Critics say the Finnish visa regime is too lax. The country has a liberal policy on long-term multiple entry visas of six months or a year, and does not require the applicant to show an invitation or a hotel reservation, as many other countries do. That has made Russian cross-border travelers happy.
Liberal on travelling
-Flexibility and fast service make the Finnish Consulate General the most attractive place for applying for a visa, 26-year old Anastasija Sjomova from Sankt Petersburg told newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
“In Finland they understand that you can’t plan travel in advance to the most minute detail, and they treat the applicants well. After all, we aren’t criminals,” she adds.
Visa increase
The liberal practice Finland has made Finland one of the most visa-friendly countries for Russians in Europe. In 2008, the country handled a total of 742,237 visas in its consular units in Russia. That is a 15 percent increase year-on-year. More than 524 thousand of the visas were issued in the General Consulate in Sankt Petersburg, while the Embassy in Moscow issued more than 144,200 visas, the Petrozavodsk consulate – 54 thousands and the Murmansk consulate – 19,361 visas, figures from the country’s foreign ministry show. The liberal visa regime has made Finland far more popular among Russian Schengen visa applicants that for example neighboring Norway.
That is also reflected in last year’s figures, which show that the Norwegian General Consulate in Murmansk last year issued only 13,000 visas compared with Finland’s 19,000. Only a couple of years ago, the Norwegian general consulate in the city issued more visas than the Finnish.
Government policy
The visa-friendly position is reflected in the country’s foreign ministry. As BarentsObserver has reported, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb has himself called for the abolishment of visa requirements between the EU and Russia
Norway
Other countries might have quite a bit to learn from the Finns. Some might already be about to grasp the magic trick. Starting from December last year, Norway started to issue socalled Pomor-visas to inhabitants from Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Oblasts. The “Pomor-visa” is a multi-entry visa which can be obtained without having a special invitation from someone in Norway. However, as reported by BarentsObserver, first time travelers will need a single-entry visa. After that, a one-year valid multi-entry visa will be issued, thereafter a three-year valid visa and finally the person can obtain a five-year valid multi-entry visa to Norway.
