Finland foreign property purchases have come under renewed scrutiny after the Ministry of Defence rejected six applications from buyers outside the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA), including one transaction considered a potential threat to national security and security of supply.
Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen issued the decisions on Wednesday, covering properties in Kotka, Viitasaari, Miehikkälä and Imatra. The rejections were based on security concerns in one case and the failure to provide requested information in the other five.
According to the Finnish Ministry of Defence, applicants seeking to acquire properties in Kotka, Viitasaari and Miehikkälä included citizens of Russia, Montenegro and Israel. Another application involved a company registered in Italy whose owners are from outside the EU and EEA.
The proposed uses for the properties included rental and recreational purposes. However, the ministry rejected all six applications following its assessment of the transactions and the information provided by the applicants.
In Kotka, the ministry determined that the proposed property purchase could pose a potential threat to Finland’s national security and security of supply. The decision was made under the Act on Permit Requirements for Certain Real Estate Acquisitions.
Authorities did not disclose the property’s exact location or explain the specific security concerns behind the decision. The case nevertheless illustrates how Finland’s foreign property purchase rules allow authorities to examine transactions that could create risks because of a property’s location.
The other five applications, concerning properties in Viitasaari, Miehikkälä and Imatra, were rejected for a different reason. The applicants failed to submit information and statements requested by the ministry, despite receiving reminders. The ministry based these decisions on the legislation governing certain real estate acquisitions and the Administrative Procedure Act.
Häkkänen said the review process was necessary to reduce potential security risks associated with property transactions.
“A rigorous control of real estate transactions reduces security threats against Finland,” he said.
The minister also explained that one of the rejected transactions could have affected Finland’s security because of the property’s location. He stressed that applicants cannot avoid scrutiny by refusing to provide information required for a security assessment.
The six decisions are not yet legally final.
Finland introduced its current permit requirements for certain real estate acquisitions in 2020. Under the legislation, buyers from outside the EU and EEA must obtain permission from the Ministry of Defence for property purchases covered by the rules. Authorities can refuse applications when a transaction presents risks to national security, national defence or security of supply.
These restrictions do not mean that every foreign buyer from outside the EU and EEA is automatically prohibited from purchasing property in Finland. Instead, applications are assessed under the applicable legal requirements, including the potential security implications of the proposed transaction.
The latest rejections follow a similar announcement in June 2026, when Häkkänen blocked 14 proposed foreign property purchases involving buyers from outside the EU and EEA. Those applications concerned properties in Asikkala, Hyrynsalmi, Imatra, Laukaa, Pöytyä, Rautjärvi and Rovaniemi.
The applicants in those cases included citizens of China, Ukraine, Turkey and India, as well as companies owned by citizens of those countries.
Together, the two rounds of decisions highlight Finland’s continued scrutiny of certain property acquisitions by non-EU and non-EEA buyers. While the reasons for the latest rejections varied, the ministry made clear that security assessments and the submission of required information remain important parts of the property purchase permit process.
