Notice April 2022: Russian flagged or registered yachts are not permitted to enter any ports in Finland. See news item for details.

Border Checks on Recreational Craft: Instructions from Finland Border Guard

• The Finnish Border Guard gives advice on cross-border traffic by phone and email. The service is available in Finnish, Swedish and English on weekdays between 8.00 and 16.00 at +358 295 420 100. Questions can also be sent by email to rajavartiolaitos@raja.fi.
•  For further details on border controls see RAJA (Finnish Border Guard)

With the introduction of the Europe-wide entry and exit system (EES)  (now delayed until 2024), biometric data will need to be recorded on entry and exit for third country travelers. While this negates the need to have passports stamped, it will require a visit to an official office at a port of entry, therefore flexible clearance at marinas may no longer be possible once it is implemented. It is not yet known how rigidly EES will be enforced for pleasure boat users.

ARRIVAL FORMALITIES

Advance Notification:

Foreign yachts coming from a non-Schengen country should attempt to alert the passport control station by radio on VHF Channel 68 (or 16 as standby), or by telephone, approximately one hour before arrival. Although passport control stations work 24 hours, it is recommended that whenever possible boats call there between 0800 and 2000. Any vessel may be intercepted by coastguard vessels when arriving in Finnish waters.

Ports of Entry:

Foreign yachts arriving in Finland from a non-Schengen Area country must keep to the official Customs routes, which are channels (marked on the charts) from the open sea to where there are frontier guard stations. Yachts must report to the nearest coastguard station along the channel, or, if there is no station, to the nearest Port of Entry for Customs and Immigration formalities. No other routes may be taken, nor should anyone land or come aboard before Customs clearance has been completed.

The border inspection of recreational craft is carried out at the coast guard stations of Åland, Haapasaari, Hanko and Helsinki, as well as the Port of Nuijamaa and Santio.

General Process:

• A yacht coming directly from (or departing Finland for) another Schengen country need not report to the passport control point nor is it required that they sail within the official channels. However, such a yacht may still be subject to random checks.
• All vessels entering or leaving Finnish waters must have on board a current crew list signed by the captain.
• When travelling between Finland and a so-called third country that does not apply the Schengen Code (Russia in the Baltic Sea), a recreational craft is always obligated to have a border check made. No-one may be allowed to leave nor any goods unloaded before the completion of the border check and the customs clearance. A customs declaration will have to be filed and immigration clearance undertaken.
• A clearance declaration is issued on completion of formalities and this must be shown to the authorities at the port of departure. Vessels from other Nordic countries are exempt from this requirement.

Notes:

A recreational craft coming from a non-Schengen country may, as an exception, visit a port that is not a border crossing point referred to later. In such a case, the persons on board the vessel must check in with the port authorities in order to receive a permit to visit the port. The port authorities must contact the border authorities and report the arrival of the vessel. The notification of passengers must be made by providing the port authorities with a list of the persons on board the vessel (crew and passenger list). The authorities must be provided with the list no later than upon entry into the port.

A coast guard station acting as a border crossing point is open from 08:00 to 22:00 hours.

In traffic between Åland and mainland Finland, prior notification must be made before leaving the port to the Customs office closest to the place of departure.

See https://raja.fi/en/guidelines-for-boaters-at-border-crossings for more details.

Last updated:  February 2022

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