Press release by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland
Nine-month acceptance period of EU COVID-19 vaccination certificates introduced for travel

From February 2022 onwards, EU COVID-19 vaccination certificates will be accepted for travel purposes for a period of nine months since the administration of the last dose of the primary vaccination series. As of yet, no acceptance period will apply to certificates issued following the administration of booster doses.

Once more than 270 days have passed from the second shot of a 2-dose series, the EU COVID-19 vaccination certificate is no longer accepted in travel within the EU.

Here’s how it works 

• Make sure that your EU COVID-19 vaccination certificate is valid. Get a third vaccine dose before nine months have passed since your second dose. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare recommends a third vaccine dose for everyone aged 18 years or over. Check the recommended vaccination schedule on the website of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.
• Download a new certificate from the My Kanta pages after you have received your third dose. You need to download a new certificate from the My Kanta pages because the certificate you have already downloaded and saved on your mobile phone or printed out will not be automatically updated with information about your third dose. Get the new certificate from the My Kanta pages before the acceptance period of 270 days expires. Make sure that you use a certificate that has information about the vaccine you received and the information ‘3/3’ indicating you have received a booster dose.
• Before travelling, check from the country of your destination what kinds of certificates you need to cross the border. Countries may have have different practices and rules for COVID-19 certificates. Before travelling, you should also check the COVID-19 situation in your destination and, before returning home, you should check the situation in Finland and take care to follow the latest guidelines. The  Re-open EU website (reopen.europa.eu) compiles information on travel instructions and restrictions in place in the EU Member States.

It will be decided later whether an acceptance period of COVID-19 certificates will be introduced for the Finnish COVID-19 passport.

Further information

Inquiries from the public about COVID-19 certificates in the My Kanta Pages

General advice

• My Kanta Pages customer service: asiakaspalvelu@kanta.fi
• Note: The customer service for the My Kanta Pages cannot check or correct people’s personal health data. In such cases, please contact the healthcare unit that treated you.

Errors or shortcomings in COVID-19 certificates:

• Healthcare services: the organisation that administered the vaccine or conducted the COVID-19 test

Certificate requirements of foreign countries and the certificate practices of ship operators and airlines:

• the COVID-19 websites of the destination country or the website and customer service channels of the ship operator or airline
• Re-open EU (europa.eu)Link to an external websiteOpens in a new tab

More information for the media

We ask the media to contact the centralised communications channels of organisations according to the following division of responsibilities:

Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela): viestinta@kela.fiLink to an external website
My Kanta Pages and the issuing of COVID-19 certificates in the My Kanta Pages

Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare: info@thl.fiLink to an external website
National Vaccination Register maintained by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, registering by professionals, regional coverage of information, operating models in healthcare, vaccines administered abroad, paper certificates, validator app

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health: viestinta.stm@gov.fiLink to an external website
funding of the COVID-19 certificate, overall plan, technical specifications, legal issues, EU preparation, uses of the certificate, certificates as part of entry into the country, prevention of COVID-19 in cross-border traffic, model for entry into the country, practices in other countries, Communicable Diseases Act, government proposal on mandatory health checks at borders