Finland Prolongs Entry Restrictions Until June 27, Allows Entry for Residents of Malta

Posted date: 13 Jul 2021

Finland’s government has decided to extend the entry restrictions imposed to halt the further spread of COVID-19 until June 27.

However, Malta’s citizens will not be subject to such measures as Finnish authorities have removed internal border controls between both countries, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

Besides Malta and Iceland, all other Schengen Zone countries will be subject to entry restrictions, according to a statement published by Finland’s Ministry of the Interior.

The EU’s borderless area’s countries affected by Finnish authorities latest decision are Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Austria, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Poland, France, Sweden, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Hungary,  Estonia as well as non-EU countries Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

In addition, the announcement of the Ministry of Interior reveals that, on June 7, some changes will be applied to restrictions regarding the opening hours of specific border crossing points in Lapland on the western border and the eastern border of the country.

External border controls continue to remain effective. However, entry restrictions do not affect the Vatican City State, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Israel, New Zealand, and Rwanda, as these countries have recently reported few COVID-19 infection cases.

Due to the current Coronavirus situation, the country’s government continues to urge all persons to avoid non-essential travel abroad to territories that are profoundly affected by the disease to prevent a surge in the number of infections.

“The government continues to recommend avoiding unnecessary travel abroad except to countries where entry restrictions have been lifted. The person leaving for the trip must ensure the current entry and quarantine regulations of the destination country,” Finland’s Ministry of Interior pointed out.

According to the figures published by the World Health Organization, Finland has reported more than 93,100 infections and over 900 deaths.

Earlier this month, Finland’s government announced that it extended the entry restrictions until June 15, in order to stop the further spread of the Coronavirus and its new strains, particularly the Delta variant that has affected many countries recently.

Even though these measures were considered necessary by the government, they have been criticized by many persons and agencies. Authorities of the Finish airline Finnair also expressed their concerns in this regard.

According to the airline, such a decision does not comply with the European Union’s provisional consensus on the Coronavirus travel passport launched by the bloc in order to facilitate the travel process for vaccinated persons and those who have recovered from the disease.

Reference Link: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/finland-prolongs-entry-restrictions-until-june-27-allows-entry-for-residents-of-malta/

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GSP Admin