Finnish Customs has begun formal consultations to terminate up to 140 enforcement positions at eastern crossing points that have remained shuttered since December 2023. The agency confirmed the move to national media on Thursday evening (5 March 2026), citing the expiry of temporary funding that had allowed it to second staff to seaports and airports while the land border with Russia stayed closed.
Finland shut all but two freight rail checkpoints after accusing Moscow of orchestrating a surge of asylum seekers from third countries. The border has now been sealed for more than 26 months, with no reopening date in sight amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. Customs officials say traffic volumes at alternative entry points have stabilised, eliminating the need for surplus personnel.
![Border Closure With Russia Forces Finnish Customs to Plan 140 Lay-Offs]()
For travellers and businesses grappling with these prolonged closures, VisaHQ’s Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) provides real-time visa guidance and application support, helping reroute travel plans through air or sea gateways and ensuring documentation stays compliant with the latest Schengen and Finnish regulations.
Lay-offs will be staggered over the spring to give affected officers time to seek redeployment within other government agencies. Unions warn that specialist skills—such as advanced document-fraud detection—could be lost permanently, hampering Finland’s ability to scale operations quickly if the border reopens. They are calling for retraining funds and a reserve-force model similar to that used by the Border Guard.
For logistics providers and export-import managers, the announcement confirms that the eastern land route will remain effectively closed through at least the 2026 summer season. Companies should continue to budget for longer transit times via Baltic ports or the northern Arctic rail corridor and keep a close watch on the increasing reliance on maritime inspections as customs resources are re-balanced.
Finland shut all but two freight rail checkpoints after accusing Moscow of orchestrating a surge of asylum seekers from third countries. The border has now been sealed for more than 26 months, with no reopening date in sight amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. Customs officials say traffic volumes at alternative entry points have stabilised, eliminating the need for surplus personnel.
For travellers and businesses grappling with these prolonged closures, VisaHQ’s Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) provides real-time visa guidance and application support, helping reroute travel plans through air or sea gateways and ensuring documentation stays compliant with the latest Schengen and Finnish regulations.
Lay-offs will be staggered over the spring to give affected officers time to seek redeployment within other government agencies. Unions warn that specialist skills—such as advanced document-fraud detection—could be lost permanently, hampering Finland’s ability to scale operations quickly if the border reopens. They are calling for retraining funds and a reserve-force model similar to that used by the Border Guard.
For logistics providers and export-import managers, the announcement confirms that the eastern land route will remain effectively closed through at least the 2026 summer season. Companies should continue to budget for longer transit times via Baltic ports or the northern Arctic rail corridor and keep a close watch on the increasing reliance on maritime inspections as customs resources are re-balanced.
