Dear Saudi Citizens who are travelling to Finland,
The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia to The Republic of Finland wishes
to welcome the Saudi citizens who are arriving to here and to invite them to
visit the Embassy at its address (Stenbäckinkatu 26
.00250 Helsinki).
The Embassy wishes also to inform you that there is a daily
meeting time with the head of the mission and the head of the Saudis' Affairs
at the Embassy from 14:00 to 15:00 (Finnish time) in the office days (Monday to
Friday), you can also contact the Department for Saudis' Affairs at the Embassy
24 hours a day on phone number: 00358407472888, or by e-mail: hkemb@mofa.gov.sa.
Obtaining a visa:
A visa should be obtained before travelling to Finland. Finland is
part of "Schengen" agreement for visa that includes many European
countries (except The UK and Northern Ireland), the visa obtainer should
contact the consular section at the Finnish Embassy in Riyadh or any embassy
whose country is part of the "Schengen" agreement in Riyadh.
To renew the residence permit please contact the Finnish
Immigration authorities or visit www.migri.fi where you can
find applications and information on the fees for residence permits and visas.
If you are a resident of Finland you can obtain an ID card from the
police station and this card can replace your passport as an official ID (but
this ID card does not work as a travel document)
There will be also biometric residence IDs that are going to be the
proof of your residence in Finland starting from 2012 and the authorities will
not issue the paper permits on the passports anymore.
The authorities will take the fingerprints of anybody more than 6 years
old of age and the person will have a file at the department for foreigners.
The fingerprints will be taken each time the residence permit cards are
renewed.
The residence permit cards are not official ID cards.
Residence permits should be applied for in person.
Health and hospitals:
Health care for foreigners are provided in Finland by the private
sector, except in the emergency cases that are handled by the public hospitals
but with a full charge.
If you are a resident and you have a social security number you can
get the health care from the public hospitals within the Finnish laws.
Appointments with your doctor are obtained by phone and there are
many health care centres you can choose from.
Each residence area has its own health care centre and you should
register at the nearest to your residence.
You should arrive to the clinic in a good time and if you are going
to be late please call and in case of cancelling you should call 24 hours
before the appointment time as if you do not call you will be charged with the
appointment fee and a small fine.
Some medicines are not available over-the-counter but they need a
medical prescription.
Smoking is prohibited indoors, in public places, public
transportations and stops except in the designated areas. Cigarettes are not
sold to those who are under 18 years of age.
Customs:
Smuggling and not paying fees on the goods is considered a crime
and lead to confiscating these goods and charge the traveler with a fine.
Electronic devices that are meant for personal use (cameras, video
cameras mobile phones and laptops) are exempted from customs.
Any sum of money the passenger carries that exceeds 10,000 Euros
has to be announced (this does not include what the passenger has in his
account or credit cards).
In case of emergency
In case of emergency please contact the Embassy, the Finnish
emergency number is 112 that works from any mobile phone in Finland even those
that are not connected to the local networks.
Traffic:
Driving in Finland is not different from driving in Saudi Arabia
(on the right side of the road) and the traffic laws are well respected in
Finland and it is not allowed to breach these laws especially in the following
cases:
Exceeding the speed limits as the police will charge the speeder or
the traffic offender with instant fines according to their annual incomes.
The driving lights of the car should be lit at all times even
during the day time.
A special caution should be observed when driving on icy roads and
each car should include special tools to remove the ice from the car windows.
The tire should be changed into "winter tires" during the
winter season otherwise you will be subject to a fine and it is considered
dangerous to drive in the winter without these tires.
If your car runs out of gas during driving you will be a subject of
a fine.
Parking in the wrong place is charged with a 40-Euro fine and with
60 Euro fine in some places and in case of not paying a reminder with an extra
fine will be sent to the owner of the car then the issue will be referred to
the court.
Parking without paying a parking fee is also charged with a 40-Euro
fine.
Leaving:
It is strongly advised not to exceed the timeframe in your visa and
if you need to stay for a longer time than your visa allows please contact the
Embassy immediately so that the issue is dealt with.
The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Helsinki wishes you the best .
