Finland
Borders, customs and immigration in Finland
One authority of the central administration, under the interior ministry, holds the land border, the sea and the lead role at the crossings, and carries out customs control where Customs has not organised it; Customs answers to the finance ministry, and residence is decided by the Immigration Service.
Facts verified:
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Finland’s border body is an authority of the state’s central administration. The Act on its administration places the Rajavartiolaitos "sisäministeriön johdon ja valvonnan alaisena" — under the direction and supervision of the Ministry of the Interior — headed within the Ministry by its own Chief, with border guard districts, coast guard districts, an academy and an air patrol squadron as its units, and makes the districts and their commanders its regional authorities. The same Act provides for border troops, officials and conscripts who can be attached to the Defence Forces when national defence is intensified. It does not describe the authority itself as a military body, and nothing here does.
Its tasks are set by the Border Guard Act. Section 3 makes its task "rajaturvallisuuden ylläpitäminen" — maintaining border security — and lists police and customs tasks, search and rescue, emergency care and a part in military national defence beside it. Section 17 makes it "johtava rajavalvontaviranomainen": the lead border-control authority, coordinating the other authorities that take part in border control of passenger traffic. Section 4 extends where it operates to the sea area and the exclusive economic zone. Finland has no separate coast guard: the coast guard districts are units of the same authority.
Customs is a separate authority under a different ministry. The Act on the Administration of Customs establishes "valtiovarainministeriön alainen Tulli" — Customs, under the Ministry of Finance, covering the whole country — and the Customs Act makes Customs the customs authority under Union customs law. The two meet at the border by statute: the Border Guard Act provides that the Border Guard carries out customs control alongside Customs at the borders and at crossing points where Customs has not organised it, and the Customs Act points to that provision.
Who may stay is decided by a third authority. The Finnish Immigration Service operates in the Ministry of the Interior’s administrative branch and decides the matters concerning foreigners and citizenship that the law assigns to it; under the Aliens Act it grants and revokes residence permits. The border body keeps a part at the crossing itself. The Act defines the border-check authority as the Border Guard and any other authority entitled to carry out border checks under the Schengen Borders Code, and provides that "Rajatarkastusviranomainen tai poliisi päättää pääsyn epäämisestä" — the border-check authority or the police decides on refusal of entry.
Animal and plant health at the border belong to the Food Authority, which sits in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s administrative branch. Its own pages say that live animals entering the Union undergo veterinary border control in the first member state they reach, that Finland has two posts for them — Helsinki-Vantaa airport and the Vaalimaa crossing — and that a consignment needing a phytosanitary certificate may enter only through permitted border control posts, where a plant inspector of the Food Authority or of an ELY Centre carries out the check.
The Union layer is written into the Finnish statute. The Border Guard Act takes the meaning of its border terms from the Schengen Borders Code, Regulation (EU) 2016/399, and makes the Border Guard responsible for cooperation with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.
Sources
Sources
Finlex — Ministry of Justice of Finland · Legislation · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: what kind of authority the Border Guard is and which ministry directs it — nothing about its operations. The consolidated Finnish text served by Finlex’s open-data service, in the version that incorporates Act 730/2026. Supports s 3, "Rajavartiolaitos on sisäministeriön johdon ja valvonnan alaisena toimiva valtion keskushallintoon kuuluva viranomainen" (a state central-administration authority under the direction and supervision of the Ministry of the Interior), headed within the Ministry by its Chief, with its headquarters, border guard districts, coast guard districts, academy and air patrol squadron as administrative units; s 4, "Rajavartiostot ja merivartiostot sekä niiden komentajat ovat alueellisia rajavartioviranomaisia" (border and coast guard districts are its regional authorities); and s 2, that its border troops are officials and conscripts "jotka voidaan valtakunnan puolustusta tehostettaessa liittää puolustusvoimiin" (who can be attached to the Defence Forces when national defence is intensified). The Act does not describe the Border Guard as a military body, and none is claimed. The version cited is pinned.
Rajavartiolaki 578/2005 (Border Guard Act) — consolidated text
Finlex — Ministry of Justice of Finland · Legislation · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: the Border Guard’s tasks and its place among the authorities at the border — nothing about how any power is exercised. The consolidated Finnish text served by Finlex’s open-data service, in the version that incorporates Act 421/2026. Supports s 3, "Rajavartiolaitoksen tehtävänä on rajaturvallisuuden ylläpitäminen" (the Border Guard’s task is maintaining border security), that it "suorittaa poliisi- ja tullitehtäviä, etsintä-, pelastus- ja ensihoitotehtäviä sekä osallistuu sotilaalliseen maanpuolustukseen" (performs police and customs tasks and search, rescue and emergency-care tasks, and takes part in military national defence), and that it "vastaa yhteistyöstä Euroopan raja- ja merivartioviraston kanssa"; s 4, that it operates "sekä merialueella ja Suomen talousvyöhykkeestä annetussa laissa (1058/2004) tarkoitetulla talousvyöhykkeellä" (in the sea area and the exclusive economic zone); s 17, "Rajavartiolaitos on johtava rajavalvontaviranomainen, joka sovittaa yhteen muiden rajavalvontaan henkilöliikenteessä osallistuvien viranomaisten toimintaa" (the lead border-control authority, coordinating the other authorities taking part in border control of passenger traffic); s 24, that "Rajavartiolaitos suorittaa Tullin ohella tullivalvontaa" (carries out customs control alongside Customs) at the borders and at crossing points where Customs has not organised it; and s 1, which takes its border terms from "(Schengenin rajasäännöstö) annetussa Euroopan parlamentin ja neuvoston asetuksessa (EU) 2016/399". The version cited is pinned: a later amendment produces a new version, not a change to this one.
Laki Tullin hallinnosta 960/2012 (Act on the Administration of Customs) — consolidated text
Finlex — Ministry of Justice of Finland · Legislation · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: what Finnish Customs is and which ministry it sits under. The consolidated Finnish text served by Finlex’s open-data service, in the version that incorporates Act 1505/2025. Supports s 1, "Tullitoimintaa varten on valtiovarainministeriön alainen Tulli, jonka toimialueena on koko maa" (Customs, under the Ministry of Finance, covering the whole country), and s 2, among its tasks, to "suorittaa verovalvontaa ja tullirikosten esitutkintaa" (carry out tax control and the pre-trial investigation of customs offences). The version cited is pinned.
Tullilaki 304/2016 (Customs Act) — consolidated text
Finlex — Ministry of Justice of Finland · Legislation · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: which body is the customs authority under Union customs law, and where the Border Guard’s customs powers are set out. The consolidated Finnish text served by Finlex’s open-data service, in the version that incorporates Act 640/2026. Supports s 3, "Unionin tullilainsäädännössä tarkoitettu tulliviranomainen ja toimivaltainen viranomainen on Tulli, jollei erikseen toisin säädetä", and s 4, "Rajavartiolaitoksen oikeudesta suorittaa tullitoimenpiteitä säädetään rajavartiolain (578/2005) 24 §:ssä". The version cited is pinned.
Laki Maahanmuuttovirastosta 156/1995 (Act on the Finnish Immigration Service) — consolidated text
Finlex — Ministry of Justice of Finland · Legislation · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: where the Finnish Immigration Service sits and what it decides. The consolidated Finnish text served by Finlex’s open-data service, in the version that incorporates Act 553/2026. Supports s 1, "Sisäministeriön hallinnonalalla toimii Maahanmuuttovirasto" (it operates in the Ministry of the Interior’s administrative branch), and s 2, "Maahanmuuttovirasto käsittelee ja ratkaisee ne ulkomaalaisia ja Suomen kansalaisuutta koskevat asiat, jotka laissa tai sen nojalla säädetään sen tehtäviksi". The version cited is pinned.
Ulkomaalaislaki 301/2004 (Aliens Act) — consolidated text
Finlex — Ministry of Justice of Finland · Legislation · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: which authority grants residence permits and which may refuse entry or decide on removal — nothing about any procedure, ground or individual case. The consolidated Finnish text served by Finlex’s open-data service, in the version that incorporates Act 577/2026. Supports s 67, "Maahanmuuttovirasto oleskelulupaviranomaisena Maahanmuuttovirasto myöntää ja peruuttaa oleskeluluvan" (the Immigration Service grants and revokes residence permits); s 3, defining the border-check authority as "rajatarkastusviranomaisella Rajavartiolaitosta ja muuta viranomaista" entitled to carry out border checks under the Schengen Borders Code; s 12 a, "Rajatarkastusviranomainen tai poliisi päättää pääsyn epäämisestä" (the border-check authority or the police decides on refusal of entry); and s 151, "Poliisi tai rajatarkastusviranomainen voi päättää ulkomaalaisen käännyttämisestä". The version cited is pinned.
Laki Ruokavirastosta 371/2018 (Act on the Finnish Food Authority) — consolidated text
Finlex — Ministry of Justice of Finland · Legislation · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: what the Finnish Food Authority is for and which ministry it sits under. The consolidated Finnish text served by Finlex’s open-data service, in the version that incorporates Act 670/2025. Supports s 1, that the authority exists for, among other things, "eläinten terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin sekä kasvinterveyden edistämistä, valvontaa ja tutkimusta" (animal health and welfare and plant health), and that "Virasto on maa- ja metsätalousministeriön hallinnonalalla" (it is in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s administrative branch). The Act itself says nothing about border checks; those rest on the authority’s own pages. The version cited is pinned.
Eläinlääkinnällinen rajatarkastus: eläimet (veterinary border control of animals) — Ruokavirasto
Ruokavirasto (Finnish Food Authority) · Government publication · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: the Food Authority’s own account of veterinary border control of live animals. Supports "Eläville eläimille tehdään eläinlääkinnällinen rajatarkastus ensimmäisessä EU-jäsenvaltiossa, johon eläin saapuu" (live animals undergo veterinary border control in the first EU member state they arrive in), and that Finland has two posts for them: "Suomessa niitä on kaksi, Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasema sekä Vaalimaan rajanylityspaikka".
Kasvituotteet — tuonti EU:n ulkopuolelta (plant products from outside the EU) — Ruokavirasto
Ruokavirasto (Finnish Food Authority) · Government publication · link verified 2026-10-10
SCOPE: the Food Authority’s own account of plant-health checks on imports from outside the EU. Supports that "Kasvinterveystodistusta vaativan lähetyksen voi tuoda maahan vain sallittujen rajatarkastusasemien kautta" (a consignment needing a phytosanitary certificate may enter only through permitted border control posts), and that the inspection is made by a plant inspector of the Food Authority or of an ELY Centre. What the page says about any other body is not relied on.
Publications Office of the European Union (Cellar) — consolidated text · Legislation · link verified 2026-09-19
SCOPE: the current wording of the Schengen Borders Code, and only what it says at Union level. Read directly from the Publications Office. The publisher’s own metadata records the latest consolidation of the whole act — as distinct from its individually consolidated segments — as 2016R0399/20251012, dated 12 October 2025 and marked final. It consolidates the original act, Regulation (EU) 2017/2225, Regulation (EU) 2024/1717 and corrigenda, over the previous 10 July 2024 consolidation. LEGAL EFFECT, STATED BY THE DOCUMENT ITSELF: "This text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. … The authentic versions of the relevant acts … are those published in the Official Journal of the European Union." It is cited for current wording, never as the authentic instrument. Supports Art. 1, that the Regulation "provides for the absence of border control of persons crossing the internal borders between the Member States of the Union" and "lays down rules governing border control of persons crossing the external borders". Supports Art. 2(1) and 2(2), defining internal borders (common land borders, airports for internal flights, ports for regular internal ferry connections) and external borders (land, sea, air and port borders "provided that they are not internal borders"). Supports Art. 22, that "Internal borders may be crossed at any point without a border check on persons, irrespective of their nationality, being carried out", and Art. 23, that this "shall not affect … the exercise of police or other public powers". Supports Art. 5(1), that external borders "may be crossed only at border crossing points and during the fixed opening hours", with Member States notifying their list to the Commission. Supports Art. 15, that "Member States shall deploy appropriate staff and resources in sufficient numbers to carry out border control at the external borders", and Art. 16(1), that border control "shall be carried out by border guards". Supports Art. 2(14), that a "border guard" is "any public official assigned, in accordance with national law, to a border crossing point … who carries out, in accordance with this Regulation and national law, border control tasks". THE AGENCY APPEARS EXACTLY ONCE in the whole consolidated text, and only as a recipient of Member State risk assessments and six-monthly reports: this record does NOT support any claim that the European Border and Coast Guard Agency carries out border checks or replaces a national authority. Establishes nothing about which states apply the Code, nothing about customs, and nothing about any national institution.