Check which travel documents you need:

 

Travel documents for Finnish citizens

Passport

Finnish citizens usually need to carry a passport when they leave Finland. 

The authorities will not usually check your travel documents when you travel between Schengen Area countries. However, you must always carry a travel document that is accepted in each member country – in other words, a passport or an ID card of the new type. 

Please note, however, that transport companies may check your identity from your travel document if they are providing Schengen internal traffic. Schengen internal traffic means transport between Schengen countries. 

The following countries belong to the Schengen Area: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

For further information on passports and how passports are granted, see the police website.

ID card

If you are a Finnish citizen, you can use a photo ID card or electronic ID card issued by the police as a travel document instead of a passport when you travel from Finland to the following countries: 

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland.

Note that you can only use your ID card as a travel document if the card includes a travel entitlement. A driver’s licence is not an ID card. For further information on ID cards suitable for use as travel documents, see the police website.

You can travel to the Nordic countries without a passport or ID card. 

For further information on travelling to the United Kingdom, see the Ministry for Foreign Affairs website.

 

Travel documents for citizens of Nordic countries

Citizens of the Nordic countries – Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland – have a passport exemption. This means that citizens of the Nordic countries can move around and stay in the Nordic countries without travel documents. 

If you are a citizen of a Nordic country and you travel without a passport or ID card, you must be able to prove your identity by other means.

Refer to the guidelines provided by entities such as airlines and other transport providers to check which documents your transport providers accept as proof of identity.

When you travel to the Nordic countries from outside the Nordic countries or when you travel outside the Nordic countries, you must have a passport or other acceptable travel document with you. 

 

Travel documents for citizens of EU and Schengen Area countries

When you arrive in Finland from another Schengen Area country or depart for another Schengen Area country, the authorities do not usually check your travel document. However, you must keep a valid travel document with you – either a passport or ID card.

The following countries belong to the Schengen Area:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

 

Citizens of other countries

If you are a third country national, you need a passport when you come to Finland. All you need is a passport if you are a citizen of a visa-free country. In other cases, you will need a visa or residence permit as well as a passport. 

Your travel document must be valid for at least three months after the date when you plan to leave Finland or the Schengen Area. Your passport must have been issued within the last ten years. However, these time limits do not apply if you have a residence permit in Finland. In this case, it is enough if your passport and residence permit are valid.

For further information about visas, see the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

For further information about residence permits, see the website of the Finnish Immigration Service.