Border checks

This page contains information about how the border control works at Finavia's airports around Finland. The border control and border checks are carried out by The Finnish Border Guard.

Finland is part of the European Union and Schengen area. If you travel to Finland from a non-Schengen country, you must go through the border control before entering the country. Also, if you travel from Finland to a non-Schengen country, you must go through border control before boarding the airplane. The border checks and immigration processes take place at the airport.

Helsinki Airport is a significant transfer airport. The whole airport is built under one roof, which makes transferring at Helsinki Airport easy. If you arrive from a non-Schengen country, and you change planes at Helsinki Airport to continue your journey to other parts of Europe, the border control will take place at Helsinki Airport.

Information for passengers

Border control

The Finnish Border Guard is responsible for border checks at border crossing points. Guidelines for travellers is available at Finnish Border Guard’s web page.

Visa requirements and travel documents

Read about the visa requirements provided by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

More information about travel documents of Finnish citizens’ is available on The Finnish Border Guard’s web page.

More information about travel documents of non-Finnish citizen’s is available on The Finnish Border Guard’s web page.

Entry/Exit System

European Union will start using the European Entry/Exit System (EES) on October 12, 2025. The Entry/Exit System is implemented to border checks during the six month long transitional stage.

The aim of the EES is to streamline border checks and improve the identification of persons at external borders. The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals each time they cross the external borders of European countries using the system.

In Finland, the Border Guard is responsible for border checks and the EES system.

Read more about EES on European Union's web page.

See more information about EES in Finland on Finnish Border Guard's web page and press release.

How to use automated border control gates at Helsinki Airport
How to transfer at Helsinki Airport
More information on Entry/Exit System on European Union's web page
Finnish Borders Guard's information page on Entry/Exit System