This blog is for people who are residents of a non-European country like me or currently living in a non-European country. As you can imagine, yes, you have to apply for a visa to visit Finland.
After moving to Finland, I wanted to bring my parents to visit Finland for about a month. I did all the research for issuing their visas. Today I will share this with you so that you can easily visit Finland or bring your parents to Finland to give them a lifetime experience.
I will show you a step-by-step process for visa processing for traveling to Finland. Please keep in mind that this is strictly for tourists who will not stay in Finland for more than 90 days. If you are coming for studies or work in Finland, you will have to go through a different process. We will cover:
- What kind of visa do you need?
- Where will you submit the documents?
- What are the required documents?
- Visa processing fees.
- Visa processing time.
What kind of visa do you need?
You will need to get a Schengen visa to visit Finland. A Schengen visa allows you to access 29 countries in Europe with the same visa, and Finland is one of them. Here is the list of countries that you can visit with this visa: Schengen member states are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Where will you submit the documents?
The first thing you need to do is to figure out the embassy in your country that processes the visa for Finland. For example, if you are from India, you have the Embassy of Finland in Delhi where you can apply for visa processing. If you are from Bangladesh, you can apply at the Embassy of Sweden as they process the visa application for Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and a few other countries.
Not sure where to apply for a Finnish travel visa in your country? Check out this link (Finnish Embassy in different countries) to see if your country has an embassy of Finland or not.
What if you cannot find your country on that list? If you do not find your country on that list, then check out this link (Finland represented by another Schengen member state). This will take you to the page where you can find your country and get the information about the location to submit your visa application.
Required documents:
If you are a self-sponsored traveler, you will need the following documents to submit:
- The visa application form completed and signed (You will find the form on the website of the corresponding embassy of your country, or use this link: Application Form For Schengen Visa)
- One color photograph (passport-sized, captured not more than 6 months before the submission)
- A passport
- A copy of flight tickets and accommodation reservation (Recommended to reserve and not to pay for it before getting visa confirmation)
- Travel insurance (The minimum coverage of the policy must be EUR 30,000 and the insurance must cover expenses arising from a sudden illness and accident (also the patient’s repatriation) and repatriation expenses in case of death.)
- Marriage/divorce/birth certificate
- Bank solvency showing a total amount based on the number of days you are planning to stay in Finland. For an individual adult, you have to show 50 euros per day. So if you are planning to stay for 10 days, you will have to show 500 euros equivalent currency.
- Proof of source of finance (six months of bank statements)
- Detailed itinerary of your visit
- Proof of leave from your current workplace
- Possible interview
These are the general list of required documents. Please check the country-specific websites to be sure if you need to submit any additional documents.
Now if a friend or someone living in Finland is inviting you to travel to Finland, you will need to submit some additional documents of the inviting party. If the inviting party is financially sponsoring your visit, you need to fill out the sponsorship form that needs to be signed by a notary public. You can find the sponsorship form here: Sponsorship form. With the sponsorship form, you need to attach the following documents:
- A copy of the inviting party’s identity card and residence permit if the inviting party is not a Finnish citizen
- A copy of the inviting party’s employment contract
- A copy of the inviting party’s last three months’ payslips
- A copy of the inviting party’s last three months’ bank statements
- A copy of the right of possession of the dwelling (a lease agreement, a deed of sale, a register of occupants, or similar) if the visa applicant stays in your dwelling
- Evidence of family relationship if the inviting party and the applicant are relatives, or details of previous meetings, if any (passport stamps, travel tickets, or similar) if the relationship between the inviting party and the applicant is not based on family ties
Visa Processing Fee:
The application fee for a Schengen Visa is 90 euros per person and 45 euros for children (between 6-11 years old).
Visa Processing Time:
Usually, it can take 15 days to 2 months to get a decision on your application. It is recommended not to apply more than 6 months before your visit.
If you are a European or have a residence permit of one of the Schengen countries, you will not need to go through any of these, as you already have visa-free access to all these countries, including Finland.
I hope this blog helps you get an idea about doing all the formalities for traveling to Finland as a non-European. Thank you for reading, and enjoy your stay while traveling to Finland.