Residence Permit

Overview

Applicants who plan to stay in Finland for longer than 90 days within any 180-day period are required to have a residence permit. You may have to apply for a residence permit in order to work in Finland even if your stay does not exceed 90 days. Decisions for the residence permits are made by The Finnish Immigration Service which is the competent authority in residence permit matters in Finland. The right to work without a residence permit is restricted.

If you are a citizen of an EU Member State, a Nordic country, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, you do not need a residence permit to stay in Finland. You must apply for EU registration if you plan to reside in Finland for a longer period than three months without interruption. If you are a family member of an EU citizen and an EU citizen yourself, you should also register your right of residence. If you are a family member of an EU citizen, but not an EU citizen yourself, you need to apply for a residence card for a family member of an EU citizen.

Please see more information on the webpage of Finnish Immigration Service https://migri.fi/en/eu-citizen.

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Residence Permit Categories

The applicable residence permit category needs to be chosen based on the reason for the applicant coming to Finland. For more information about residence permit categories please visit The Finnish Immigration Service.

Application Fees

 

Application form

You have two options to apply for a residence permit

Option 1- Applying at Enter Finland e-service

Enter Finland is an e-service of The Finnish Immigration Service.You will get a user account created with your e-mail address at Enter Finland. The account is for personal use only. Keep your e-mail address and password safe so you can log into the service later. Choose the correct application form based on why you are coming to Finland (for example, work, studies or a family member in Finland).

Enter Finland will guide you through the process of filling in your application. Enter Finland will save your application automatically as you fill it in.

Pay with a credit card or the online bank credentials of a Finnish bank. If you have issues with paying, you may also pay in Application Centre.

Attach your supplementary documents at Enter Finland. Make sure you attach all the required documents. Print Certificate of a pending online case and your application form. You need to provide both these documents at the Application Centre.

When you have submitted your application at Enter Finland, you have to visit the Application Centre in order to prove your identity and to have your biometric identifiers taken. If you have applied at Enter Finland, you need to prove your identity within three months after submitting your application.

You cannot use the e-service to apply for:

• a residence permit on the grounds of Finnish origin
• a residence permit on other grounds
• a renewal of a residence permit card
• travel documents
• a Schengen visa
• asylum

Option 2 -Applying with paper application at the Embassy

Select the appropriate residence permit category on website of The Finnish Immigration Service

You will find the correct application form at the end of chosen residence permit category site. Print the application form.

Fill in the paper application form in Finnish, Swedish or English and prepare the required documents.

You must present the original, legalised (if required) documents and their translations during submission. Copies of those will be collected together with your application.

Please note: Paper applications can only be submitted at the Embassy of Finland in Ottawa

Photo Specifications

Please note: The technical requirements for the photo must meet the standards set by the police https://poliisi.fi/documents/25235045/31329600/Passport-photograph-instructions-by-the-police-2020-EN-fixed.pdf