COVID-19: Changes to the travel restrictions
The Finnish Government has decided to extend the travel restrictions for Finland's outer borders until May 13 in order to slow down the spreading of the coronavirus. Regarding the regional travel restrictions for the Uusimaa region, the Finnish Government decided on April 15 to lift the restrictions with immediate effect.
Policy on the entry in Finland of foreign employees due to essential tasks finalised
Due to the travel restrictions it has become significantly challenging for foreign employees to enter Finland. Based on the assessment of the group of authorities appointed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, a list of essential tasks from the point of view of security of supply or criticality for the operations of certain sectors was prepared on April 6. The entry into the country of foreign employees who come to work in these essential tasks must be ensured even under the state of emergency. Foreign employees arriving in Finland will need to stay in quarantine-like conditions for 14 days.
The Finnish Immigration Service prioritizes the permit application processing for work considered necessary for the security of supply, health care and the activities of specific sectors, and will issue the necessary permit on the grounds that the employee is arriving in Finland to carry out an essential task in terms of security of supply. However, other countries’ restrictions on movement and the fact that Finnish missions are currently closed until further notice may currently in practice prevent or slow down the application processing.
The employer is responsible for filling in a separate form justifying that the task is essential for ensuring security of supply or the functioning of the sector as referred to in the assessment of the group of authorities. The employee will need to present the form to the Border Guard authority when arriving in Finland who makes a decision on a case-by-case basis whether the employee's travel is deemed to be essential.
