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. 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, but you must apply for EU registration if you plan to reside in Finland for a longer period than three months without interruption.

Abroad, you can only apply for first residence permits. Extended residence permits must be applied in Finland. Decisions for the residence permit applications are always made by The Finnish Immigration Service, which is the competent authority in all residence permit matters in Finland.

Who is eligible to submit a residence permit application in the United Kingdom?

The application must be submitted in the applicant’s native country or in the country in which the applicant resides legally. You can submit your application in the United Kingdom if you are a British citizen or if you have a valid UK residence permit.

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Residence Permit Categories

The applicable residence permit category must be chosen based on the reason for coming to Finland. If you are not sure what application form you should use, use the Application Finder to find out. For more information about residence permit categories please visit The Finnish Immigration Service.

Application and Service Fees

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

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

Please Note:

The applicable residence permit fees in GBP 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 by debit / credit card or alternatively via cash.

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 the e-service of The Finnish Immigration Service. You can create a user account with your e-mail address. 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 the reason you are coming to Finland (for example, work, studies or because your family member is 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 the ‘Certificate of a pending online case’ and your application form. You need to provide both these documents at the Application Centre. You must also present the original, legalised (if required) documents and their translations during your appointment. Certain original documents will be collected together with your application and returned with your decision.

When you have submitted your application at Enter Finland, you must visit an 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. Please book your appointment online.

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 the website of The Finnish Immigration Service You will find the correct application form at the end of the 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. The payment will be taken at the Application Centre.

You must present the original, legalised (if required) documents and their translations during submission. Certain original documents will be collected together with your application and returned to you with your decision.

Photo Specifications

Please note that the technical requirements for the photo must meet the standards set by the Finnish police. You can find the photo instructions here.

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.

If you have been asked by the Finnish Immigration Service to book an appointment for a DNA testing or an interview, please contact the Embassy of Finland in London via email for appointment booking.

Legalisation

Official certificates concerning family ties, such as birth and marriage certificates, must be legalised if they are not issued by Nordic or EU Member States’ 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.

Legalisation of the documents must be completed before application submission.