Portable passport machine in San Francisco California on September 21st 2012
The portable passport system will be available in San Francisco California on Friday September 21st 2012. All applicants must make an appointment for a passport application.
The purpose is to provide passport service to Finns living in the vicinity of San Francisco
Applications can be made as following:
Place: LUXUS Inc.
589 Howard St, 2nd floor
San Francisco CA 94105
Date & Time: Friday, September 21st from 09:00 am - 3:00 pm
The application must be made in person and by appointment only:
tel: +1-408-725 8400 x1
email: michel.wendell@nexitventures.com (subject line: “San Francisco CA – passport”)
Instructions
Information on the portable passport system availability will also be available on the Consulate website www.finland.org . The application process is virtually the same as at the Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles.
A passport application form is no longer in use. The passport system generates the application and with the portable system the photo will be taken as part of the application process (this is different from the process at the Consulate in Los Angeles, where the applicant provides a photograph). The applicant signs on a special pad and fingerprint scans are taken. As the fee is set in euros, it may chance with exchange rate fluctuation. Valid fees are posted in the Services section of the Consulate website (151 USD in July 2012 – please check the fee for September).
A passport application can only be processed if the applicant’s personal data (name, date and place of birth and citizenship) in the Finnish population register is up-to-date (further information: www.maistraatti.fi). For example name changes due to a marriage or divorce cannot be processed in the passport system. These have to be updated in the population register ahead of time. Also, children born outside of Finland cannot be issued a Finnish passport until their birth and citizenship details are entered into the Finnish population register.
Future use of the portable passport system in the Western United States
The Consulate will inform the Finnish community of the circulation of the portable passport system at suitable venues within the Finnish Community via press releases and on the Consulate website. The costs involved in bringing the portable passport system to events and cities within the Western United States will create constraints on availability. Therefore, the portable system might be in a specific area only for few days in any given year.
Passport applications can be made in Finland at the local police station. The police can send the passport to the Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles (by request) if the passport cannot be issued by the end of the stay in Finland. In fact, a passport application can be made at any passport issuing point in the world with the request to forward the passport to Los Angeles (check the Foreign Ministry web site www.formin.fi for locations and contact information for Finnish missions). The Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles will then make arrangements to forward the passport to the applicant’s home address.
Further information: Consulate General of Finland, Consular Officer Katariina Kiuru
Consular Section tel. (310) 203 9903 ext 4
Consular Section email Passi.LOS@formin.fi
