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D visa

Moving to Finland requires a residence permit. In some cases, you can apply for a D visa in addition to a residence permit. The D visa is a 100-day visa that gives you the right to enter Finland. Obtaining a D visa is possible only when you are granted or hold a residence permit in Finland.

You can be issued with a D visa for a maximum of 100 days before your residence permit becomes valid. The residence permit and the D visa must overlap for at least 1 day. The D visa becomes valid as soon as you have received a positive decision on the application.

With a D visa, you can travel to Finland immediately after you have been issued with a residence permit and a D visa and after a D visa sticker has been attached to your passport. You do not need to wait for your residence permit card to be sent abroad from Finland. Instead, your card will be delivered to a collection point in Finland within approximately 2 weeks of the decision being issued.

Please note that the D visa does not shorten the processing time of your residence permit application. You must first wait for a residence permit before you can be issued with a D visa.
Once you are granted a D visa, a D visa sticker will be affixed to your passport at a Finnish mission.

You do not need a D visa to enter Finland if you come from a visa-exempt country. To check if you need a visa to enter Finland, see the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs: Visa requirement and travel documents accepted by Finland (um.fi). If you decide to apply for a D visa, your residence permit card will be delivered to Finland.

This is when you can apply for a D visa

Apply for a D visa only if you can travel to Finland within 2 weeks of being granted a residence permit. You will need to collect your residence permit card from a collection point in Finland within approximately 2 weeks of being granted a residence permit.

You can apply for a D visa if you apply for or hold 1 of the following residence permits:

In addition, you can apply for a D visa if your employer has employer certification and you hold or are applying for one of the following residence permits:

Family members

Family members (in this case, spouse and children under 18 years of age) of those who apply for one of the permits listed above can also apply for a D visa if the family members apply for a residence permit on the basis of family ties. The parent or guardian of an underage student can also apply for a D visa together with a residence permit on the basis of family ties.

This is when we advise against applying for a D visa

  • If you cannot travel to Finland within 2 weeks of being granted a residence permit and there is no one in Finland who could collect your card on your behalf.
  • If you must travel to another country for proving your identity.
  • If you cannot leave your passport at the Finnish mission for the entire time your residence permit application is being processed.
  • If you are from a visa-free country and can wait until your card is delivered to the Finnish mission abroad.
  • If you already live in the Schengen area and hold a residence permit.

How to apply for a D visa together with a residence permit

How to apply for a D visa after applying for a residence permit or when you already hold a residence permit

Good to know about the D visa

  • When you apply for a D visa, your residence permit card will be delivered to Finland. 
  • With a D visa, you can arrive in Finland during a time period of 100 days before the residence permit becomes valid. The validity period of your D visa needs to overlap with the validity period of your residence permit for at least one day. 
    • Please note that if you apply for a residence permit long before your studies begin, for example, it may not necessarily be possible to grant you a D visa together with the residence permit. In such cases, it is possible that your card is delivered to Finland but you are not necessarily able to collect it from the collection point in Finland. If this happens, someone else can pick up the card for you. 
  • During the period of validity of your D visa, you can travel without restrictions. The D visa granted by Finland is also valid for travel and residence elsewhere in the Schengen area.
  • You need to post or personally bring your passport to the Finnish mission and leave it there so that the D visa sticker can be glued to your passport after the visa has been issued.
  • In order to receive your residence permit card in Finland, you need to provide a Finnish address. The address can be, for instance, your workplace address, or the address of the hotel or other accommodation where you will be staying. Your residence permit card will be sent to the nearest DB Schenker collection point. Please state only your own email address and phone number under contact details so that you will know when the card is available.
  • In the following cases, the D visa will not necessarily shorten the waiting time before you can move to Finland:
    • You already live in the Schengen area and have a residence permit in some other EU Member State, as residence permit cards are usually quickly delivered to all EU countries.
    • You need to travel to another country or post your passport to a Finnish mission in order to have the D visa sticker attached to it.