Residence permit for athletes, coaches and referees

1. You are a professional athlete, coach, or referee.

Your employer has ensured that you have the necessary professional ability. The employer must provide an explanation showing that this criterion is met when supplementing your application by filling in your terms of employment.  

2. You have a job, or pursue a trade or business in Finland.

If you have a job, your employer must supplement your application by filling in your terms of employment either online in Enter Finland for Employers or by using the paper form.

3. You must have a sufficient level of income in Finland during the entire period of validity of your residence permit.

• Your income must come mainly from the work for which you are granted a residence permit. 
• You may work in paid employment or pursue a trade or business without establishing a company.
  • If you are an athlete:
    • Your salary from sports must be at least EUR 1,098 per month and at least EUR 13,180 per season or year.
    • If your income comes from pursuing a trade or business, or from a combination of paid employment and pursuing a trade or business, your income from sports must be at least EUR 1,098 per month in 2024.
  • If you are a coach or referee:
    • If your livelihood is based on income from employment, your salary must be no lower than the salary specified in the relevant collective agreement. 
    • If there is no collective agreement in your sector or if you work part-time, your salary must be at least 1,399 euros per month in 2024.
    • If your income comes from pursuing a trade or business, or from a combination of paid employment and pursuing a trade or business, your income must be at least 1,399 euros per month in 2024.
• Your employer may pay part of your salary as fringe benefits, such as an accommodation benefit or company car. Fringe benefits are taken into account according to their taxable value. See the website of the Finnish Tax Administration for more information about the taxable values of fringe benefits (in Finnish).
• Read more on the page Income requirement.
• When you apply for an extended permit, the Finnish Immigration Service verifies that you have earned a sufficient amount in salaries and income. 

In order to be granted a residence permit, you must also meet the general requirements for issuing residence permits. Read more on the page First residence permit.

Have the attachments translated and legalised if needed.

General attachments

• Valid passport accepted by Finland (um.fi). Present your passport when you submit your residence permit application
• A passport photo complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police (poliisi.fi) or a photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop
  • The passport photo must be no more than 6 months old.
• Colour copies of the passport page containing personal data and of all passport pages that contain notes
• Document showing that you are legally staying in the country where you submit the application
  • ​​​​​​​This document is not needed if you apply for an extended permit. 
• Response to possible denial of admittance or stay and to entry ban (the form MP_1) 
  • This form is needed only if you, for some reason, submit your residence permit application in Finland. Please note that an application for a first residence permit must usually be submitted abroad.
  • This form is not needed when you apply for an extended permit.  

If you pursue a trade or business, attach to your application

• your contracts with clients, or 
• an explanation of how you will engage in business activities if you have not signed any contracts with clients.

You can fill in the application online in Enter Finland. The fee for an online application is lower than for a paper application. If you apply for your first residence permit in Enter Finland, you might not need to visit a service point when you apply for an extended permit.

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

If you apply online via the online service Enter Finland, pay the processing fee: 

• with a credit card or with Finnish online banking credentials when you submit the application, or
• when you visit a Finnish mission abroad to prove your identity.

If you apply with a paper application, pay the processing fee:

• when you visit a Finnish mission abroad to prove your identity.

After you have submitted your application in Enter Finland, your employer must add your terms of employment and other required documents to your application using Enter Finland for Employers. See the page Filling in the terms of employment to check what information your employer needs to fill in and which attachments are required.

An employer who is not able to use Enter Finland for Employers can fill in the ‘Terms of employment’ paper form (pdf). In that case, you need to attach the form to your application in Enter Finland.  

If you are submitting your residence permit application on paper, have your employer fill in the form ‘Terms of employment’ and attach the form to your application.   

If you pursue a trade or business and are not an employee, you do not need to fill in the terms of employment. 

Book an appointment to visit a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) abroad to prove your identity.

For more information, see the page Proving your identity abroad.

• If you applied online in Enter Finland, you will receive notifications of your application's progress and of possible 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 possible requests for additional information by email.

Read more on the page Processing of applications. 

Among other things, the authorities may ask you for information about whether you have enough money to live in Finland.

If you were not issued a personal identity code together with your residence permit card, you must visit a service location of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency in person.

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency enters your personal details, information about your family relations and your address in the Population Information System. You can also apply for a municipality of residence at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

For more information, visit the website of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (dvv.fi)