You can fill in the application online in Enter Finland. The fee for an online application is lower than for a paper application. If you apply for your first residence permit in Enter Finland, you might not need to visit a service point when you apply for an extended permit. Read more on the page Identification and strong identification in Enter Finland.

If you cannot use Enter Finland, fill in a paper application. You will find a link to the application at the bottom of the page.

If you apply online via the online service Enter Finland, pay the processing fee: 

• with a credit card or with Finnish online banking credentials when you submit the application, or
• when you visit a Finnish mission abroad to prove your identity.

If you apply with a paper application, pay the processing fee:

• when you visit a Finnish mission abroad to prove your identity.

Read more on the page Processing fees and payment methods.

After you have submitted your application in Enter Finland, your employer must add your terms of employment and other required documents to your application using Enter Finland for Employers. See the page Filling in the terms of employment to check what information your employer needs to fill in and which attachments are required. 

Your employer can supplement your application as soon as the application has been submitted and paid. The Finnish Immigration Service can start processing your application already before you have proved your identity. If your employer submits the terms of employment without delay, it will speed up the processing of your application and you will receive the decision faster.

When your employer uses Enter Finland for Employers, the Finnish Immigration Service can make more extensive use of automation while processing the application. This speeds up and streamlines the processing considerably.

An employer who cannot use Enter Finland for Employers can fill in the ‘Terms of employment’ paper form. In that case, you need to attach the form to your application in Enter Finland. 

If you are submitting your residence permit application on paper, attach to your application the form ‘Terms of employment’, filled in by your employer.

If you applied for your residence permit abroad, book an appointment to visit a Finnish mission (finlandabroad.fi). Read more on the page Proving your identity abroad.

If you applied for your residence permit in Finland, book an appointment to a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service. Read more on the page Book an appointment at a service point.

• If you applied online in Enter Finland, you will receive notifications of your application's progress and of possible requests for additional information by email and text message.
• If you applied on paper, you will receive notifications of your application's progress and of possible requests for additional information by email.

For more information, see: Processing of applications