The Finnish Immigration Service’s forms have been revised
The Finnish Immigration Service’s residence permit application and citizenship application forms have been revised. The new forms will be taken into use on Monday, 11 January 2010.
The old forms are no longer available, but if someone has printed out or stored one of these, a residence permit application, a citizenship application or a citizenship declaration made on these forms will still be accepted at police stations in Finland and at Finnish diplomatic missions abroad until 28 February 2010. After this point, only the new forms will be accepted.
Tailored questions, faster processing
All application types in accordance with the Aliens Act have their own designated forms now. Residence permit applicants will no longer fill in the same residence permit form; instead, designated forms will be provided for, for instance, students, employees and family members. Similarly, people applying for Finnish citizenship will select the suitable form according to which applicant group they belong.
The questions in each of the forms are tailored to the application type. Thus, the forms are more detailed than before, yet applicants only need to answer questions pertaining to their own application type. This is expected to reduce the need for requests for supplementary documentation, thus expediting processing of applications and decision-making. The exact questions also give the applicants a picture of the requirements for getting a residence permit or Finnish citizenship.
The type of applicant for whom the application is intended is indicated at the top of each form. The questions are detailed, which will help in filling in the form, with the required appendixes listed on the last form page.
Forms available in the same place as before
The new forms will be available on the Finnish Immigration Service’s website (www.migri.fi) under the “Application forms” link and as from 12 January also on the website Suomi.fi.
All forms have been published in Word and PDF format. The form in Word format can be filled in on the computer and saved for completion at a convenient time. The PDF format form should be printed out and filled in manually.
The forms will be provided in the same languages as previously: the languages in which residence permit forms are available are Finnish, Swedish and English. The citizenship forms are primarily available in Finnish and Swedish.
The revised application forms do not affect the application process. An application for a residence permit may be submitted to a Finnish diplomatic mission abroad or to the local police in Finland. An application for Finnish citizenship must be submitted to the local police in Finland. A declaration for Finnish citizenship may be submitted abroad to a Finnish diplomatic mission.
Further information for the media: Hanna Helinko, Head of Section, Administration Unit, tel. +358 71 873 0431, e-mail: firstname.lastname@migri.fi
11.1.2010
