Residence Permit

Residence Permit

  • Overview
  • Residence Permit Categories
  • Application Fees
  • Application form
  • Photo Specifications
  • DNA and Interview
  • Legalisation
  • 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. The right to work without a residence permit is restricted. You may have to apply for a residence permit in order to work in Finland even if your stay does not exceed 90 days. If you are an EU citizen or a citizen of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you are not required to have a residence permit in Finland. Decisions for the residence permits are made by The Finnish Immigration Service, which is the competent authority in all residence permit matters in Finland. You are allowed to apply only first residence permit abroad. Extended residence permit needs to be applied while you are staying in Finland.

    Who is eligible to submit a residence permit application?

    The application must be submitted in the country in which the applicant resides legally. The Application Centre can accept applications only from applicants legally registered their residency in Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Eritrea and Seychelles.

    Apply for a residence permit at a Finnish mission either in your home country or in the country of departure where you have a legal residence.

    Kindly note that the applicants must be legally in Kenya. A legal residence can be shown together with stamps on the passport as follows:

    • Electronic travel authorization for Kenya (printed and with QR code. The price is 32.50 USD.) https://www.etakenya.go.ke/en
    • Kenyan electronic extension visa (provide the printed version of your electronic extension visa with QR code to the appointment at the VFS. Applying for an extension costs 51 USD).
      https://fns.immigration.go.ke. Kindly make sure you are able to log in to the EFNS-portal if requested.
    • Refugee Asylum Pass granted by the Kenyan authorities. In that case, the applicant must register with the UNHCR and apply for refugee status.
    • Kenyan residence permit

    Please click here to book an appointment.

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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

    RESIDENCE PERMIT CATEGORY Paper application ONLINE-application
    EURO KES EURO KES
    First residence permit  580 80150 530 73250
    First residence permit, minor holder 300 41450 270 37300
    First residence permit for studies 550 76000 450 62200
    First residence permit for work (work requiring a partial decision) 750 103650 590 81550
    First residence permit for start-up entrepreneur 580 80150 450 62200
    First residence permit for other entrepreneur 700 96750 550 76000
    First residence permit, no labour market testing (other work, specialist, specialist EU Blue card, researcher, athlete, coach or trainer, internship, au pair, working holiday) 480 66350 380 52500
    First residence permit for seasonal work 480 66350 380 52500
    D-Visa 120 16600 95 13150

    *Applicant under 18 years-old is considered to be minor.


    SERVICE TYPE SERVICE FEE EURO Service Fee in KES
    VFS Residence Permit Service 20 Euro 2930 KES

    *Please note that the service fee is inclusive of VAT.

    Please Note:

    The applicable residence permit fees in KES varies with the current exchange rate. It is subject to change without notice.

    The applicants who will pay the service fees at the Residence Permit Application Centre should pay in Kenyan Shillings by MPESA

    The fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

  • 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

    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.

  • LEGALISATION

    Official certificates concerning family ties, such as birth and marriage certificates, must be legalised if they are not issued by Nordic authorities. If the documents are not in Finnish, Swedish or English, they must be accompanied by a translation into one of these languages by an authorised translator. Both the original documents and their translations must be legalised.

    Before bringing the original documents to the Application Centre they have to be translated into English and legalised at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the country, which has issued the documents. Both the original document and the translation must be legalised and the fee will be charged for both documents.

    • The Embassy of Finland in Nairobi legalises documents issued by Kenyan authorities during the office hours.
    • For more information about service fees of legalisation please click here
  • 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

  • DNA and Interview

    The Finnish Immigration Service may offer the applicant and the sponsor the opportunity to take a DNA test if there are no other means of sufficiently establishing family ties based on biological relationship.

    A residence permit applicant may have an invitation to an interview if there are no other means of establishing sufficient grounds for granting a residence permit. The interview may be held only by an official of the Finnish mission or The Finnish Immigration Service. For more information please view The Finnish Immigration Service.