Obtaining an alien’s passport is made easier for Afghans residing in Finland with a residence permit
Due to the current situation in Afghanistan, we are making it easier to obtain an alien’s passport, if:
- you are an Afghan citizen and you have a residence permit in Finland,
or
- you are applying for a residence permit and you meet the requirements for granting a residence permit, but your national passport has expired during your stay in Finland and you are unable to extend the validity of your national passport due to the current situation in Afghanistan. The issue of an alien’s passport requires that you have had a national passport and you have presented it earlier to the authorities.
An alien’s passport is a travel document that can be issued to a foreign national instead of a national passport. Alien’s passports are issued by the Finnish Immigration Service.
Alien’s passports are issued on a discretionary basis due to the current situation in Afghanistan
Under law, we can issue an alien’s passport on a discretionary basis if, for example:
- you cannot obtain a passport from the authorities of your home country, or
- there are other special reasons for issuing an alien’s passport to you, for instance, that you need to travel to your home country in order to obtain a national passport, or that you cannot obtain a national passport despite efforts to do so.
An alien’s passport is issued for three years. During the period your alien’s passport is valid, you must find out whether you can obtain an Afghan passport.
The change does not apply to you, if you are only now applying for a residence permit that requires that you have a valid passport and you have not had a national passport.
An alien’s passport will always be issued in certain situations
Under law, an alien’s passport will always be issued to you if:
- you have been granted a residence permit in Finland on the basis of subsidiary protection, or
- you have a residence permit on the basis of temporary protection but you do not have a valid travel document.
If you have been granted refugee status in Finland, you can get a refugee travel document.
For further information about alien’s passports and refugee travel documents, see our website: Travel documents - Finnish Immigration Service (migri.fi)
Book an appointment at the Finnish Immigration Service in advance to apply for an alien’s passport
To apply for an alien’s passport, book an appointment at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service in advance. You can book an appointment at a service point in our appointment system: Finnish Immigration Service - Book an appointment (vihta.com).
Bring with you a passport photo, an identity document, and a written statement on why you are applying for an alien's passport. A Finnish Immigration Service official will print out a form for you to sign.
For further instructions on how to apply for an alien’s passport, see our website: Alien’s passport - Finnish Immigration Service (migri.fi)
Language versions
Updated 13.9.2021: A translation to Dari added to the language versions.
