NordenBladet — More information will be added to the EU Digital COVID Certificate on 14 July, when COVID-19 test results and certificates of recovery from COVID-19 are made available in the My Kanta Pages. The EU COVID-19 vaccination certificate has been available in the My Kanta Pages since 22 June.
The EU Digital COVID Certificate can be used when crossing borders within the EU. The aim is to facilitate safe and free movement. Each EU Member State can decide for itself on other uses of the certificate.
Before travelling, it is important to find out which EU Digital COVID Certificate is needed to cross the border of your destination country. An EU COVID-19 vaccination certificate may be sufficient. The EU COVID-19 vaccination certificate will be visible in your My Kanta Pages once you have been vaccinated. The certificate shows the name of your last vaccine, the date it was administered and the number of vaccine doses you have received. If you have received two doses, only the name of the second vaccine dose received will appear on the certificate.
The EU COVID-19 test certificate will be visible in your My Kanta Pages once you have undergone a COVID-19 test and it has come back negative. The certificate in the My Kanta Pages is based on the results of your most recent test.The EU certificate of recovery from COVID-19 will be visible in the My Kanta Pages once you have recovered from the disease and your COVID-19 infection has been confirmed with a positive PCR test result. There are two types of COVID-19 tests: PCR tests and rapid diagnostic test (antigen tests).
A rapid test result is not sufficient proof of recovery from COVID-19.COVID-19 tests for travel are administered by private healthcare providers
In line with the Finland’s national COVID-19 testing strategy, COVID-19 tests carried out for the purpose of travelling abroad are mainly administered by private healthcare providers. These COVID-19 tests are subject to a fee.
However, tests undergone upon return to Finland are administered by public healthcare services and are free of charge. Please book your return test in advance using the FINENTRY service, for example.
Kela will not reimburse you for a test carried out by a private healthcare provider for the purpose of travel. Under the Health Insurance Act, Kela only reimburses COVID-19 tests for symptomatic persons and for those asymptomatic persons who are ordered by a doctor to undergo a test due to possible exposure as defined in the guidelines of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.
All EU certificates are free of charge. The EU COVID-19 test certificate will appear in the My Kanta Pages regardless of whether your test was carried out by a private or public healthcare provider. Exercise special caution when travelling in general. Before travelling, you should always 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 recommendations. The COVID-19 situation in different countries and regions may change abruptly.
Travellers are responsible for determining the criteria for the validity of COVID-19 test results in their destination countryThe validity of the test result begins at the time of sampling or at the beginning of the day on which the sample was taken.According to the recommendation in the EU Regulation, people who have received a negative test result may travel 48 hours after sampling in the case of a rapid test and 72 hours after sampling for a PCR test.
The recommendation states that a certificate of recovery from COVID-19 may be valid 11 days at the earliest and 180 days at the latest after the person has received a positive COVID-19 test result.The COVID-19 vaccination certificate is valid for 12 months.
There are restrictions on the validity of test certificates and certificates of recovery from COVID-19. Travellers are responsible for determining the latest border crossing criteria in their destination country with regard to testing methods and the period of validity of the results. The Re-Open Europe website compiles information on travel instructions and restrictions in place in the EU Member States.
Travellers must download the certificate from the My Kanta Pages before travelling. If a person is unable to download the certificate, they must contact the healthcare provider that issued the certificate and request a certificate in printed form. The printed certificate must contain the same information as the EU Digital COVID Certificate.