The Imatra border station will reopen on Friday, after being closed for over a year.
Border traffic was first reduced during the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020.
Meanwhile January 2021 saw the government shut down the crossing for passenger traffic entirely, in an attempt to to prevent the spread of Covid. Since that decision, only heavy traffic has passed through.
The situation will change on Friday when Covid restrictions on entry at Finland's external borders come to an end.
Despite sanctions imposed as a result of the war in Ukraine, Russians can travel to Finland if they have the necessary travel documents—however Russia still has Covid restrictions in place for tourists arriving to the country.
As the Imatra border crossing readies itself for tourists and passengers, other border points across the eastern border will expand their opening hours. Vaalimaa in Virolahti and Nuijamaa in Lappeenranta will be open to passenger traffic around the clock as of 1 July 2022.
For years, the Imatra station was the busiest crossing point between Finland and Russia, with 1.5 million crossing in 2019.