At present applications can be filed at visa centres operated by the British company VFS. Finland has an agreement for these services in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Petrozavodsk, Murmansk, Kazan and Yekaterinburg.
The system is to be extended into southern and central Russia and western Siberia. The exact locations are to be announced in the near future.
New service points are to start accepting applications for visas to Finland by this coming summer.
The number of visas issued to Russian citizens to enter Finland last year hit a new all-time high of well over one million. Easing the application process is expected to increase the number of Russians visiting the country.
