As of March 16, vehicles registered in Russia can no longer be driven on Finnish roads, according to the Finnish Customs Office. However, cars with Russian plates can still be found in the country and can be used legally, for example, by full-time students or people working under an employment contract. As an exception, citizens and diplomats of EU countries permanently residing in Russia may drive Russian cars in Finland.
In the absence of appropriate documents confirming the right to use the vehicle, the car will be impounded and customs proceedings will be initiated, including an order to export the car outside the EU and payment of due taxes – the press release stressed. All crossings at the eastern border are closed (currently until mid-April), and the matter of organizing exports is “the responsibility of the owner”, not the authorities.
However, the Customs Chamber admitted that there is no data on the current number of Russian-registered cars remaining in Finland.
Russian luxury cars “disappear” from Finland
Finnish authorities banned Russian-registered passenger cars from entering the country in mid-September. From then on, there was a six-month transition period.
The parking lot at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is the largest in the country and in 2022, after the start of the war in Ukraine – as calculated by the capital's press – 1.5 thousand parking spaces remained there. Russian cars including exclusive Mercedes, Porsche, BMW and Lexus. A week's stay in the cheapest zone costs around EUR 100.
In the following months, as Finland began to restrict entry through the eastern border for Russian citizens, the number of vehicles with Russian license plates in the airport parking lot steadily decreased.
If the car is left in the parking lot after March 15, the vehicle may be confiscated by the city of Vantaa, where the airport is located.