Changing status of right of permanent residence for British citizen

The withdrawal agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU entered into force on 1 February 2020. The period of applications for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement has ended on 30 September 2021.

You can apply for changing status of right of permanent residence under the withdrawal agreement even after 30 September 2021, if you have reasonable grounds to submit your application late and you have been living in Finland based on the right granted to you by EU citizenship before the end of the transition period on 1 January 2021.

In order to be granted a right of permanent residence, you are required to have legally resided in Finland for an uninterrupted period of five years. If your required period of residence is not yet long enough at the end of 2020, your continued residence in Finland even after the transitional period has ended will be counted towards your period of residence. This means that you can be granted a right of permanent residence later. You must still change your EU registration to a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement, even if you do not yet meet the period of residence requirement of five years.

If you are temporarily residing abroad, you can apply for changing your certificate free of charge to a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement even from abroad. In this case, you should submit your application at a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) or an application centre of an external service provider. You will find the contact details of your Finnish mission or application centre of an external service provider on the website finlandabroad.fi.

Make sure you meet the following requirements:

Application process step by step

This is what you should do:

1

Read the migri.fi website carefully.

  • Please read the information on the website on applying for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement, as well as the detailed instructions for handling matters at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service.

2

Make sure that you meet the requirements for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement.

3

Make sure you have all the attachments needed for the application and that they are up to date.

  • If any attachments are missing, it will delay the processing of your application.
  • The attachments you need are listed on this page and on the application form.
  • If necessary, have the attachments translated and legalised.

4

Fill in the application carefully.

  • Fill in the application in our online service Enter Finland. If you are unable to fill in the application online, use a paper application.
  • If the Finnish Immigration Service needs to ask you to supplement your application, this will delay the processing of your application.
  • Give the reasons why you did not submit your application within the given time limit in the field ‘Additional information’. Attach to your application also any documents on why you have reasonable grounds for late application. Such a document can be a doctor’s certificate, for example.

5

Book an appointment at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service, a Finnish mission or an application centre of an external service provider.

  • Book an appointment at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service online at migri.vihta.com. Select EU registration as the service category and Brexit as the service. You will find instructions on how to book an appointment on the page migri.fi/en/how-to-book-an-appointment.
  • If you have applied for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement online in the e-service Enter Finland, you must visit a service point to prove your identity.
  • If you are using a paper form to apply for a right of residence under the withdrawal agreement, you must submit the application in person and pay the processing fee at one of our service points.
  • If you are visiting a Finnish mission of an application centre of an external service provider, please read instructions and book an appointment on the website finlandabroad.fi
  • Bring with you all the attachments.
  • All applicants must be present when submitting the application. If the applicant is an underage child, the child’s parent or guardian must be present when submitting the application.  If the other parent or guardian of the child is not present when the application is submitted, you must submit the other parent’s or guardian’s written consent for the child to move to Finland. The written consent may be free-form.
  • All applicants over the age of six have to give their fingerprints when visiting a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service, a Finnish mission or an application centre of an external service provider.

6

We will inform you when we have made a decision on your matter.

  • You do not need to contact the Finnish Immigration Service while your application is being processed.
  • If we need further information, we will contact you.

Attachments

Attach the following obligatory documents to your application:

  • Copy of your passport or identity card (you must also present the document in original)
  • Passport photo complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police, or a photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop
  • Certificate of an EU citizen’s right of permanent residence

Give the reasons why you did not submit your application within the given time limit in the field ‘Additional information’.

  • Attach to your application also any documents on why you have reasonable grounds for late application.
  • Such a document can be a doctor’s certificate, for example.

Changing status of right of permanent residence for British citizen, Brexit_3

Fill in an online application