Residence permits and citizenship - yhteiskuntaorientaatio.fi
When a person moves to Finland, they often need a residence permit. The Aliens Act of Finland (ulkomaalaislaki) defines how a person can apply for asylum or a residence permit, how family reunification works, and what sorts of rights to work immigrants have in Finland.
When do you need a residence permit?
If a person moving to Finland is not a citizen of a Nordic country or EU country, they must apply for a residence permit. You must apply for the permit from a Finnish mission (edustusto) or embassy (suurlähetystö) and usually you need to apply for this beforehand in the country from which you are moving to Finland. An exception to this is asylum, which cannot be applied for at an embassy, but only by coming to Finland.
You can apply for a residence permit online in the Enter Finland service or with a paper application. Applicants usually need to identify themselves, meaning they need to leave their fingerprints and show their original documents at the mission or Immigration Service service point.
Citizens of Nordic countries can live and work in Finland without a residence permit. In addition to Finland, the Nordic countries are Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. If a Nordic citizen is in Finland for over six months, they must personally visit their own municipality of residence's Digital and Population Data Services Agency's office to be registered.
Citizens of EU countries do not need a residence permit when they move to Finland. They can freely live in Finland for three months. If they live in Finland for longer, they must register their residence. This can be done online in the Enter Finland service or at an Immigration Service service point. When registering, there must be an acceptable reason for residing in Finland, such as work, studies or family ties. EU citizens can also work freely in Finland.
More information about registering right of residence as an EU citizen: I am an EU citizen or a family member (migri.fi) (Finnish, Swedish, English)
On what basis can I receive a residence permit?
The Finnish Immigration Service processes all residence permit applications. It also grants written decisions for the applications, meaning it grants a positive or a negative decision. A residence permit can be granted on the basis of work or entrepreneurship, studies or family ties.
Residence permits granted on the basis of work, studies or family ties often require sufficient income. This means that the applicant has to have enough money for themselves and their family to live in Finland. When a person comes to Finland for work, they must prove that they receive enough money from their work and can live off their salary.
You can be granted international protection if you cannot return to your home country due to persecution or conflict
International protection in Finland means refugee status or subsidiary protection. The Aliens Act defines the grounds and procedures for granting international protection.
International protection can be applied for by filing an application for asylum. The Immigration Service inspects whether the person has the right to asylum. If the terms for asylum are met, the person is granted a residence permit due to refugee status. If the conditions for asylum are not met, the Immigration Service inspects whether the person has the right to receive protection in Finland based on subsidiary protection.
Subsidiary protection can be granted if the person is threatened by some other true, severe danger than persecution, which is the grounds for asylum. The basis for this can be the threat of the death penalty or torture. The reason can also be severe personal danger due to armed conflict.
Temporary protection can be granted in a situation where a large number of people have had to flee simultaneously, for example, due to war. This has been granted in Finland to people fleeing the war in Ukraine since 2022. Granting temporary protection makes it possible to offer protection to a limited group quickly and with a simpler process than regular asylum. This has originally been regulated on the EU level.
Finland also receives a certain number of refugees each year. These people have been recognised as refugees by the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR. This is called the refugee quota.
When an asylum seeker comes to Finland, they must immediately file an application for asylum with the police or Finnish Border Guard. They register the application. After this, the application is transferred to the Immigration Service and the application process begins. During the application process, the asylum seeker can live in a reception centre. If the applicant receives a positive decision, they receive a fixed-term residence permit in Finland.
Once the person has received the residence permit, they must move out of the reception centre into a municipality and find themselves a home. When they move, they must register as a resident of the municipality at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The reception centre helps and provides advice with matters relating to the municipality and home.
A family member's residence permit usually requires a secure income
If the immigrant wants their family to come to Finland, the family members must also apply for residence permits. These permits must be applied for at a Finnish mission in the country of departure. If the country does not have a Finnish mission, the permit must be applied for at a Finnish mission defined by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for example, in a neighbouring country.
A residence permit for a family member can be granted to the marital spouse, common-law spouse or underage child of a person living in Finland. If the person living in Finland is an underage child, a residence permit can be granted to their parents. Usually the condition is that the income of the person receiving the permit is secured in some other way than by benefits from society. Income can be secured, for example, by the income of the family member already living in Finland. If there is not enough income, the family members are not usually granted residence permits.
Family members of EU citizens do not need residence permits in Finland. If the family member is not a citizen of an EU country, they must apply for a residence card of a family member of an EU citizen from the Immigration Service.
If a relative or a friend of someone living in Finland wants to visit Finland, they may need a visa depending on their nationality. Finland is part of the European Schengen area. If the visitor already has a residence permit or a visa to any other Schengen country, they do not need a new visa for Finland. If the visitor needs a visa, they must apply for this from their closest Finnish embassy abroad. The visitor also needs a passport or some other travel document.
More information about visas: A visa to visit Finland (um.fi) (Finnish, Swedish, English)
The first residence permit is always fixed-term
There are different types of residence permits. The permit can be fixed-term or permanent.
The first residence permit is always fixed-term. A fixed-term permit means that it is valid for a certain period, for example, a year. There are two types of fixed-term permits: continuous permits, with the identifier A on the residence permit card, and temporary permits, with the identifier B on the residence permit card.
In principle, a continuous permit is granted when the move to Finland is seen as permanent. This means that the person has a municipality of residence in Finland. In some cases, it is possible to have a municipality of residence with a temporary residence permit.
If you wish to live in Finland for longer than the duration of the first residence permit and there is still justification for the residence, such as work, you can apply for an extension. The extended permit must be applied for when the previous permit is still valid. You can only apply for the extension in Finland.
A person can receive a permanent residence permit with the identifier P on the residence permit card when they have lived in Finland long enough with a continuous residence permit. Usually the justification is the same as the justification for the previous, continuous residence permit, for example, family ties or work. This justification must continue to be valid. A permanent permit can also be applied for with a new justification.
You can also cancel your residence permit. You can cancel it yourself or the Immigration Service can cancel it. If a person commits a crime in Finland, they do not necessarily receive a residence permit anymore.
- More information about different types of residence permits and applying for a residence permit: Residence permit (migri.fi) (Finnish, Swedish, English)
- More information about residence permits: Moving to Finland (infofinland.fi)
- More information about the grounds for granting a municipality of residence: Municipality of residence (dvv.fi) (Finnish, Swedish, English)
You can apply for Finnish citizenship when you meet the requirements
When a person has lived in Finland for long enough, they can apply for Finnish citizenship. You can apply for Finnish citizenship with a citizenship application or, in some cases, a citizenship declaration (kansalaisuusilmoitus). In addition to length of residence, there are other conditions related to being granted citizenship. For example, the applicant's identity must be ensured and they must have sufficient skills in Finnish or Swedish.
You can apply for Finnish citizenship with an application only in Finland. The application is filed with the Finnish Immigration Service. This application cannot be filed abroad. If the applicant is the guardian of an underage child, they can apply for citizenship for the child at the same time with the same application.
A Finnish citizen can simultaneously be the citizen of another nation. Some countries do not recognise dual citizenship. In such a case, you may have to renounce your former citizenship, if you are granted citizenship of Finland.
- More information about the conditions for Finnish citizenship and applying: Finnish citizenship (migri.fi) (Finnish, Swedish, English)
- More information about the conditions for Finnish citizenship: Finnish citizenship (infofinland.fi)
- More information about the rights and obligations relating to Finnish citizenship in The individual's rights and obligations