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Travelling

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You can find out about the restrictions that apply to products brought in by travellers on the page FAQ - Restrictions.

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Frequently asked questions on travelling

No, you’re not. Travellers must carry their own medicines in their own luggage. Medicinal products dispensed on prescription are always personal and must be in the possession of the person to whom they have been prescribed.


  • When travelling to Finland from the UK, a non-EU pet must have an original vaccination certificate and a valid EU health certificate for the transfer. An EU pet travels normally with an EU pet passport, also from the EU to the UK.
  • However, entry from Northern Ireland to the EU is possible with a pet passport. In the future, there will be a separate country sticker for Northern Ireland that will be added on EU pet passports.
  • The UK is a so-called listed country, meaning that pets arriving from there must be vaccinated against rabies, but an antibody test is not required.
  • A dog arriving from the United Kingdom must be treated against echinococcosis within 1-5 days before entry to Finland.

In arriving traffic, commercial and non-commercial importation of pets is allowed only through Helsinki-Vantaa Airport if there is no transition period.


A medicinal product always has a retail package and an enclosed patient information leaflet and possibly also a blister pack. You shall take them with you when you travel, because of easier supervision and identification of the product.


Check the Visa requirement and travel documents accepted by Finland on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website.

The Finnish Border Guard is responsible for the border controls of people at the border crossing points.

Read Frequently asked questions about travel on the Finnish Border Guard’s website.

Contact the Border Guard if necessary.


In Finland, prescriptions are accepted in Finnish or Swedish. If you have a prescription in some other language for medicines you have brought with you from your trip, it is your responsibility to explain the contents of the prescription to Customs, if needed.

If you know that you will be travelling abroad, request your prescription in English while still in Finland. You should also request your prescription in English if you are taken ill while travelling abroad and get a prescription to treat your illness.

If you are going on a trip to another EU or EEA country or to Switzerland and you know that you will buy medicines there, the prescribing professional can issue a prescription called a ‘Medical prescription for purchasing medication abroad’. You should also request such a prescription from the doctor if you are taken ill in one of these countries and need a prescription to treat your illness there. The prescription is in English. Contact your doctor for more detailed information.

More information:

 


Before you go:

  • Contact the Police and make sure that you have the required licences for transporting firearms and cartridges. Private individuals are required to have a private transfer permit issued in Finland for taking firearms or cartridges from Finland to Estonia. Alternatively, the holder of a European firearms pass may transfer, from Finland to Estonia, a firearm marked in a firearms pass, as well as the necessary quantity of ammunition to be used with the firearm and applicable to hunting. A person transferring a firearm and ammunition must also have a written invitation to participate in a hunting event.
  • You should contact the authorities or embassy of your country of destination and find out the procedures involving licences and declarations.
  • If you have the required licences, you do not need to lodge a declaration with Finnish Customs on transporting personal firearms or cartridges. However, if Customs asks you to present your firearm, cartridges and licence, you must do so.
  • If you are travelling with a hunting dog, you must contact the Finnish Food Safety Authority to make sure that your dog has the required documents and valid vaccinations. You should also find out the requirements posed by the Estonian authorities for taking your dog to Estonia.

 

When you return to Finland:  

  • If you have the required licences, you do not need to lodge a declaration with Finnish Customs on transporting personal firearms or cartridges. However, if Customs asks you to present your firearm, cartridges and licence, you must do so.
  • You do not need to present your dog or any documents concerning your dog to Customs.
  • More information for passengers is available on the Customs website.

Help prevent the spread of African swine fever in Finland

Please note that, as per the Finnish Food Authority's recommendation, travelling to regions such as Estonia where African swine fever is prevalent is not advised. Information on African swine fever for hunters - Finnish Food Authority (in Finnish)

Make sure also to clean and disinfect your equipment, as it may be contaminated by the African swine fever virus. If you are travelling with a hunting dog, you should also clean the dog’s fur and any related equipment. Specific instructions are available on the Finnish Food Authority's website.

Read more about importing hunting trophies (in Finnish) and importing fresh meat on the Finnish Food Authority's website.

 

 


Ask the Finnish Food Authority about the restrictions and regulations regarding the importation of pets.

Clear the pet through Customs when you enter the country. Present documents and the invoice for the pet in connection with the customs clearance. You can bring in the pet without paying duties or taxes as long as the value limit for imports by travellers is not exceeded. The value limit is 430 or 300 euros depending on which transport vehicle you use.

If the value limit is exceeded, the amount of VAT payable is 24% of the purchase price plus transport costs and possible insurance costs. Read more about import duties and taxes.

Read more: Buying a pet from abroad


If the unit packets of tobacco products do not bear the required health warnings – text warnings in Finnish and Swedish and the picture warnings – you are not allowed to bring in more than 200 cigarettes to Finland even if you pay the taxes.

Read more: Bringing back tobacco products from travels 


Finnish Customs doesn't give packing instructions. For more information about packing your luggage for your flight and about prohibited goods, go to Finavia's website.

You can find more information on security controls and on the provisions that apply to packing on Trafi's website.


Each country has its own pharmaceutical legislation, so the traveller should always bring their medicine prescriptions along simply for this reason. Regarding medicines, the requirements for each country can be checked with the embassy of the country in question. When arriving in Finland you need the prescription, or a patient instructions sheet issued by your physician.

Read more: Medicines

 


If you are taking personal valuables in your luggage to a country outside the EU, you should fill in a luggage certificate at Customs before departure. The form is intended for private persons and it will prove to Customs that you had the items with you on departure.

If you are taking goods abroad with you for commercial purposes, e.g. for sale or temporarily for a fair or for reparation, you’ll have to submit an electronic export declaration for the goods to Customs.


On the Finnish Tax Administrations website, there is an excise duty table for alcohol and alcoholic beverages (in Finnish and Swedish), where you can check the current excise duty on alcohol according to product group. Furthermore, customs duty and VAT (24%) will be levied for the products based on the commodity code.


Most countries have restrictions on imports of medicines. The traveller is responsible for finding out the import restrictions of the country of destination. You can get more information about the restrictions e.g. from the destination country’s authorities. Finnish Customs doesn’t provide information about the import restrictions of other countries.

Take your prescriptions with you. If necessary, with them you can prove that you have the right to have personal medicines with you. If you have an electronic prescription (eResepti), please take one of the following with you when you travel:

  • A patient guide printed by a doctor, listing all the medicines you have been prescribed at the same time.
  • A summary printout of your prescriptions, from the pharmacy.
  • A summary of your prescriptions, which you can print from the National Archive for Health Information (Kanta) using your online banking ID codes.

More information:

  • The website of Kela (the Social Insurance Institution of Finland)
  • Medicines

Finnish Customs does not require the consent of guardians. The Border Guard is responsible for border controls in Finland.

Read Frequently asked questions about travel on the Finnish Border Guard’s website.

Parents are recommended to write a free-form letter of consent though, with signatures and their contact information. Authorities in some countries do require a letter of consent, so make sure you check with the consulate or embassy of the country in question.

Read more on Passport and other travel documents – Finnish citizens on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website.


The Finnish Border Guard is responsible for the border controls of people at the border crossing points.

Read Frequently asked questions about travel on the Finnish Border Guard’s website.

Contact the Border Guard if necessary.


The Tax Administration gives instructions and advice on tax-free sales to travellers. According to the bulletin “Tax-free sales to travellers - Guidance for retailers” released by the Tax Administration, sales to travellers comprise sales of goods to travellers who live and stay continuously outside the EU or outside Norway and who buy goods in Finland and export the goods as unused from Finland in their personal luggage.

A person who resides in Finland with a residence permit is not allowed to buy tax-free goods, even if their permanent place of residence is outside the EU. During the last two weeks, though, before the residence permit runs out, such a person is allowed to buy tax-free products. Correspondingly, a Finnish citizen, who moves to a territory outside the EU or Norway for a period of at least six months, has the right to make tax-free purchases during the last two weeks prior to the move.

The traveller pays value added tax at the time of purchase, but gets a partial or total refund upon later presenting an account on the goods having been taken out of the EU territory. Acquaint yourself with the Tax Administration’s instructions and how to apply for a tax refund: Tax-free sales to travellers in Finland

If you have questions regarding tax-free sales to travellers, contact the Tax Administration.


Most countries have their own import restrictions. The traveller is responsible for finding out the import restrictions of the country of destination. You can get more information about the restrictions e.g. from the country’s embassy or authorities.

Finnish Customs cannot provide information about the provisions concerning goods or gifts taken out of Finland. At Finnish Customs, we only know the Finnish customs provisions.


Finnish Customs certifies the exit of goods on the customer’s request by stamping the sales invoice at the customs office of exit. An electronic customs declaration is not required for tax-free exports.

Note that:

  • if you have not followed all of the regulations by the Tax Administration, Customs may stamp the invoice with a red stamp
  • if the goods and the traveller have already left the EU territory, Customs cannot stamp the sales invoice retrospectively.


Customs does not return value added tax paid by travellers.


When, as a traveller, you bring in goods for your own use or as a gift, you can do this free of customs duty and tax within the quantity and value limits concerning traveller import, provided that such import takes place occasionally.

If you bring back the same type of products from a trip once or a couple of times, it is a question of occasional traveller import. If you repeatedly bring back the same type of products back from your trips the import may no longer be considered occasional within the meaning of the legislation, and you will have to pay customs duty for the products.

The occasional nature of the import is assessed on a case-by-case basis. In such case, Customs will assess e.g. the type and quantity of the goods as well as the number of times they have been imported.


Products classified as being for personal use, are products that include taxes and which the passenger has carried in themselves from another EU Member State for their own personal use. Personal use means the passenger’s personal use of the goods as well as its use by his or her family, or a gift. Products handed over in return for any means of compensation are considered commercial imports. 

For example, when a cousin of the bride arrives as a wedding guest, they cannot bring in alcohol for their cousin’s wedding and alcohol brought in cannot be served as thanks to volunteers helping out at the wedding; neither can a person bring in alcohol to their friends.


The Finnish Border Guard is responsible for the border controls of people at the border crossing points. If you have any questions about travel documents, please contact the Border Guard. You’ll find the contact information and instructions concerning travel documents at www.raja.fi.

For more information about the travel documents of Finnish citizens, please go to the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.


The sales invoice has not been presented.


The most common reasons for Customs using a red stamp on the sales invoice:

  • The goods have been used within the EU territory.
  • The goods have not been sealed.
  • Not all goods on the sales invoice will be taken out of the EU territory.
  • The exporter is not the same person as the buyer mentioned on the invoice, or the passport number is wrong.
  • The goods have been sold without value added tax.
  • The traveller does not have the right to buy tax-free goods, i.e. does not live permanently outside the EU or Norway.

                            

Any questions?

Contact Customs Information Mon–Fri 8 am–4.15 pm

Please have a look at the frequently asked questions.

If you have a question about the arrival of parcels, its contents or the handling fee, please contact Posti.

Customs Information Service