• Online applications:
  • The processing time starts when you visit a Finnish embassy or consulate abroad or a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service in Finland to prove your identity. An application for a first residence permit must usually be submitted abroad, not in Finland.
  • If it is not necessary to visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service in your case, the processing time is calculated from when you submit your application in the online service Enter Finland.
• Paper applications:
  • The processing time starts when you deliver the completed application form and the required attachments to a Finnish embassy or consulate abroad or to a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service in Finland. Applications for a first residence permit must usually be submitted abroad, not in Finland.
• When your employer must add your terms of employment to the application: 
  • The processing time starts when your employer submits the terms of employment. This is the case even if you already have proved your identity. 

Usually, the processing time ends when we have made a decision on your application. With some application grounds, the processing time ends when the decision has been served on you. It takes us about 2 weeks to manufacture and post a residence permit card.