Finland expands customs checks as Tornio rail link opens

Finnish Customs will expand its checks in Tornio when the rail link between Finland and Sweden opens on Monday, August 10, Yle reports. Officers will also inspect goods brought into Finland by passengers arriving by train, while Swedish Customs will conduct checks in Haparanda.

The new service will provide another route into Finland, with customs work carried out on board the moving train.

“The work itself is the same kind of customs control as usual, but in a new environment,” Jukka Riekki, head of customs supervision in northern Finland, said in a Finnish Customs release. He said cooperation with Swedish Customs had always been close and straightforward.

Finnish Customs also monitors import restrictions and taxation on travel within the European Union. Passengers must be able to present the required documents when asked.

Prescription medicines may be brought from Sweden in quantities corresponding to one year’s use, but travellers must always be able to show a prescription. Snus and nicotine pouches may be imported only for personal use. The limit for snus is one kilogram per calendar day, while up to one kilogram of nicotine pouches without warning labels in Finnish or Swedish may be brought in.

There are also conditions governing the import of pets.

More than 4.7 million border crossings were recorded in Tornio last year. From January through June this year, there were nearly 2.5 million crossings, slightly more than during the same period last year.