Recommendation: all passengers arriving in Finland should have a negative coronavirus test result

Publication date 18 Feb 2021

a man with a bag at the airport.

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare recommends that all transport companies and shipping companies transporting passengers require a negative corona test result from all passengers coming to Finland from abroad. The certificate should be presented to the operator before the journey begins.  It is recommended that a negative test certificate be required at the latest from 23 February onwards. 

This recommendation applies to all passengers arriving in Finland who are aged over 12. A corresponding certificate is also recommended for 6-12 year-olds, but not as a requirement. 

If the traveller holds a medical certificate confirming that they have recovered from COVID-19 disease and they completed their recovery less than 6 months ago, no negative coronavirus test certificate is required.

‘The aim of the recommendation is to prevent the spread to Finland of coronavirus variants observed in Britain, Brazil and South Africa and to reduce the number of infections that come to Finland through passenger traffic. It is therefore necessary to prevent the risk of infection associated with tourism as effectively as possible,’ says Mika Salminen, Director of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.

‘It is also worth remembering that even where a negative test certificate is a prerequisite for travel on a particular means of transport, this does not annul the restrictions related to entering the country, such as the 14-day period of self-isolation,’ Salminen continues.

This recommendation does not affect the existing travel restrictions at the EU's internal and external borders and the conditions for entry are not affected by a negative test result.  

The recommendation that has now been made replaces the recommendation on these matters that was previously provided to air carriers by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.

Additional information

THL recommendation to all transport companies and shipping companies operating in Finland on measures to prevent the spread to Finland of coronavirus variants observed in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa (pdf, in Finnish)

Travel and the coronavirus pandemic
(THL) 

Further information on conditions for entry
(Finnish Border Guard) 

Mika Salminen
Director, Health Security
THL
[email protected] 
 

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