Decision-making pause in January 2025 concerning the residence permit for an employed person and seasonal work permits

The decision-making on certain residence permit applications will be on pause from 1 to 8 January 2025. The pause concerns applications for a residence permit for an employed person and residence permits for seasonal work that exceeds 6 months. The decision-making on both first and extended permits will be on pause.

The pause does not affect the submission of residence permit applications: You can submit an application normally through the online service Enter Finland even during the break.

Apply for an extended permit before your current permit expires. Your application is considered to have arrived in time if you submit it via Enter Finland before your current residence permit expires.

Temporarily longer processing times

Because of the pause in decision-making, you may have to wait for the decision longer than usually.

The reason for the pause is the transfer of work permit services from the TE Offices to the Finnish Immigration Service and the system updates required because of the transfer. For more information, see our earlier customer bulletin: Pause in processing of work-based permits in January 2025

Have you applied for an extended permit but your current permit expires before you get a decision on your application? Your right to work will likely continue if you applied for an extended permit to keep working in the same job or in the same field. Read more on the page Right to work while your application for an extended permit is being processed