1. You have completed a master’s degree, a bachelor’s degree at a university or a licentiate or doctoral degree in Finland. 
   You must have completed one of the following degrees in Finland:

• a master’s degree at a university or a university of applied sciences or
• a bachelor’s degree at a university or 
• a licentiate or doctoral degree.

2. Your Finnish or Swedish language skills are at least at a developing level (level A2). 

The level developing corresponds to level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (YKI intermediate level grade 2, or satisfactory oral and written skills in the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate test).

You can prove your language skills by taking the National Certificate of Language Proficiency test, completing Finnish primary and lower secondary education, upper secondary education, initial vocational qualification, further vocational qualification or specialist vocational qualification, or by Finnish or Swedish language studies or a maturity test completed in a Finnish higher education institution as part of your degree. 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.

For further information on the type of certificates with which you can prove your language skills, see the page Language skills requirement. For further information on language tests and how to participate in them, see the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education (oph.fi).

3. You have only been outside Finland for a short time after completing your higher education degree.

When assessing this requirement, we will consider the journeys you have made outside Finland after completing your higher education degree. You cannot be granted a permanent residence permit if you have been outside Finland for a long time after completing your degree and your residence permit has not been valid at that time. 

You can travel outside Finland while completing your degree, even if your residence permit for Finland is not valid. This refers, for example, to living abroad due to exchange studies.

1. You still meet the requirements for a continuous residence permit (A permit). 

Please note that you cannot choose studies as your basis for a continuous residence permit (A permit). For more information on the accepted grounds for a continuous residence permit, see the page Permanent residence permit.

2. You have enough money to live in Finland. 

The required income depends on the grounds for the continuous residence permit (the A permit) based on which you apply for a permanent residence permit.

In some situations, you are not required to have sufficient financial resources. See the page Income requirement to check if the requirement applies to you.

3. You are not guilty of or suspected of such offences that may prevent getting a permanent residence permit.  

Even minor offences and suspected offences may prevent getting a permanent residence permit. For more information, see the page Impact of crimes on getting a permanent residence permit.

See also the general requirements for entering the country on the page Permanent residence permit.

Check the required attachments from the application form for a permanent residence permit and only submit the ones that apply to your situation. In addition to the required attachments listed below, you may be asked for attachments which relate to the grounds for the continuous residence permit (A permit) you have chosen. 

The attachments must be legalised, unless they have been issued by authorities of a Nordic country or by authorities of an EU Member State. See the page Interpretation, translation and legalisation for instructions on how to have your documents legalised.

When you visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service, bring with you the original documents.

1. A copy of a valid passport issued by your country of nationality and a passport photo

• You must usually have a valid national passport. If you have been granted an alien’s passport for the purpose of obtaining a national passport, obtain a national passport as soon as possible.
• If you have received international protection, you are not required to have a national passport. For more information on the passport requirement, see the page Passport and other travel documents.
• You must have a passport photo complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police, or a photograph retrieval code from a photo shop. Read more on the website of the Finnish police (poliisi.fi).
  • The passport photo must be no more than 6 months old.

2. A certificate with which you prove your developing Finnish or Swedish language skills

We usually obtain information about the completion of language tests and studies directly from the study registers. If you have completed a language test or studies less than a month ago, provide a copy of your certificate. You can view your registered study records in My Studyinfo (opintopolku.fi).

3. A certificate of a completed master’s degree, bachelor’s degree at a university or licentiate or doctoral degree 

If the completed degree can be viewed in the register, you do not need to submit a degree certificate. You can view your registered study records in My Studyinfo (opintopolku.fi). 

4. Proof of sufficient financial resources in Finland

If the requirement for sufficient financial resources applies to you, submit proof of your financial resources. See the application form for information on what documents you must provide on your financial resources. What documents you must provide depends on how you will secure sufficient financial resources for yourself in Finland.

• Examples of acceptable income sources in Finland include:
  • your or your spouse’s or partner’s gainful employment or business activities
  • your or your spouse’s or partner’s pension, assets or other income (such as rental income or income from dividends).

You do not need to attach your tax decision to your application because we receive the information directly from the tax authorities.