Right of permanent residence under the withdrawal agreement for a family member of a British citizen

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 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. 
• children under the age of 21 or a dependent child 
  • The child must be either:
    • under the age of 21
    • a direct descendant (a child or a grandchild, for example) of the British citizen or of the British citizen’s spouse and dependent on the British citizen or the spouse.
  • The child may have been born or adopted to Finland even after the end of the transition period (31 December 2020).
• 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
  • Other relatives may be regarded as family members of the British citizen regardless of the relative’s citizenship if:
    • the relative is, in the country of departure, dependent on the British citizen who holds a Brexit permit in Finland or lived in the same household or
    • serious health grounds absolutely require the British citizen in question to give the relative personal care.
  • Other relatives may apply for the right of permanent residence under the withdrawal agreement as family members only if they have earlier been granted a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement as family members.

• You have resided in Finland together with your family member based on European Union law before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020) and have continued to reside in Finland together with your family member thereafter.
  • For children who have been born or adopted after the end of the transition period and for family members who have moved to Finland later, the period of residence begins either from birth or from arrival in Finland.
• The continuity of the residence is not affected by the following absences:
  • Temporary absences not exceeding 6 months per year.
  • Longer absences to undertake compulsory military service.
  • One absence of a maximum of 12 consecutive months for important reasons. Such reasons can be, for instance, pregnancy and childbirth, serious illness, studies, vocational education and training, or a posting in another EU Member State or a third country for work.

The British citizen whose family member you are must have been granted the right of permanent residence under the withdrawal agreement, or he or she must be applying for it simultaneously with you.

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 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.
• Select ‘EU registration / Brexit’ as category and ‘Brexit appointments’ as 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 abroad.  

• 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). 

Payments

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 online, you can print out a certificate of the pending status of the application.

When you submit a paper application, you will be given a certificate of having submitted an application for the right of residence immediately after you have submitted the application.

The Finnish Immigration Service will contact you during the processing of your application, if necessary. Please 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, your right to lodge an appeal with an Administrative Court is guaranteed by Finnish legislation. Instructions on lodging a complaint will be 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.

If your application was rejected but you now meet the criteria for a right of permanent residence by virtue of the withdrawal agreement, you can reapply for right of permanent residence by submitting a new application.