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Finland

Visas for Commonwealth countries and British Overseas Territory from Finland

This page explains how you can apply for a visa if you want to travel from Finland to some Commonwealth countries and British overseas territories. The British Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden and the mobile biometric clinic in Helsinki accept visa applications on behalf of the following British overseas territories:

There is an additional fee for applying at the mobile biometric clinic.

  • Anguilla
  • Ascension Island
  • British Indian Ocean Territory
  • British Virgin Islands
  • Cayman Islands
  • Falkland Islands
  • Gibraltar
  • Montserrat
  • Pitcairn Islands
  • St Helena
  • Turks and Caicos

You can also apply for a visa to travel to any of the following Commonwealth contries:

  • Antigua
  • Bahamas
  • Belize
  • Dominica
  • The Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Grenada
  • Jamaica
  • Kenya
  • Lesotho
  • Malawi
  • St Lucia
  • Swaziland
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Zambia

You can apply for a visa to St. Kitts and Nevis online using the following website: evisa.gov.kn. We no longer process applications on behalf of Bermuda. All visa fees are paid on arrival in St. Kitts.

If you want to travel to any other country that is not on the list above, you must contact that country's nearest embassy or diplomatic post to find out whether and how you need to apply for a visa.

Before you apply

Before you apply, you must:

  • prepare your supporting documents - you will need to provide all the necessary supporting documents for your application;
  • check the visa application fee. We charge a fee for handling applications on behalf of other countries and we may also charge a forwarding fee if we have to refer your visa application to the country to make a decision. In some circumstances a country may choose to charge an additional fee if they have to correspond with you directly.

How to apply

If travelling to a Commonwealth country or British overseas territory, you must complete and submit a visa application form. You must complete and submit the application form online.

Applying online

When you apply online, you will need to print out and sign your completed form. If you do not have access to a printer when you apply, you will be able to log in and print out the form later. When you have completed your online application, you will receive an email message containing your application number (also known as a 'GWF reference'). Please make a note of this number.

As part of your online application, you can use the appointment calendar to book, change or cancel an appointment at the visa application centre.

Note: If you wish to be accompanied by someone, you must make a separate appointment for them, once you have made your own online appointment. You can make their appointment to accompany you by emailing: helsinki.consularenquiries@fco.gov.uk. You must be able to give their full name (as it appears on their passport) and their date of birth. The accompanying person must bring their passport with them or proof of their identity that contains their photograph.

You can find the online application form under 'Do it online' on the right side of this page.

Paying your visa application fee

You must pay your visa application fee online using the online visa application system. You cannot pay the visa application fees in cash. We only accept Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards.

Forwarding fee

For some commonwealth countries and British overseas territories, visa applications may need to be referred to the territory you intend to visit. Where a visa application has to be referred to a British overseas territory for a decision, an additional fee is charged. In cases of referral, the waiting period for approval may take up to 2 months or longer, depending on the country. The UK Border Agency cannot guarantee that the visas will be issued on time.

Visa application centre

To complete the application process, you must attend your appointment at the British Embassy in Stockholm or the mobile biometric clinic in Helsinki to present your visa application form and supporting documents. You will not be required to give your biometric data.

You cannot send your printed application form or supporting documents by post. You must come to the Visa application centre at British Embassy in Stockholm or the mobile biometric clinic in Helsinkiin person, and bring all the necessary documents with you. When you pay your fee we will give you a receipt. We will not refund the fee if your application is unsuccessful.

When you attend your appointment, you must bring:

  • the printout of your completed online visa application form, signed by you;
  • your passport. You are not legally required to have 6 months' validity on your passport at the time you apply for your visa. But your passport must be valid at the time you apply and at the time you arrive in the UK;
  • 1 recent passport-sized (45mm x 35mm) colour photograph of your face, which meets the requirements in our photograph guidance - you can download this guidance from the right side of this page;
  • any supporting documents that are relevant to your application and a photocopy of each document )including English translations) - the Supporting documents page contains more information; and
  • if you apply in Stockholm and wish to have your documents and passport(s) posted back to you in Finland you should bring Swedish stamps worth 94 kronor.

Waiting times

If your application needs to be referred, you may have to wait 2 months or longer (depending on the country) for a decision on your visa application. We cannot guarantee that your visa will be issued by the date you request.

More information

If you require more information about visas for the above Commonwealth countries and British overseas territories, please contact the WorldBridge call centre. You can find their contact details on the WorldBridge in Finland website.