Cancellation and expiry

The registration of your right of residence as an EU citizen or your residence card for a family member of an EU citizen expires in the following cases:

• You move away from Finland. 
• You no longer meet the requirements.
• You have knowingly given false information or kept some relevant information secret. 
• You become a Finnish citizen. 

The Finnish Immigration Service issues a decision on the withdrawal and expiry of the registration or residence card.

Withdrawal of right of residence and residence card

The Finnish Immigration Service will cancel the registration of your right of residence or your fixed-term residence card if:

The Finnish Immigration Service will cancel your right of permanent residence or your permanent residence card if:

Expiry of right of residence

The registration of your right of residence or your residence card will expire in the following situations:

• You are deported from Finland.
• You become a Finnish citizen.

You may cancel your application on your own initiative

If you wish to cancel your application, you must notify the Finnish Immigration Service of the cancellation with a free-form written notification. Please include your address so that we can send you an expiry decision by post.

Cancel your application also if you intend to move away from Finland. Please note that you can only cancel your own application. You cannot cancel the application of another applicant, such as your spouse’s application. 

For more information, see the page Cancelling an application.

How to keep your right of residence when you are abroad

If you do not want your right of residence or residence card to be cancelled, you can submit an application to the Finnish Immigration Service within 2 years of moving abroad.

Submit an application for preventing the cancellation of a residence permit:

Application for preventing the cancellation of a right of residence, a residence card or a residence permit, OLE_PER