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.
More 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)