Mesmerisingly lit buildings in Helsinki, soothing canals in Hameenlinna, and vast spreads of greenery in Aland beckon you to create memories that last a lifetime. Finland is no doubt a wonderful place to visit with your loved ones. You prepare for a trip to the country with your loved ones, book flight tickets, make hotel reservations, fill in the visa application form, only to find out that there are no appointments available at the Finnish consulates in the next 2 months!
Update : It is now mandatory to get COVID Insurance when you travel Abroad. Click the below link to get your COVID Insurance at cost price.
The nightmare couldn’t get worse!
But don’t worry. There is still a chance that you can book an appointment with the consulate. This article addresses everything you could do in case you can’t find a Finland Schengen visa appointment.
Why is it difficult to book an appointment with the Finnish consulate?
In the year of 2017, the Finnish consulates around the world received more than 827000 visa applications. All of these applications need to be processed by the Finnish consulates around the world. And there are only so many interviews a consulate can take in one day. Which is why the consulates get booked out almost 2 months in advance.
Sometimes the consulates fail to fill in the slots completely. This is also probably the reason why you are unable to book your appointment.
But don’t worry, Travel Visa Bookings is a pioneer in helping travelers in these cases. You can just fill in the Schengen visa appointment form and we will get back to you on the matter.
What are the steps to getting a Finland Schengen visa appointment?
You can either visit the official Finnish consulate website for your country or head over to the VFS Global page for Schengen visa for Finland and start the application. As Finland has handed over the entire visa application process to VFS Global, you will be directed to their website even from the Finnish consulate website.
You can take a look at the link mentioned below to get more details on getting a Finland Schengen visa.
Finland Schengen visa in 7 days
I’m visiting other Schengen countries along with Finland. Where should I get my Schengen visa from?
In this case, to be able to get your Schengen visa from the Finnish consulates, you will need to ensure that Finland is the main destination of your travel. Take a look at the image below to get a better idea.
Ensure that you head over to the Finnish consulate that has jurisdiction over your area of residence. If you need help knowing which consulate to approach, you can visit our blog page. Just look for the country you want to visit or the place you will be applying for your visa from and look for the desired article in the search results.
I’m unable to find an available appointment slot for Finland Schengen visa. What should I do?
Fret not, there are ways you can get an appointment even then.
See if you can get an appointment with a consulate in a different jurisdiction
There are chances that there might be some available slots in a Finnish consulate with a different jurisdiction. You can try booking an appointment with the next closest consulate to apply for your Schengen visa. You might have to travel a little further, but at least you can apply for your visa, right?
But this is also subject to availability. As consulates get booked out well in advance, there are chances that you might not get an appointment with this process.
Change the main destination to a less popular country
You can always change your main destination and head over to a country that has a lower inflow of visitors. Since popular Schengen countries like Finland, France, Spain, etc. get booked out almost 6 months in advance, you can try heading over to a less popular country like Slovakia or Malta.
You can create a temporary travel plan to get your visa approved. In fact, Travel Visa Bookings can also help you make these temporary bookings. And it also comes at the fraction of the total price. Once your visa is approved, you can visit any Schengen country as you like. You can catch the next transport to head over to Finland.
You could say that you are only visiting Finland for a brief period but your main destination is actually Slovakia or Malta.
But it is not always practical to book additional tickets to another country, especially when you have already made all your bookings. What do you do in this case?
Wait to get an appointment with the Finnish consulate
Although this is slightly risky, you might not have any other choice left. You might have to wait for a booked appointment to get canceled to be able to book one for yourself. And along with this, you have to keep multiple tabs open and keep watching like a hawk to be able to find an appointment.
But don’t always disregard this option. There have been many travelers who have been able to book their appointment just as a slot became available. If you think that this is too much work, you can reach out to us and we can help you.
In fact, we have an entire team that is dedicated to looking for available appointments for you. You can just fill out our Schengen visa appointment form and the team will reach out to you. Just provide the team with your name, your passport number and its expiry and issue dates. The team will get back to you in the next 8 hours with your appointment.
Details on Travel Visa Bookings making a Finland Schengen visa appointment
We are currently able to provide these services to the US, UK, and India. We are trying to expand these services to more and more countries every month.
Travel Visa Bookings is a pioneer in addressing the issues of travelers around the world, and we have been doing it for many years now. We charge a nominal fee of $35 to book you your appointment. After filling the form, you will have to pay $10 as the initial fee so that the team can start looking for an appointment for you.
Fill in the Schengen visa appointment form and follow the steps mentioned below to get your appointment.
- Fill in the form and pay the initial fee through direct transfer or PayPal.
- Our team will respond in the next 8 hours and will also tell you what your remaining fee is.
- Once you make the payment of the remaining fee, our team will give you the appointment reference number.
You can use this reference number to get your visa approved.
FAQs on Schengen visa appointments for Finland
You may have many queries related to the process of getting a Finland Schengen visa appointment. Take a look below to see if your questions have been addressed.
Can my family attend the Finland Schengen visa interview with one appointment?
Unfortunately, no. Each member of your family will need to have an appointment of their own. And they will need to attend the interview alone as well, as long as they are not minors, or aged (more than 80), or have a disability.
Does VFS Global allow you to make multiple appointment bookings?
Yes, but you can only book up to 5 appointments with one account. If you are traveling with more people, then you might have to create another account to be able to book your appointments.
Can you book Finland Schengen visa appointments for my entire family?
Yes, we can. Just fill in the Schengen Visa appointment form and our team will book an appointment for you. But the appointment booking is subject to availability. It is possible that our team will be unable to book these appointments with the consulate on the same day or even in the same consulate.
Will my baby also need a Finland Schengen visa?
No matter how young the baby, he/she will need to have a passport to be able to travel internationally. Which means that you will also have to a Schengen visa for your baby.
In some countries, it is acceptable for the baby to travel without a passport. It is better that you consult the passport office of your country to know whether or not your child really needs a passport.
Can I verify the Finland Schengen visa appointment with the consulate once booked?
Our team will provide an appointment reference number which you can use to verify whether or not your appointment has really been booked with the consulate or alternatively with the VFS Global website.
When do I have to make the payment of the remaining fee after my appointment has been booked?
Once our team has booked a Finland Schengen visa appointment for you, you will have just 1 hour to make the payment of the rest of the fee. Make sure that you are always on a look-out to ensure that you don’t miss our team’s intimation once you have filled out the form.
Travel Visa Bookings makes as many as 250 appointment bookings in a day. As there are always other people who are looking for the same appointment, once a slot is found, it is kept in an auction for other travelers to buy. If you fail to make the payment in the next 1 hour, the team will consider you to be uninterested and make the appointment available for someone else.
Can I pay more to get a Finland Schengen visa appointment?
As there are many people on the lookout for appointments, we serve purely on a first come first serve basis. Unfortunately, you can’t pay extra to get an earlier appointment. You will have to wait for your turn.
What is the process of booking a Finland Schengen visa appointment through the VFS Global portal?
Once you head over to their homepage, you can select the country you want to visit and the country you are traveling from. You will be redirected to another web page, where you can start applying for your Schengen visa. You will need to register and VFS Global will take you through the entire visa application and appointment booking process.
In case you can’t find an appointment, you can fill out our Schengen visa appointment form and we will find an appointment for you.
Will you give me a refund if I don’t want a Finland Schengen visa appointment anymore?
In case our team has not already found an appointment for you, we can give you a full refund. But if the appointment has already been booked, we will be unable to refund the initial fee as this fee would have already been paid to the consulate officer who booked a slot for you.
How much will you charge to book me a Finland Schengen visa appointment?
The amount of the fee usually depends on the consulate and its location, but the basic fee is $35 which we charge above the quote of the consulate. Out of this, you will need to pay an initial fee of $10 for the team to start looking for your appointment.
How can I pay you for my Finland Schengen visa appointment?
You can either transfer the money through PayPal or make a bank transfer directly to our corporate account.
Can I get a visa for a non-Schengen country from the consulate of Finland?
In case you are traveling to a country that doesn’t lie in the Schengen area, then you will need to get a separate visa for that country. Check the list of all the countries that fall in the Schengen area to make sure that you are not missing out on getting a visa for a country that is not on the list.
When will the consulate give me my visa? Can I speed up the process?
It usually takes 7-15 days for your visa application to be approved. It is not possible to speed up this process because the inquiry will always need a time of at least 7 days. To avoid getting your visa delayed, make sure that you start applying for it well in advance (at least 30 days).
But it is not possible for you to apply for your Schengen visa 3 months or 90 days before your travel, so, do plan accordingly.
I don’t have a valid travel insurance. Where can I get it?
It is important that you have a travel insurance that can help you cover any damages or injuries during your travel. In case you don’t have one, we can help you get one. Check out the Travel Visa Bookings blog post on travel insurance for Schengen visas for more information.
Can I apply again if my Schengen visa application is rejected?
It is possible to apply for your visa again in case your application is rejected. But make sure to not repeat the mistake you had committed earlier to ensure that your visa application is accepted this time.
The consulate will provide you with the reason why your application was rejected. As most consulate officers are trained to ask the same questions, make sure that you modify your answers to make them sound more believable.
You can also alternatively change your main destination to ensure that your visa application is not rejected for the second time.
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