Apply for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement with this application if you are a family member of a British citizen but not a British citizen yourself.
If you are a British citizen and wish to apply for the right of residence under the withdrawal agreement on the basis of family ties, see the following application pages to check the requirements for each Brexit permit:
- Right of residence under the withdrawal agreement
- Right of permanent residence under the withdrawal agreement
- Changing status of right of permanent residence for British citizens
If you are moving to Finland now
Apply for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement within 3 months of arriving in Finland. You must also meet all of the following requirements:
- Your family member is a British citizen.
- Your family member has been granted a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement in Finland.
- Your family relationship existed already before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020).
You can stay in Finland while you wait for the decision on your application.
You can apply for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement for your child even after the end of the transition period if:
- the child was born or legally adopted after 31 December 2020 and
- the application is submitted with 3 months of the child’s birth or move to Finland.
If you have resided in Finland already before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020)
The withdrawal agreement between the UK and the EU came into force on 1 February 2020.
You can still apply for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement if:
- your family relationship existed before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020) and
- you have reasonable grounds to submit your application late.
The following requirements must also be met:
- Your family member is a British citizen.
- Your family member has been granted a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement in Finland.
Make sure you meet the following requirements:
Citizens of an EU Member State, Liechtenstein or Switzerland must primarily apply for registration of their right of residence.
If you are a Nordic citizen (citizen of Denmark, Iceland, Norway or Sweden), you must register your personal data at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
You can apply for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement on the basis of family ties if:
- your family member is a British citizen
- your family member has been granted a Brexit permit in Finland and
- your family member lives in Finland.
You must have been a family member of the British citizen before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020).
In this context, family members are:
- spouses and cohabiting partners
- Persons living continuously in a marriage-like relationship in the same household regardless of their sex are comparable to a married couple if:
- they have lived in the same household for at least 2 years, or
- they have a child in their joint custody.
- Persons living continuously in a marriage-like relationship in the same household regardless of their sex are comparable to a married couple if:
- children under the age of 21 or a dependent child
- The child must be either:
- under the age of 21
- a child or grandchild who is dependent on the British citizen or on the British citizen’s spouse.
- The child may have been born or adopted to Finland even after the end of the transition period (31 December 2020).
- The child must be either:
- dependent parents
- The family member may be a mother, father or grandparent who is dependent on the British citizen or on the British citizen’s spouse.
- The sponsor must be taking care of the mother, father or grandparent at the time when the application is submitted.
- a minor child’s parents or guardians if the child is a British citizen
Other relatives than the ones listed above cannot apply for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement after 31 December 2020.
Make sure you have all the necessary attachments
You must present the attachments that are required for the application when you visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service in Finland or a Finnish mission abroad to prove your identity. Bring with you the original documents and, if necessary, translations of them into Finnish, Swedish or English by an official or authorised translator.
A document that has been issued by an authority of an EU Member State concerning birth, marriage, registered partnership or death does not need to be translated if you attach to the document a multilingual standard form issued by the authority.
If necessary, have the attachments legalised. For more information, see the page Interpretation, translation and legalisation.
If you submit a late application, use the ‘Additional information’ field of the application form to explain all the reasons and circumstances due to which you did not submit the application within the required time frame.
- Attach documents to your application as proof of why you have reasonable grounds for a late application.
- Such a document can be, for instance, a doctor’s certificate.
- Copy of your passport.
- Bring with you the original passport when you go and prove your identity.
- A passport photo that complies with the passport photo instructions of the Finnish police, or the photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop.
- The passport photo must be no more than 6 months old.
- Document proving the family tie
- Spouse, cohabiting partner or child
- Document on family ties (the document must be legalized if it was issued in a country other than another Nordic country or EU member state), for example a marriage certificate, birth certificate or other similar type of document that indicates family ties.
- For spouses and cohabiting partners, a document proving that the family relationship existed before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020).
- Evidence of cohabitation, such as a tenancy agreement, an extract from the register of occupants or some other document proving that you have lived together for at least 2 years.
- The document must be legalised if it has been issued by a country that is not a Nordic country or an EU Member State.
- Documents issued by UK authorities do not need to be legalised if they have been issued before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020).
- If the child’s other parent or guardian (who has custody of the child) does not reside in Finland, attach to the application a written consent given by the other parent or guardian for the child to move to Finland, confirmed by a notary public.
- Document on family ties (the document must be legalized if it was issued in a country other than another Nordic country or EU member state), for example a marriage certificate, birth certificate or other similar type of document that indicates family ties.
- Spouse, cohabiting partner or child
- Dependant parents and children over the age of 21
- Proof of dependency For example, information on financial dependence
- Documents on family ties
- The document must be legalised if it has been issued by a country that is not a Nordic country or an EU Member State.
- Documents issued by UK authorities do not need to be legalised if they have been issued before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020).
- The document must be legalised if it has been issued by a country that is not a Nordic country or an EU Member State.
Here is how your application will be processed
Complete the application form
Fill in the form online in the Enter Finland online service, or use a paper form. A separate application form must be filed for each applicant. You will find a link to the application form at the bottom of the page. You must submit the application yourself. Your employer or family member, for example, cannot apply for the right of permanent residence under the withdrawal agreement on your behalf. You can, however, submit an application on behalf of your underaged child.
Book an appointment for proving your identity
After you have submitted your online application or completed a paper application form, book an appointment for visiting a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service.
- Use the appointment system of the Finnish Immigration Service.
If you are temporarily staying outside Finland, book an appointment to visit a Finnish mission abroad or an application centre of an external service provider.
- For instructions on how and where to book the appointment for a Finnish mission or an application centre abroad, see the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (finlandabroad.fi).
Pay the processing fee
Pay the processing fee. Depending on your application method, you can pay the fee online on Enter Finland, at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service in Finland, at a Finnish mission abroad, or at the application centre of an external service provider abroad.
Visit a service point
- If you have submitted an online application, bring with you to the service point the original documents that you attached to your online application.
- If you have completed a paper application, bring with you the form that you have filled in and the attachments that are required for the application. Bring the original documents.
- All applicants must be present at the service point to prove their identity. If the applicant is a minor, the child’s parent or guardian must be present at the service point. If a child who applies for a right of residence has two parents or guardians and one of them cannot be present at the service point, attach to the application a written consent given by the other parent or guardian for the child to move to Finland.
- Your fingerprints will be taken when you prove your identity. All applicants who are at least 6 years of age must provide their fingerprints when they prove their identity.
- Each application must contain a passport photo of the applicant. The passport photo must comply with the passport photo instructions of the Finnish police. The photograph can be black-and-white or in colour. The photo must not be older than 6 months. See the passport photograph instructions on the website of the Finnish police (poliisi.fi).
If you have applied for the right of residence electronically on the Enter Finland service, you can print out a certificate of the pending status of the application.
If you are applying for a right of residence using a paper form, you will be provided with a certificate of having submitted the application for right of residence immediately after you have submitted the application concerned.
The Finnish Immigration Service will contact you during the processing of your application, if necessary. Make sure that your contact information is up to date.
If you have submitted an online application, log in to your Enter Finland account to supplement your application.
If you have submitted a paper application, you can supplement it by post or by sending us encrypted email. See the page Contact information for the postal address of the Finnish Immigration Service and for instructions on how to send encrypted email to the Finnish Immigration Service. Fill in a covering note form (pdf) and attach it to the additional documents that you send.
You may cancel your application at any time while your application is pending. The processing fee is typically not refunded. Read more on the page Cancelling an application.
You will receive the decision by post or into your Enter Finland account.
If you have submitted an online application, you will receive an email and a text message when the decision is ready.
You will receive a residence permit card for proving your right of residence under the withdrawal agreement.
Residence permit cards are valid for up to 5 years at a time. Biometric identifiers, including a facial image and two fingerprints, will be recorded on the residence permit card chip. To ensure the data security of the chip, the card must be renewed every 5 years.
If you are dissatisfied with the decision, you have a right to lodge an appeal with an Administrative Court. Instructions on lodging a complaint are attached to the decision.
A fee is charged for most rulings of the Administrative Court. Information on legal fees is provided by the Administrative Court.