The instructions and recommendations concerning health examination conducted after entering the country changed on Monday 12 July due to changes to the Communicable Diseases Act. This also affects passengers entering Finland through ports in Helsinki.
Bring certificates with you
Upon boarding the ship, passengers arriving in Helsinki must have proof of having received one or two COVID-19 vaccinations (at least two weeks after the last vaccination), a negative coronavirus test result (tested within the previous 72 hours) or having contracted COVID-19 previously (within the previous six months).
You should consider expediting your arrival in Finland by booking the required tests in advance in the Finentry service (finentry.fi/en(Link leads to external service)) or by completing a form issued by the City of Helsinki Social Services and Health Care distributed on board.
Who will not be subjected to a health examination at the Port of Helsinki?
Those that have proof of two vaccinations or having contracted COVID-19 (within the previous six months) do not have to undergo a health examination.
Who will be subjected to a health examination and tested for COVID-19, if necessary?
All other passengers than those mentioned above must undergo a health examination and be tested for COVID-19, if necessary.
No COVID-19 test will be administered if the passenger has a certificate of a negative test result (tested within the previous 72 hours) or a certificate of having received one or two vaccinations of a multi-dose vaccination including two vaccinations.
COVID-19 tests will also not be required for children born in or after 2006.
What if there is no time to get tested at the port?
Due to large numbers of passengers, there may not be time to test everyone for COVID-19. However, being tested for COVID-19 upon entry into Finland is mandatory for all non-vaccinated people, for example, and neglecting to be tested is punishable.
Passengers must be tested within 24 hours of entering the country either in their home municipality or the municipality where they will be staying if they did not have a certificate exempting them from the test at the port and they did not get tested at the port.
Who must be tested for COVID-19 within 72 hours of entering the country?
If the passenger has only received the first dose of a series of vaccines consisting of two doses, tested negative for COVID-19 (tested within the previous 72 hours) or been tested only after entering the country, they must be tested for a second time in Finland between 72 and 120 hours after entering the country. They must not get tested earlier or later than this.
This test is also mandatory and neglecting to get tested is punishable.
Passengers must protect themselves by wearing a mask when moving about, waiting for test results at home or in their accommodation and avoiding contact with other people. If they test negative, they may stop avoiding contact with others.
Whom do the new rules not apply to?
The new instructions do not apply to cargo traffic and logistics personnel on work assignments or cruise passengers who have not disembarked during their journey.
More information
- The health information point at the port upon arrival in Helsinki
- Health care services of your municipality of permanent or temporary residence
- Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) website: Travel and the coronavirus pandemic(Link leads to external service) (also contains information on vaccinations approved by THL)
- City of Helsinki COVID-19 information www.hel.fi/helsinki/coronavirus-en
- Press release from the Finnish Government: Internal border control continues until 25 July(Link leads to external service)
- The customer bulletin When arriving to Finland and Helsinki in several languages (fi, sv, en, est, rus, pol, de)
