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Does the coronavirus situation prevent you from visiting a mission abroad to prove your identity in time? You will now get extra time for proving your identity

Publication date 24.3.2020 16.53
Press release

The Finnish Immigration Service has decided to extend the time limit for visiting a Finnish mission to prove your identity. Extra time is given temporarily to ease the situation of those applicants who have submitted their residence permit application in the online service Enter Finland but who currently cannot visit a Finnish mission abroad in time because of the coronavirus epidemic.

You cannot be granted a residence permit in Finland before you have proved your identity. In order to prove your identity you must visit a Finnish mission abroad (embassy or consulate), where your fingerprints are taken and your identity and other necessary documents are confirmed.
 
Because of the coronavirus epidemic, it is not currently possible to visit Finnish missions abroad.
The Finnish Immigration Service will continue the processing of the residence permit applications that are already pending. You can still submit your application and pay the processing fee using the Finnish Immigration Service’s online service Enter Finland. We will start processing your application after you have proved your identity.

The time limit for proving your identity has been extended until 31 August 2020

Applicants of residence permits must normally visit a Finnish mission within three months of submitting their application online. This time limit has now been extended as follows:
  • If you are abroad and cannot visit a mission to prove your identity for your residence permit application in time, your time limit for proving your identity is extended until 31 August 2020. 
  • If needed, we will make changes to this time limit, depending on how long the current state of emergency will last.
  • Follow the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and our customer bulletins. 
  • When the Ministry for Foreign Affairs announces that the special arrangements are no longer in force, book an appointment for proving your identity immediately.
If your situation has changed during the coronavirus epidemic and you no longer want to apply for a residence permit in Finland, cancel your residence permit application.

For instructions on how to cancel your application, visit the page migri.fi/en/cancelling-an-application.

More information

Customer bulletin