Russian border authorities have started cancelling Finnish travellers' visas at the Vartius border crossing point in Kuhmo.
The head of that Finnish Border Guard station, Jouko Kinnunen, said that since Monday there have been around 10 cases where people attempting to cross the border have been turned away and sent back to Finland.
"On Monday afternoon, the Russian authorities started denying entry and visas," he told Yle.
Kinnunen had heard of at least one case further north, where a visa had been revoked at the Kuusamo border crossing station.
"The Russian authorities there apparently evaluated what the visa was issued for and how it had been used. For example, the individual may not have only crossed the border to fill up their petrol tank," Kinnunen said. Even after Russia's attack on Ukraine and an array of sanctions, some Finnish residents have been regularly crossing the frontier to buy cheaper fuel.
Last spring, Russia turned away some Finns attempting to cross the border from southeast Finland. At that time, the Russian embassy in Finland commented that those turned back were isolated cases.
No cancellations of visas have so far been reported from the Niirala border crossing point, or at Salla or Raja-Jooseppi in Lapland.
Quiet on the border
The Kuhmo and Kuusamo border points have been quiet in recent years due to the pandemic and then war-related sanctions.
For example, in June, just over 5,600 people travelled through the border crossing points monitored by the Kainuu Border Guard, down by about 85 percent from June 2019. Nearly all these went through the Vartius border crossing, with less than 300 crossing in Kuusamo.
Kinnunen estimated that about 100 people now pass through the Vartius border station daily.
"There are many dual citizens, who can travel freely," he said.
On Monday, Finland imposed new restrictions on Russians entering the country. The changes concern business travellers, for example, who are now only allowed to come for Finland on work trips, with transit to other countries prohibited. Business travellers must now have a valid reason to do business in Finland in person. There are also new restrictions on students and Russians who own property in Finland, for instance.