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The deadline for identification at Finnish missions as well as service points has been extended until 31 October 2020

Publication date 17.6.2020 9.57
Press release

The Finnish Immigration Service has temporarily extended your deadline for identification at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service or a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate).

You should normally visit a Finnish mission or a service point in Finland to identify yourself in person within three months of the date on which you submit your application via the Enter Finland online service. The deadline for identification has now been extended until 31 October 2020. The deadline may be reviewed depending on how the situation evolves.

The aim is to make the situation easier for residence permit applicants who have a pending application in the Enter Finland online service, but whose identification visit is delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Identification is mandatory before your residence permit application can be processed by the Finnish Immigration Service. Identification means that before receiving a residence permit decision, you must visit a Finnish mission or a service point, where you will be fingerprinted and your identity and necessary documents verified.

Missions of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs interrupted the receiving of residence permit applications on 19 March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. You can still submit your application and pay the processing fee via the Finnish Immigration Service’s Enter Finland online service. We will begin to process your application once your identity has been verified. Follow the websites UM.fi and finlandabroad.fi of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs to see the up-to-date situation at the missions. Please book an appointment to identify yourself as soon as the Ministry for Foreign Affairs lifts the restrictions.

Extended residence permit applications:

You can only apply for an extended residence permit if you are in Finland. You cannot apply for an extended residence permit outside Finland.

Start using strong identification in the Enter Finland online service. With strong identification, 

  • you may be able to avoid visiting a service point.
  • Enter Finland will tell you if you need to book an appointment to verify your identity at a service point or not. 

Read more about strong identification at migri.fi/en/identification. We recommend that you use strong identification.

Further information

Stay up to date on news about the effects of the coronavirus epidemic: migri.fi/en/coronavirus