Police departments around the country said passport renewal has been brisk throughout the week. However, according to the Pasila permit unit in Helsinki, there were queues "unprecedented" on Friday.
Every day in the Helsinki district, there are about 800 people in line, most of whom have come to apply for or renew a passport. Waiting times have stretched to two hours, and some have had to wait their turn outside the station.
According to police, the rush was due to the fact that many citizens allowed their passports to expire during the pandemic.
In Espoo, the early renewal of a passport or identity card is after three months. Currently, police reservation systems are also congested in many other countries.
People whose passports or ID cards have expired more than a year ago should book a personal visit to the police station to recover their fingerprints.
In Finland, about 250,000 adults and 138,000 minors did not have a valid passport at the beginning of February.
Source: The Nordic Page