| Finnish passport Suomen passi Finskt pass | |
|---|---|
 Finnish passport from 2023 | |
| Type | Passport |
| Issued by |  Police of Finland |
| First issued | 1996 (firstmachine-readable EU design) 21 August 2006 (firstbiometric version) 1 January 2017 (second biometric version)[1] 13 March 2023 (current version) |
| Purpose | Identification |
| Eligibility | Finnish citizenship |
| Expiration | 5 years after issuance |
| Cost | |
TheFinnish passport (Suomen passi;Finskt pass) is issued to Finnish nationals for international travel. In addition to provingFinnish nationality, it allows holders to seek assistance from Finnish consular officials abroad, or from other EU orNordic missions when a Finnish official is unavailable.[4]
Finnish passports share the standardised burgundy cover and layout common to EU member states. Passports are issued by the local police or by authorised Finnish diplomatic missions abroad.
Men under 30 who are liable formilitary service but have not yet completed it may only receive passports valid until the last legal start date for service (age 28). Men over 30 are issued passports with normal validity regardless of service status.
As EU citizens, Finnish nationals enjoy free movement and residence rights in theEuropean Union, theEuropean Economic Area, andSwitzerland. In addition, under theNordic Passport Union, citizens may travel between Nordic countries without identity documents.
Finnish passports are produced and personalised byThales Group.[5]
Since 1996, Finnish passports have hadburgundy covers and follow the standardEuropean Union passport layout, with theFinnish coat of arms displayed in the centre of the front cover. Above the coat of arms appear the wordsEuroopan unioni (Finnish) andEuropeiska unionen (Swedish), meaning "European Union." Below are the wordsSuomi – Finland, the country’s name in Finnish and Swedish, andPassi – Pass, meaning "Passport."
Passports issued before August 2006 were not biometric. In those versions, all words on the cover were printed in capital letters.
On 21 August 2006 Finland introducedbiometric passports, which included the standard biometric symbol at the top of the cover.
In 2012 the coat of arms was enlarged. The European Union title was moved below it, separated from the country’s name by a double line, and the country’s name began to appear in all capitals. The biometric symbol was shifted to the bottom.
The inside pages also feature animated flipbook-style designs: the 2006 version showed a moose in motion, the 2017 version a flying swan, and the 2023 version a seal.[6] The latest version also has a snowflake motif embossed on the cover.
In 2022, Finnish citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 189 countries and territories, ranking the Finnish passport third in the world (tied with Italian and Luxembourgish passports) according to theHenley Passport Index.[7] Additionally, Arton Capital's Passport Index ranked the Finnish passport second in the world, with a visa-free score of 172 (tied with Austrian, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Luxembourgish, Spanish, Swedish, Swiss, and United States passports), as of 19 September 2022.[8]
As amember state of the European Union, Finnish citizens enjoyfreedom of movement within theEuropean Economic Area (EEA). The Citizens’ Rights Directive[9] defines the right of free movement for citizens of the EEA. Throughbilateral agreements freedom of movement is extended to Switzerland,[10] and all EU andEFTA nationals are not only visa-exempt but are legally entitled to enter and reside in each other's countries.
Names that contain special letters (ä,ö,å) are written with those letters in the non-machine-readable zone. In themachine-readable zone, they are converted into letter combinations according to international standards:
For example:
Finnish passports issued from the 1930s until the 1970s had a white paper cover with the bearer's photograph and the seal of theprovince where the bearer applied for his or her passport affixed on the back cover.[11] Those issued from the 1970s until the adoption of the EU design in 1996 had a dark blue leather cover and did not contain the "European Union" texts, but were otherwise broadly similar in appearance. Previously, children could be included in the parents' passport, but this is no longer allowed and children must be issued their own passport, regardless of age.
Åland, being an autonomous region with its owngovernment, has a separate passport. The Åland Islands passport does not however indicate a different nationality, with all holders being Finnish citizens. Unlike theDanish autonomous countries (none of which belong to the European Union) the Åland Islands autonomous region is a full part of the Finnish state, and an Åland Islands passport therefore brings all the rights and benefits of European Union membership for the holder. The passport follows the standardEuropean Union format, and is marked on the front cover with bothFinland andÅland.[12][13]
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