Border checks

The Finnish Border Guard conducts border checks on border crossing traffic at the external borders of the Schengen area. Border checks refer to checks performed for the purpose of ensuring that persons, including their means of transport and the objects in their possession, may legally enter or leave the country in compliance with the Schengen Border Code and national legislation. Border checks are carried out at the border crossing points or, if there are grounds for doing so, on a vehicle used for public transportation or in some other place.

All persons crossing the external borders of the Schengen area are subject to border checks. No border checks are conducted on the internal border traffic, except when internal border control is temporarily reintroduced. 

Biggest growth at Helsinki Airport and at airports in Lapland

Approximately 5.4 million persons were subject to border checks in external border traffic. The number of border checks in air traffic increased moderately from the previous year. At Helsinki Airport, some 3.5 million border checks were conducted. About 33% of the external border checks at Helsinki were carried out with the support of the automated border check system. Growth was also seen at airports in Lapland, where the number of external border checks in seasonal traffic was record high at some 0.3 million. At ports, the number of external border checks remained very low. In waterborne traffic, a total of some 10,000 border checks were conducted in the external border traffic. The Finnish Border Guard contributed to the piloting of the DTC (Digital Travel Credential), led by the EU Commission, to prevent border checks from being congested.

To support the security arrangements during a top meeting held in Helsinki in July 2023, and to implement the necessary measures to ensure public order and internal safety during the visit, internal border control was reintroduced for the period of 8–15 July 2023. Internal border control concerned selected targets identified on the basis of threat and risk assessments.

There was no growth in the eastern border traffic as the war in Ukraine continued. Approximately 1.5 million passengers travelled across the border between Finland and Russia. Vaalimaa was the busiest border crossing point on the eastern border. Eastern border traffic declined especially because of the restrictions on the entry of Russian nationals that started in September 2022 and continued throughout 2023 to safeguard Finland's international relations. In July 2023, the Government renewed its earlier resolution to restrict, until further notice, any non-necessary travel of Russian nationals to Finland or via Finland to other Schengen area states. At the same time, the restrictions concerning business travellers, property owners and students were tightened.

Border traffic at airports

 

Border crossing points were closed on the eastern border

Instrumentalised illegal migration on Finland’s eastern border grew significantly in late 2023. The severe disturbance affecting border security had a significant impact on the activities of the border crossing points and normal border crossing traffic. During November-December, border crossing points on the eastern border were closed and opened several times in accordance with Government resolutions. At the same time, the applications for international protection were, for the first time, handled in a centralised manner at one or two border crossing points, or only at those border crossing points for air and waterborne traffic that were open. The instrumentalised migration, however, continued without delay and intensely as soon as Finland opened some of its border crossing points, and moved on to those border crossing points to which the applications for international protection were centralised. The phenomenon did not cease until all border crossing points for road traffic on the eastern border were closed on 15 December 2023. The Vaalimaa border crossing point for rail traffic remained open, but only for the transportation of goods.

In 2023, the Finnish Border Guard received a total of 1,655 applications for temporary protection (5,085 in 2022) and 1,983 asylum applications (807 in 2022). On the external borders, the Finnish Border Guard turned back or refused entry for 2,168 persons (4,192 in 2022). The number of received asylum applications increased significantly because of the phenomenon of instrumentalised illegal migration, whereas cases of entry refusal or turning back reduced, due to the restrictions concerning the entry to the country.

Traffic on the Finnish-Russian border