Know everything about Finland visa process

The below is a comprehensive summary of items that comes handy while you start preparing your Finland visa application.

For Indian passport holders, the visa process involves the following,

1. Prepare Documents: Preparation of documents (refer the below checklist for more details) usually takes 5 to 6 days to get all your documents prepared.

2. Appointment: Schedule an appointment with the VFS centers nearest to your city to submit your passports along with the supporting documents and also perform your fingerprint scan. Getting the preferred slots isn’t easy during peak travel seasons. So, one must plan this well in advance. Appointments can be taken, not earlier than 3 months from the date of travel and best recommended, not later than 30 days prior to travel date.

3. Interview: Appear for the fingerprint scanning at one of the nearest VFS centers as per the slot of appointment. If you have already traveled to any of the Schengen countries in the last 3 years, fingerprint scanning is NOT applicable - instead, just the documents need to be submitted.

4. Processing: VFS officials will move your documents to the Consulate for the review and approvals. It usually takes around 7 to 10 days for the whole approval process.

5. Despatch: The stamped passports will be couriered to you directly, or to the address that you’ve requested it to. Usually, the duration of the entire process is about 10 days, including the despatches. However, during the peak travel months, this could go up to 15 to 20 working days.

6. Summary: To summarise, the visa processing is a quite straightforward one, as long as one knows the steps involved and plan in advance. It’s best to initiate the process at least 60 days prior to the travel date, to be able to accommodate any unforeseen delays.

Finland Visa Document Checklist

Here we have tried summarising the key documents to be prepared while applying for your visa for Finland.

Please note the below key aspects before starting your work on documents,

1. Prepare all documents in A4 size

2. Ensure that all the scan copies are clear and readable

3. Do not staple any of the documents

4. Embassy may ask for additional documents, during the approval process

The below is a summary of documents needed as part of the visa processing.

1. Valid Passport of the applicant,

   1. Must not be older than 10 years, 

   2. Must be valid for at least 3 months from the return date

   3. Must have at least 2 blank pages to affix visa

   4. Must submit all the old passports along, if any

   5. Must not be the passports with observation

   6. Must not be a 20 year validity passport

2. Two clear photocopies of passport first & last pages

3. Online visa application form, duly signed

4. Two recent coloured photographs,

   1. Must be new ones

   2. Must not have used earlier for any visas

   3. Should be of 35mm X 45mm in dimensions

   4. Should be on a white background

   5. Should have at least 80% face coverage

   6. Should be non-smiling, without glasses, 

   7. Should not have a hat/cap or other head covering, unless the applicant wears such items as part of religious/ethinic beliefs

5. Covering letter - to be addressed to The Embassy, mentioning the duration of visit, purpose, expenses, details of all applicants with their names and passport numbers

6. Travel insurance, as per Schengen specification, matching ticket dates, with the coverage of EUR 30,000

7. Itinerary of your trip

8. Flight tickets, for onward & return

9. Hotel confirmation vouchers, for all the nights, with the hotel name, address, telephone number and email ID, along with the payment receipts

10. Original and updated bank statement for the last 3 months, with the bank’s seal and signature of the authorised person at bank

11. Income Tax Returns (ITR) files for last 3 years

12. Occupation proof, as per below

    1. For Employed applicants,

       1. Employment certificate/offer letter

       2. NOC/leave letter sanctioned by authorised official

       3. Payslips of last 3 months

    2. For Proprietor/owner applicants,

       1. Cover letter on company’s letter head

       2. Company’s original bank statement, with bank’s seal & signature

       3. Income Tax Returns (ITR) of the company for last 3 years

       4. Company memo/partnership deal/establishment license

    3. For Students applicants,

       1. Leave letter or report card issued from School

       2. School ID

    4. For Sponsored applicants,

       1. Proof of sponsorship and/or private accommodation by completing a national form of the Schengen State concerned

    5. For Retired applicants,

       1. Proof of retirement

       2. Pension statements of last 3 months

       3. Proof of regular income generated by ownership of property or business

13. If the applicant is traveling for honeymoon, then the marriage certificate or marriage card along with the engagement photographs are needed. Fresh photos are needed, instead of old ones, which were used for an earlier visa.

14. If the bride or groom are not employed, then the income proof of the parents are needed, along with a sponsorship letter. The documents needed are ITR of 3 years, 12 months bank statements with original sign and seal from bank.

FAQs on Finland Visa Processing

We understand that you may have many questions in mind, before you apply for your visa. Some of them may get answered below. For any more queries, write or call us,

Q. Should I submit my passports for visa approvals?

Yes, your passports must be submitted to VFS as part of the processing. The visa approval comes in the form of stamping on one of the pages on your passports.

Q. Will VisaBadge help in preparing the documents?

Yes, VisaBadge is an online tool that helps you apply visas. We will take care of your document preparation, verification, submissions and tracking of visas, until the receipts at your place.

Q. Will VisaBadge help in getting appointments for document submission?

Yes, we will help in getting the appointments with the respective Embassies.

Q. What is the cost of visa processing?

The visa processing charges to be paid at VFS center will be around Rs 6700/-. This is inclusive of the consulate charges. The pricing of various services that VisaBadge offers is available on https://visabadge.com/dashboard

Q. How much time it takes for the visa processing?

The usual duration for the visa approvals, as per the Consulates is around 15 working days. However, this may change based on the nature and type of visa, peak/off-peak time in the year, etc.

Q. Is it mandatory for me to appear at the VFS personally?

Yes, if you are first time traveler, it's mandatory to appear at the VFS center for the document submission and finger print scanning. If you've already travelled in the last three years, the documents can be submitted through a third party and finger print scanning is not mandatory.

Q. Will VisaBadge team help in tracking the visa processing status?

Yes, we will keep the status of your visa tracked and updated on your My Visas page.

Q. Can VisaBadge team influence Embassy officials in getting the visas approved?

No, the officials at the immigration department are not directly connected to any of the agents or the applicants, unless they have a question specific to your application. It's NOT recommended to solicit an immigration official directly.

Q. Should I book my hotels & flights, before applying for the visa?

Yes, the onward & return flight tickets are mandatory to be completed before you apply for the visas.

Q. Will there be a refund of the fees paid, in case of visa rejections?

The fees paid to the Embassies and VFS is NOT refundable. However, 50% of your payment done to VisaBadge is refundable, in case of visa rejections.

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