Schengen: 90 days in any 180, now counted by the EES biometric system rather than by passport stamps. ETIAS has still not launched and has no date, so nobody can sell you one.
- 90 days in any rolling 180, shared across the whole Schengen area rather than counted per country - a week in Estonia last month is a week off your Finnish total.
- Since 10 April 2026 the EES records your face and fingerprints instead of stamping the passport, and does the arithmetic for you. There is no fee, and children of 11 and under give a photo only.
- Your passport must have been issued within the last 10 years on the day you arrive, and be valid 3 months beyond departure. A renewal before October 2018 can quietly break the first rule.
- ETIAS has not launched and has no date. It will cost EUR 20 when it does, so any site selling you one today is selling you nothing.
- Cash of EUR 10,000 or more must be declared, on the way out as well as in, and meat or dairy from outside the EU is taken off you at the border.
The rule, and how it is now counted
Finland is in the Schengen area, so the allowance is 90 days in any rolling 180, shared across the whole area rather than counted per country. A week in Estonia last month is a week off your Finnish total.
- The 180 days is a rolling window, not a calendar period. Every day you spend inside Schengen counts against the previous 180 days, so the balance moves under you.
- Since 10 April 2026 the EES records your face and fingerprints instead of stamping your passport, and it does the arithmetic for you. There is no fee.
- Children aged 11 and under give a photo only, no fingerprints.
- Your EES record lasts 3 years, so the second trip is faster than the first. The first one is slower than it used to be, and border queues at Helsinki-Vantaa in summer reflect that.
- Long-term residents of a Schengen country are exempt from EES registration.
Two passport traps
Both catch British and other non-EU travellers regularly, and both are checked at the gate rather than at the border.
- Your passport must have been issued within the last 10 years on the day you arrive. A passport renewed before October 2018 can carry extra months from the old one and quietly break this rule.
- It must be valid for at least 3 months after you plan to leave the Schengen area.
ETIAS
- It has not launched. There is no application form, no fee to pay and no date.
- When it does start it will cost EUR 20, with under-18s and over-70s exempt.
- Any site selling you one today is selling you nothing. This is the commonest Europe travel scam of the moment, and the sites rank well in search results.
What you may be asked for
- Proof of accommodation, a return ticket and enough money for the stay. Rarely requested, occasionally decisive.
- Cash of EUR 10,000 or more must be declared, including on the way out. Undeclared cash can be seized.
- Do not bring meat or dairy from outside the EU. Powdered baby milk and medically necessary foods are the exceptions.
Working
- Visitor status does not allow work. Remote work for an employer at home is tolerated in practice; taking on Finnish clients or a Finnish job is not.
- EU, EEA and Swiss citizens travel and work under freedom of movement, need only an identity card, and are outside all of the above.
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