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Permits and citizenship

Changing the grounds for an application

You may change the grounds for your residence permit application by submitting a new application, if you have not yet received a decision on your previous application.

Act quickly: If we have already made a decision on your earlier application, your new application will be placed last in the processing queue.

We will charge you a new processing fee for the new application based on its grounds. We will not return the processing fee of your previous application.

Follow these instructions:

  • Fill in a new application form and use the field "Additional information for the application" to tell us that you are changing the grounds for your application.
  • Cancel your earlier application.

You must submit a new application if the employer or sponsor named in your application changes (for instance in case of divorce and if you have a new spouse).

However, you do not need to submit a new application, if you have applied for a residence permit on the basis of an established dating relationship and this relationship becomes a family tie while your application is still pending. The change of a relationship into a family tie may happen for instance if you and your sponsor get married or have a child together. In this case, you must send a certificate of your changed circumstances to the Finnish Immigration Service. Your application will then be decided based on the new application grounds.