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:
- You have a valid passport or identity card issued by the United Kingdom.
- A document issued by the Finnish police of the Finnish Immigration Service certifying your right of permanent residence in Finland.
- You have not resided outside Finland for an uninterrupted period of more than five (5) years.
Application process step by step
Fill in the application either in the online service Enter Finland or using a paper application. You must fill in a separate application form for each applicant.
You must submit the application yourself. Your employer or family member, for example, cannot submit the application on your behalf. You can, however, submit an application on behalf of your underage child.
After completing the application, book an appointment at one of the service points of the Finnish Immigration Service. If you are temporarily abroad, book an appointment at a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate). You will find instructions for visiting a Finnish mission or an application centre of an external service provider on the website finlandabroad.fi.
The application is free of charge.
- If you applied online in Enter Finland, you must visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service, a Finnish mission or an application centre of an external service provider to prove your identity and present originals of the documents you attached to your application.
- If you are submitting a paper application, you must visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service, a Finnish mission or an application centre of an external service provider to prove your identity. Bring with you the application and originals of the attachments needed for the application.
- 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 child’s other parent or guardian is not present when submitting the application, you must attach to the application the other parent’s or guardian’s written consent to the child’s application.
- Your fingerprints will be taken during your visit to the Finnish Immigration Service, a Finnish mission or an application centre of an external service provider. All applicants over the age of six must give their fingerprints when submitting their application.
- You must attach to the application a passport photo of the applicant. The passport photo must comply with the photo guidelines issued by the police. The photo can be black and white or colour. The photo can be no more than six (6) months old. You will find detailed instructions on the website of the Finnish police at poliisi.fi/passport/passport_photo_instructions.
If you have applied for changing your residence status online in Enter Finland, you can print out a certificate of a pending application from the online service.
If you are applying for changing your residence status with a paper application, you will receive a certificate of submitting an application for a residence status immediately after you have submitted your application.
If needed, the Finnish Immigration Service will contact you during the processing of your application. Make sure that your contact details are up to date.
If you have submitted your application online and need to supplement your application, you should do it in the online service Enter Finland. If you have submitted a paper application and need to supplement your application, you should do it by post or encrypted email. The postal address of the Finnish Immigration Service and instructions for sending encrypted email can be found on the page migri.fi/en/contact-information. Fill in a covering note and attach it to your additional documents.
You may cancel your application at any time during its processing. As a rule, the processing fee will not be returned to you. For more information, see the page migri.fi/en/cancelling-an-application.
You will receive the decision by post or on Enter Finland.
If you have submitted an electronic application, you will receive a notification by email or text message when the decision has been made.
You will be granted a residence permit card to prove your right of residence by virtue of the withdrawal agreement. If you are granted a right of residence or right of permanent residence under the withdrawal agreement, your permit will be valid as of 1 January 2021. This means that you will receive your residence permit card only after 31 December 2020, even if the decision on your application has been made already earlier. If you are in Finland, the card will be mailed to you.
Even when you are granted the right of permanent residence pursuant to the withdrawal agreement, the maximum period of validity of your residence permit card is five (5) years. Biometric identifiers recorded on the residence permit card chip will include a facial image and two fingerprints. To guarantee the data security of the card chip, the residence permit card must be replaced every five (5) years.
If you are not satisfied with the decision, you have the right to appeal against the decision to an administrative court. Instructions on how to appeal will be attached to the decision.
The majority of decisions made by administrative courts are subject to a fee. Contact the administrative court to find out more about court fees.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.