China Suspends Fingerprinting for Short-Term Visa Applicants in Finland Until End-2026

Travellers applying at the Chinese Visa Application Service Centre (CVASC) in Helsinki received an early Christmas present on 23 December: Beijing has waived the fingerprint requirement for short-stay visas (up to 180 days) issued in Finland until 31 December 2026. The policy covers the most popular categories for business (M), tourism (L) and family visits (Q2/S2).

Applicants for long-term visas—such as work (Z), student (X1) or journalist (J1)—must still provide biometrics. Chinese authorities say the measure is designed to revitalise two-way business travel and people-to-people exchanges in the post-pandemic era, and follows similar pilots rolled out this year in Germany and France.



For Finnish companies with supply-chain links or joint ventures in China, the waiver removes a logistical hurdle that typically forces staff to travel in person to Helsinki for biometric capture. Mobility teams can now prepare e-packets for courier submission, shaving days off the application timeline and reducing costs.

However, travellers should note that fingerprints will still be taken on arrival for stays exceeding 30 days, and that China has retained mandatory consular interviews for certain sensitive sectors. Experienced visa vendors warn that appointment slots at CVASC may fill quickly once word spreads; early booking is essential for January kick-off trips.

HR departments should update internal visa guidelines and remind staff that passports must be valid for at least six months beyond the intended stay and contain two blank visa pages, even though fingerprints are temporarily off the table.