Customs
Customs declaration
On arrival to Finland by air from a country outside the European Union, a customs declaration must be completed if
- the value of the tax-free goods exceeds €430
- you are bringing an amount of tobacco, alcohol or other goods that exceeds the tax-free limit
- the goods imported are subject to other restrictions or require a permit.
Passengers from flights originating in Norway and Switzerland, both non-EU countries, also arrive to the Schengen area and to the Arrival area 2A at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, but they need to provide a customs declaration if they have goods to declare in their carry-on baggage. They must contact customs through a telephone in the passenger bridge.
Connecting flights within Finland
The customs clearance for passengers travelling to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport from non-EU countries and continuing to other destinations in Finland on connecting flights, was made significantly easier in January 2005. Passengers are no longer required to carry their checked baggage to customs at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport themselves; instead the airline transfers the items to the connecting flight automatically, provided that they have been checked all the way to the final destination.
The customs officials may check goods continuing on a connecting flight from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport to other destinations in Finland, either at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport or at the destination airport. If you do not declare goods that require customs clearance, the authorities may charge a penalty of double the amount of the customs duties and taxes, or impose other penalties as allowed by law.
The transfer of baggage directly to the connecting flight requires, however, that passengers verbally declare any goods requiring customs clearance at Helsinki-Vantaa airport:
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to the customs officials upon arrival directly from a non-EU country, or |
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through the customs telephone in the passenger bridge or at the bus gate upon arrival from a another EU country or from a non-EU country via another EU country, if the passenger has not declared any goods requiring customs clearance at the customs of the said EU country. |
The customs authorities make their decision based on this verbal declaration:
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immediately at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport if there is enough time before the departure of the connecting flight |
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at the passenger's destination airport in Finland if agreed separately |
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at a later date, in which case the passenger needs to pick up the decision at an agreed customs office or it is send to the passenger by post. |
If the baggage has not been checked in for a domestic connecting flight, after possible check-in and customs clearance you should take it to one of the Baggage Drop counters 208–216 located one floor above the Arrival area of Terminal 2. After dropping off your baggage you can proceed directly to the security control and on to the gate area.
Additional information
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Due to local regulations, alcoholic beverages are not allowed in the carry-on baggage at the security check when departing from the airports of Beijing and Shanghai. You are only allowed to bring alcoholic beverages to the cabin, in your carry-on baggage, if they have been purchased at the local airport tax-free shop. This also applies to connecting flights within China. |
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Keywords
Customs
Customs declaration
Connecting flights
Non-EU country
