In addition to the new integration requirements, you must still meet the other requirements for obtaining a permit

You can only apply for a permanent residence permit or P-EU permit in Finland. If you apply for a permanent residence permit, you must also in future have grounds for a continuous residence permit (A permit). The grounds may be, for example, family or work. If you apply for a P-EU permit, the requirement for meeting the conditions of a continuous residence permit (A permit) does not apply to you. 

In most cases, you must also have sufficient financial resources. If you apply for a permanent residence permit, the requirement of sufficient financial resources depends on the grounds for the continuous residence permit on the basis of which you are applying for a permanent residence permit. If you apply for a P-EU permit, you must always have sufficient financial resources. See the page Income requirement for information on which grounds include the requirement for sufficient financial resources.

You generally have to have a national passport when you apply for a residence permit. A passport is not required if you have been granted international protection. For more information on the passport requirement, see the page Passports and other travel documents.

On each application path for a permanent residence permit, you must still meet the other general requirements for a residence permit also in future. For more information, see the page Permanent residence permits. 

The work history requirement must be met when you apply for a permanent residence permit

If the work history requirement applies to you, you must already have the required work history when you apply for a permanent residence permit. 

• If you are on old-age pension, the required work history must have accumulated immediately before you retired on old-age pension. 

The time that you have been on your annual holidays or temporarily absent due to parental leave or illness is also counted towards your work history. If you have been absent from work for some other reason more than 3 months, that time is not counted as part of your work history. For example, the time you have been unemployed is not counted towards your work history. 

During the required work history period, you may not have relied on unemployment benefit or social assistance or been otherwise absent from work for longer than 3 months in total. 

In individual cases, derogation from the work history requirement may be possible for reasons of health.

There is no work history requirement for obtaining a P-EU permit. 

You can prove your language skills, for example, by taking the National Certificate of Language Proficiency test

The language skills requirement and the required level of language skills required depend on the application path on which you apply for a permanent residence permit. The language skills requirement also applies to the P-EU permit. You must have an acceptable certificate of language skills when you submit your application. 

If the language skills requirement applies to you, you can prove all the different levels of language skills by taking the National Certificate of Language Proficiency test (YKI) or the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate test. The levels of language skills are developing, satisfactory, good and particularly good. For more information about the YKI test and instructions for taking the test, see the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education (oph.fi).

You can also prove proficiency in the levels developing, satisfactory and good with the following studies completed in Finland:

• Finnish primary and lower secondary education 
• Finnish general upper secondary education
• Finnish initial vocational qualification, further vocational qualification or specialist vocational qualification, or 
• your Finnish or Swedish language studies completed in a Finnish higher education institution as part of your degree, or a maturity test. 

In addition, you can prove that you have developing language skills with 15 credits of Finnish or Swedish studies completed at a higher education institution. 

You can prove that you have particularly good language skills only by taking the National Certificate of Language Proficiency test.

In the YKI language test, you must show that you have both oral and written skills in Finnish or Swedish or in Finnish or Finland-Swedish Sign Language. 

• The level developing corresponds to level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (YKI basic level grade 2, or satisfactory level in oral and written skills in the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate test). 
• The level satisfactory corresponds to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (YKI intermediate level grade 3, or satisfactory oral and written skills in the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate test).
• The level good corresponds to level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (YKI intermediate level grade 4, or good oral and written skills in the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate test). 
• The level particularly good corresponds to level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (YKI advanced level grade 5, or excellent oral and written skills in the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate test). 

If you have a speech or hearing impairment, you can prove the level of your language skills by presenting a certificate of required proficiency in Finnish or Finland-Swedish Sign Language issued by the Finnish Association of the Deaf. Read more on the website of the Finnish Association of the Deaf (kuurojenliitto.fi).

When applying for a permanent residence permit, derogation from the language skills requirement may be possible in individual cases for reasons of health. In the case of a P-EU permit, derogation from the language skills requirement is only possible on exceptionally serious grounds, for example, the applicant’s old, illiteracy or low level of education. 

An unconditional prison sentence will in future interrupt the period of residence

As before, your residence must be continuous and legal during the required period of residence. After the amendments of the Aliens Act enter into force, an unconditional prison sentence given in Finland or outside Finland interrupts a continuous period of residence if you are applying for a permanent residence permit or a P-EU permit. The period of residence will start from the beginning, at the earliest when the unconditional prison sentence has been fully served. 

In future, a child under 18 years of age may be granted a permanent residence permit without the required period of residence

A child under the age of 18 living in Finland may be granted a permanent residence permit if his or her parent or guardian living in Finland has one of the following:

• permanent residence permit
• a P-EU permit
• Finnish citizenship.

In that case, a specific period of residence in Finland is not required of the child. Therefore, in some situations, a child may be granted a permanent residence permit already after birth if he or she lives in Finland.

As before, if the child does not have a parent or guardian in Finland, or the child’s parent or guardian has a residence card of a family member of an EU citizen, the child may be granted a permanent residence permit when he or she has lived in Finland for at least 4 years under a continuous residence permit (A permit). 

A child may be granted a P-EU residence permit if he or she has lived in Finland for at least 5 years under a continuous residence permit (A permit) and he or she has sufficient financial resources. 

A child must have a national passport when a permanent residence permit is applied for him or her. A national passport is not required if the child or his or her parent or guardian has received international protection. A child is not required to meet the language skills or work history requirements.

If you submit your application before the amendments enter into force, they will not affect the processing of your application

If you submit your application for a permanent residence permit or P-EU residence permit before the amendments to the Aliens Act enter into force on 8 January 2026, the amendments will not apply to your application. 

Make sure you meet the requirements for the permit before you submit your application. If you wish, you can submit your application about 3 months before you meet the period of residence requirement if you meet the other requirements for a permanent residence permit. You do not have to wait until your current permit expires. See the page Permanent residence permits for information on the current requirements for obtaining a permanent residence permit and a P-EU residence permit. 

If you submit your application before 8 January 2026 and are given an appointment at a service point for identification after that date, the Act in force before 8 January 2026 is applied to your application. 

If you submit your application on or after 8 January 2026, we will decide your application in accordance with the amended Aliens Act.

Permanent residence permit and P-EU residence permit applications will be renewed in the Enter Finland service on Janiary 8 2026 — submit your unfinished application before the renewal

We will renew the application forms for permanent residence permits in the Enter Finland service on January 8 2026 at 12 a.m. (Finnish time). The service will not be available during the update.

Applications filled in before the renewal that have not been submitted will disappear from the service during the renewal. If you have an unfinished application that you would like to submit, please complete your application and submit it by 11:59 p.m. on January 7 2026 (Finnish time). If you do not submit your application before the renewal, you will need to fill in the application again from the beginning.

Enter Finland’s form renewal applies to the following residence permits:

• Permanent residence permit and EU residence permit for a long-term resident who is a third-country citizen (P-EU permit)
• Permanent residence permit for a child and EU residence permit for a child of a long-term resident who is a third-country citizen (P-EU permit)

The paper application forms for permanent residence permits and P-EU residence permits will also be renewed.