Elusive personal appointments for passport applications can lead to delays in processing.
Image: Ismo Pekkarinen / AOP
Dates for passport applications in Helsinki are currently fully booked, according to the Finnish National Police.
“The first available appointment in the capital is now a few weeks away. Elsewhere in Finland the longest waiting times for appointments are in Turku, Tampere and Oulu,” said the inspector general of the police department. Juhani Ruutu.
Police stations in nearby towns have appointments available earlier.
“In some parts of the country, such as Kuopio, Lahti and Vaasa, you can schedule an appointment within a week or two. In Rovaniemi, appointments are available this week,” said Ruutu.
On the Appointment Booking website, applicants are encouraged to monitor the situation and availability of appointments elsewhere, as police authorities may add more appointments at short notice depending on the current situation and resources.
Pent-up demand
The queues for passport applications could get longer as summer approaches and the desire to travel increases again after a year imprisonment in Covid, the police said.
“As the government talks about its exit plan and how restrictions are gradually being eased, passport applications are sure to grow in size as so many people failed to apply in the past year. said the chief inspector in charge of permits to the Helsinki police, Pekka Kallio.
Police are hoping those who plan to travel this summer will submit their applications as soon as possible. Last week, the earliest available appointment in Helsinki was four weeks away. Kallio assumes that the increase in demand will also be reflected in the waiting times this summer.
“We will definitely see a rush this summer. Hopefully we can meet the demand. We have hired more people and are continuing to increase the number of representatives at the service points. It will be interesting to see how great the demand is,” said Kallio
Wait a couple of weeks in Tampere
Passport and ID card applications can be submitted online.
“A passport application is usually processed within one working day of submitting the application. On the other hand, some regional delays have been observed in applications that require a personal transaction at the police station,” says Ruutu.
Online applications for the area, which is processed by the Finnish Internal Police in Tampere, for example, were processed on time.
“As a rule, applications received in person are usually processed in connection with the customer visit. As a result, the delivery times for passports or ID cards have not been extended. The normal delivery time is five to eight working days,” said Central Finland’s license manager of the police department Hannele Koskela.
According to Koskela, the delays are caused by waiting longer than usual for a personal appointment at a police station.
“If a visit to the police station is required, prepare for the first available appointment to be several weeks away,” Koskela said.
Licensed tourism in south-west Finland
Turku now waits about a month for appointments, but elsewhere in southwest Finland, appointments for passports and other permits come much faster, some within a few days.
Licensed tourism is a phenomenon that the police have recently become aware of as an application does not need to be submitted to the local police station.
“We are seeing what is known as ‘licensed tourism’. For example, people will jump on the motorway and drive from Espoo to Salo to submit an application,” says the chief inspector of the police department in south-west Finland Petri Kangas.
No rush in Lapland
Chief inspector Hannu Partans Yle informed the Lappish Police Department that there are no pass delays in the north. A travel document can be obtained in the time normally allocated for the process, ie around a week. Partanen declined to speculate about summer storms, but his advice to passport applicants applies across Finland: “Apply online if possible and allow enough time to process”.
If it’s really urgent, an Express Pass can usually be requested in Finland on the same day. A regular passport can also be obtained in Helsinki in about a week by queuing at the service point in Pasila. Most customers make it to the top in an hour. Due to the Covid situation, however, the police do not recommend personal transactions, but instead encourage employees to conduct their administrative business online or – if a visit is required – to make an appointment.
“Providing customer service by appointment is the standard as recommended by the police due to the situation in Covid,” said Ruutu.
Ruutu points out that for those without an appointment, preparing for long waits is a good idea.
“Because of the Covid restrictions, one should also be prepared to wait outside,” he added.
