Effects of Brexit still unclear – we recommend that British citizens register their right of residence at the Finnish Immigration Service

Negotiations about the United Kingdom’s possible withdrawal from the EU and its consequences are still ongoing. As the results of the negotiations are not yet known, the Finnish Immigration Service is currently unable to give instructions to British citizens as to what they should do after Brexit to keep their right of residence in Finland.

We will publish more information about the situation as soon as more information and further instructions are available.

If you are a British citizen living in Finland, here is what we recommend you to do:

• Register your right of residence in Finland, if you have not done that already. The easiest way to do this is to fill in an application in the e-service Enter Finland. After this, you must book an appointment at one of the service points of the Finnish Immigration Service to prove your identity and to show the originals of the documents that you have attached to your application.
• Apply for a certificate of the right of permanent residence of an EU citizen at the Finnish Immigration Service. EU citizens have the right of permanent residence in Finland after they have legally resided in Finland for an uninterrupted period of five years.

The registration might be of advantage if the United Kingdom decides to withdraw from the EU and British citizens are required to apply for a residence permit in Finland in the same way as any other so called third-country nationals.

As British citizen, you can also apply for Finnish citizenship if you meet the requirements for citizenship.

More information about Brexit is available on the website of the Prime Minister's Office.