Skip to Content

Citizen of Ukraine: Is your seasonal employment ending? This is how you can continue your stay in Finland

Publication date 3.8.2022 13.07
Press release

You have several options to continue your stay in Finland.

Options to continue your stay

1. You can apply for temporary protection

Register an application for temporary protection with the police or the border authorities in Finland. When you register your application for temporary protection, the police or the border authorities will give you the contact details of a reception centre.

You will have the right to work and study as soon as you have registered your application for temporary protection with the police or the border authorities.

  • The police or the border authorities will print out a certificate of a pending application for you. With the certificate, you can prove that you have the right to work. Your right to work is unrestricted, meaning that you can find employment in any field. Keep the copy of the certificate for yourself.

An application for temporary protection is free of charge. The Finnish Immigration Service usually decides the application within a week.

At the moment, a first residence permit on the basis of temporary protection is granted until 4 March 2023.

You can also apply for asylum by contacting a police or a border official in person. If you are granted temporary protection, the processing of your asylum application will be suspended for the validity period of your residence permit on the basis of temporary protection.

Read more about temporary protection.

2. You can apply for some other residence permit if you have grounds for the permit

If you, for example, have a family member, a job or a study place in Finland, you can apply for a residence permit on one of these grounds.

To find out which residence permit application suits your situation, see the Application Finder on our website. 

Residence permit applications are subject to a fee. You can find the expected processing time of your application on the page that contains information about that application. A first residence permit is usually granted for one year at the most.

You do not have the right to work before you receive the decision, unless your right to work is based on some other ground, such as a previous residence permit or temporary protection.

When you submit the application in the online service Enter Finland, you are staying in Finland legally even if you do not immediately visit a service point to prove your identity. However, we recommend that you book an appointment for a visit at a service point as soon as you have submitted your application in Enter Finland.

3. You can stay in Finland without a visa if you hold a biometric passport and have visa-free residence time left

If you are in Finland without a visa and you want to work, you are allowed to do certain kinds of work. Read more about working without a residence permit.

Accommodation and services during the residence

If you apply for temporary protection or asylum, you can stay at a reception centre and receive the reception services you need from there. There are many reception centres of different types and sizes in different parts of Finland. You will be accommodated at a reception centre that has room. Read more on the page Living in a reception centre.

You can also arrange your accommodation yourself and stay with your friends or relatives, for example. You will still be registered at a reception centre that will provide you with the reception services you need. Read more on the page Living in private accommodation.

If you do not apply for temporary protection or asylum, you must arrange your accommodation and the services you need in Finland yourself. 

Read more here:

Services available to those who apply for temporary protection
What to do when you are in Finland and cannot return to Ukraine

Customer bulletin