Savings affect Finnish Immigration Service’s customer service – speed up the application process
Savings in central government finances affect the operations of the Finnish Immigration Service in many ways. For example, the number of staff at the Finnish Immigration Service has been reduced, which will permanently reduce our services.
This year, the number of staff at service points is approximately 25% lower than last year. As a result, some service points are very busy. There may also be delays in answering phone calls and emails, as we are transferring staff to service points.
The Finnish Immigration Service seeks to prevent queues in a number of ways. You, too, can help prevent queues by submitting your application online or by booking an appointment to visit a service point.
Online applications cost less than paper applications
When you submit your application in the Enter Finland online service, it costs less and is processed quicker.
You do not necessarily need to visit a service point if you apply for an extended permit in Enter Finland and prove your identity in the service, for example, with Finnish online banking credentials. After you have submitted your application, Enter Finland will tell you if you need to visit a service point.
For more information, see the page Identification and strong identification in Enter Finland.
Book an appointment before you visit a service point
Before visiting a service point in Finland, book an appointment in our appointment system (vihta.com). Waiting numbers are meant for urgent matters only.
If you have submitted your application in Enter Finland but are unable to book an appointment in the appointment system, you do not have to queue at a service point. If appointments for the time you want are not yet available in the appointment system, you can book an appointment later.
For more information, see the page Book an appointment at a service point.
Find information on our website
You may find an answer to your question on our website. On the page Frequently Asked Questions we have published answers to frequently asked questions about many topics, such as current issues, the processing of applications, the Enter Finland online service and visiting a service point.
Unfortunately, you cannot check your application’s position in the processing queue by contacting our telephone service. You cannot speed up the processing of your application by calling or sending a message to the Finnish Immigration Service. You can follow the progress of your application on your Enter Finland account or check the expected processing time on the page Processing times for applications.
Send the same supplementary documents only once
If you have submitted your application via the Enter Finland online service and you need to supplement your application, send additional information only through your Enter Finland user account. If you have submitted additional information to us through Enter Finland, you do not need to send the same information to us by email or post.
If you have submitted a paper application, post any additional documents in a letter or send them as encrypted email in the Securemail service of the Finnish Immigration Service. Always include your name and customer number in your message. You can also mention the diary number of the case if you know it. Please send your message only once. As soon as the Finnish Immigration Service has received the additional documents, they will be forwarded as attachments to your application.
For more information, see the page Changes and supplementary documents.
Further information
Updated on 23 January 2026 at 13.40: A translation to Swedish added to the language versions.
