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Residence permit application for a start-up entrepreneur

Apply for a residence permit with this application if you intend to come to Finland as a start-up entrepreneur. You are a start-up entrepreneur if you own a recently founded company that aims for growth or are about to establish a start-up company.

You must obtain a positive Eligibility Statement from Business Finland before you can apply for this permit. For more information about the Eligibility Statement, see the website of Business Finland. Apply for an Eligibility Statement in Enter Finland. Only one person in your start-up team needs to apply for the statement and share it with the rest of the team.

If you cannot get a positive Eligibility Statement from Business Finland, you can apply for a residence permit for an entrepreneur instead.

A first residence permit for start-up entrepreneurs can be granted for 2 years. You are required to have sufficient financial resources for the entire duration of your residence permit. 

  • Expected processing time for an electronic application

    First permit 14 days / extended permit 1–2 months

     

  • Expected processing time for a paper application

    First permit 1–2 month / extended permit 1–2 months

     

  • Electronic application fee

    First permit 400 € / extended permit 170 €

     

  • Paper application fee

    First permit 480 € / extended permit 430 €

     

You can apply for this residence permit via the fast-track service and get the permit in two weeks. Read more on the page Fast track

You can apply for a D visa at the same time as you apply for a residence permit. The D visa allows you to travel to Finland immediately after you have been issued with a residence permit and a D visa sticker has been attached to your passport. Read more about the D visa.

This is what you should do

Prepare:

Fill in the application:

Right to work

When you live in Finland with a residence permit for start-up entrepreneurs, your main activity must be start-up entrepreneurship. However, your residence permit for start-up entrepreneurs also allows you to do other work in addition to running your start-up company. If you apply for an extended permit, check whether you have the right to work while your application is being processed.

Residence permit application for a start-up entrepreneur

Fill in an electronic application

Extended permit for an entrepreneur, OLE_YRI

Fill in an electronic application

Prepare for your life in Finland