• If you held a continuous residence permit (A permit) already when you arrived in Finland, the period of residence is calculated from the day you arrived in Finland.
• If you did not hold a residence permit when you arrived in Finland, your period of residence is calculated from the day you received your first continuous residence permit (A permit).

If you have previously had a continuous residence permit (A permit) for studies, no more than half of the time you have lived in Finland under the permit may be included in your period of residence. 

• If you held a continuous residence permit (A permit) already when you arrived in Finland, the period of residence is calculated from the day you arrived in Finland.
• If you did not hold a residence permit when you arrived in Finland, your period of residence is calculated from the day you received your first continuous residence permit (A permit).

• The period of residence is calculated from the day you submitted your asylum application or the day you arrived in Finland as a quota refugee.

• If you held a continuous residence permit (A permit) already when you arrived in Finland, the period of residence is calculated from the day you arrived in Finland.
• If you did not hold a residence permit when you arrived in Finland, your period of residence is calculated from the day you received your first continuous residence permit (A permit).

• Your period of residence is calculated from the day you moved to Finland. You are required to have resided legally in Finland.

• You cannot apply for a P-EU permit if you hold a temporary residence permit (B permit). The time you have lived in Finland under a temporary residence permit will not be included in your period of residence.

• Your legal residence in another EU Member State can be included in your period of residence in certain situations. These situations include the following:
  • you have resided in Finland with an EU Blue Card for at least 2 years immediately before applying for a P-EU permit and
  • before that, you have lived in another EU Member State for at least 12 months with an EU Blue Card issued by the other EU Member State and
  • you have resided within the territory of the EU for a continuous period of at least 5 years with one of the following:
    • EU Blue Card
    • residence permit for a specialist
    • residence permit for a researcher
    • a continuous residence permit on the basis of studies (A permit) and
    • a residence permit on the basis of international protection.

• Your period of residence is calculated from the day you moved to Finland to live with your family member. Your family member is a citizen of an EU Member State, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.

If you have resided legally in Finland with an EU citizen for a continuous period of 5 years, we recommend that you apply for a residence card of a family member. The card is issued as proof of your right of permanent residence in Finland. For more information, see the page Permanent residence card for a family member of an EU citizen.