1. You have resided in Finland for a continuous period of 4 years with a continuous residence permit (an A permit). Apply for an extended permit before the validity of your current residence permit expires.
2. You must meet the requirements for a continuous residence permit (an A permit). In most cases, your grounds for a permanent residence permit are the same as they were for your continuous residence permit. Read more about the grounds for an extended residence permit.
3. You must have enough money for living 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. For example: If you hold an extended permit on the basis of work and apply for a permanent residence permit on the basis of work, you must meet the salary requirement for employees. See the page Income requirement to check if the requirement applies to you.
4. If you have committed crimes or are suspected of crimes, it may not be possible for you to get a permanent residence permit. Read more on the page Impact of crimes.

In addition, you must meet the general requirements for obtaining a residence permit. See the general requirements for granting a residence permit.

General attachments:

• A valid passport accepted by Finland (um.fi)Link to an external website, Opens in a new tab. Present your passport when you submit your residence permit application
• A passport photo complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police (poliisi.fi)Link to an external website, Opens in a new tab, or a photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop
  • The passport photo must be no more than 6 months old.
• A colour copy of the passport page containing your personal data and all pages that contain notes

Application-specific attachments:

• Documentation of sufficient financial resources. 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. 
  • You can prove that you have legal means of support by presenting proof of being employed, of having a business, of receiving pension or benefits, or of having other funds or assets. If your main source of income is social assistance paid by Kela, your income is not sufficient. If you want to know what type of income requirement you must meet, please check the application page of the permit you are applying for.
• For an underage child, written consent from the guardianFile opens in a new tab who is not the person submitting the application

Fill in the application form in the online service Enter FinlandLink to an external website, Opens in a new tab. Online applications are more affordable than paper applications, and you may be able to avoid having to visit a service point. 

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

If you apply online, pay the processing fee with a credit card or with Finnish online banking credentials when you submit the application via Enter Finland.

If you apply with a paper form, pay the processing fee when you visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service to prove your identity.

Varaa aika palvelupisteeseen ajanvarauspalvelussa (migri.vihta.com)Link to an external website.

If you submitted the application on Enter Finland, you will receive notifications of your application's progress and of any 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 any requests for additional information by email.