1. You have resided in Finland under a continuous residence permit (A permit) or a Brexit permit for at least 4 consecutive years.

Apply for a permanent residence permit before your current continuous residence permit expires.

If you have been granted a residence permit on the basis of refugee status or subsidiary protection status, your period of residence has started on the day on which you arrived in Finland.

For more information, see the page Period of residence requirement.

2. You have completed abroad a master’s degree or a licentiate or doctoral degree recognised in Finland.

Recognition of a degree refers to a decision by the Finnish National Agency for Education or other authority that the degree you have completed outside Finland entitles you to work in certain occupations or to study in Finland. 

The degree may also have been recognised in such a way that a Finnish university has granted you the right to study for a licentiate or doctoral degree or employed you to perform teaching or research duties.

For more information about the recognition of degrees, see the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education (oph.fi).

3. You have worked in Finland for at least 2 years by the time you apply for a permanent residence permit.  

If you are on old-age pension, the work history requirement must have been met before you retired on old-age pension.

1. You still meet the requirements 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. Decision on recognition of a degree or other document

Attach one of the following: 

• decision on recognition of a degree or
• admission letter from a Finnish university concerning doctoral studies or 
• employment contract with a Finnish university or 
• agreement between a researcher and a research organisation (Hosting agreement). You can use the Hosting agreement form on our website or attach a document containing the same information as the Hosting agreement.

3. Document on possible absences during your work history

Attach a written document of your absence if: 

• you have been absent from work for over 3 months, and 
• the reason for your absence has been other than an annual holiday, parental leave or short absence due to illness during your employment relationship or entrepreneurship.
  • Attach, for example, a decision concerning your sick leave or incapacity for work or some other document concerning your absence.

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.