Murmansk have their own consular departments for residents of the respective regions.
How to apply for a visa to Finland, at the consular departments or visa centers? The services of the latter cost money, so in addition to the visa fee, customers will also have to pay a service fee. But you will not get to the Consulate without an appointment.
Also, customers of visa centers can count on additional services. For example, your documents will be checked for completeness, they will help you fill out a questionnaire, take a picture and tell you which company you can buy medical insurance from. It is also possible to track the readiness of your passport through a special service on the website of the visa center.
On the other hand, individual applicants often complain about the low competence of the employees of the visa centers, recommending that they apply directly to the Finnish consulates. Most likely, in the end you will contact the organization that will be closer to home.
We do not consider travel companies and other intermediaries, since we are set up to Finland on our own. 
Documents are important
Since we most likely want to go to Finland on vacation, we will also collect documents for a tourist (guest) visa. According to the Schengen classification, this is a category C visa, and to obtain it you need a standard package of papers, because the requirements in the Schengen countries are approximately the same. 
Applying for a visa to Finland on your own will require the following documents:
All documents must be typed on a computer, manuscripts are not accepted. Instead of originals, only copies are submitted. English, Russian and Finnish languages are allowed.
Procedure
There is no need to rush and carry documents for a visa long before the vacation. Earlier than three months before the trip, no one will accept them anyway. But delaying until the last moment is also wrong. You should have at least two or three weeks left.
Usually it is issued independently within one to two weeks, the exact period depends on the workload of employees. But everything happens quickly only if all your documents are in order.
Who carries the documents
For you, documents can be handed over by your next of kin - spouses, children, parents, but only if there are original documents confirming kinship. It will not work to issue a power of attorney for another person and send him with a package to the visa center.
Payment
An ordinary Finnish visa, made independently, for citizens of the Russian Federation in 2017 costs 35 euros. Add to this amount a service fee of 25 euros if you are applying through the visa center. The entire amount is paid on the day of submission of documents at the box office, in rubles at the rate of the consulate. 
You do not need to pay a visa fee for children under six years of age and family members of EU citizens. A service charge applies to everyone. If your visa is denied, regardless of the reason for the refusal, the money will not be returned to you.
If you apply for a visa at the Embassy, you need to pay the visa fee through Nordea Bank.
If you have an emergency and need a visa as soon as possible, you can apply for an expedited review of your case.
But documentary evidence of your haste will be required, and you will have to pay a visa fee in double the amount. This means that you will pay all 70 euros for express services.
Readiness check
Another advantage in favor of visa centers is that through a special service on the center’s website, you can monitor the readiness of your passport. To do this, go to the page, and in the requested field enter the number indicated on the check for paying the consular fee, and your last name or date of birth. 
If you have repeatedly received Finnish visas in the past, and all your trips went without complaints from law enforcement agencies, you have every chance to get a multi-visa to Finland on your own. A clean passport usually contains a visa for a period confirmed by hotel reservations and medical insurance.
Pick up documents
You can pick up ready-made documents if you have a Russian internal passport and an agreement with a check for payment of visa services. This can be done for you by the same persons who submitted the documents - close relatives, if they have documents confirming family ties, as well as any person with a power of attorney.
As soon as you receive your passport, immediately check the correctness of your data indicated in the visa. After all, if not you, but the border guards notice an accidental mistake, you will not be able to get into Finland.
