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Permits and citizenship

Applying for a residence permit on new grounds

If you apply for a residence permit, you need to have grounds for the permit. The most common grounds for getting a residence permit are work, studies and family ties. If you have several grounds for a residence permit, you can submit several residence permit applications. Before you apply for a permit, please check that you meet the requirements for the permit in question. If you have submitted several residence permit applications on different grounds, you will get a separate decision on each application.

You can apply for a residence permit on new grounds if:

  • you have submitted a residence permit application and are waiting for a decision on it; or
  • you live in Finland and hold a residence permit but your grounds for residing in Finland will change.
  • You will have to pay a new processing fee for the new application. As a rule, the processing fee you have paid for your previous application will not be refunded. Read more about refunds. 

If you change application grounds before getting a decision

  1. Fill in a new application that matches your new grounds.
    • If the grounds on which you applied for a permit earlier no longer exist, you can cancel your earlier residence permit application. In that case, please mention that you wish to cancel your earlier application under ‘Additional information for the application’ in your new application form. In addition, send us an encrypted email  in which you state that you are cancelling your application and applying for a residence permit on new grounds. Read more about cancelling an application.
  2. If necessary, visit a service point to prove your identity.
    • If you submitted a paper application, book an appointment to visit: 
      • a Finnish mission if you are abroad, or
      • a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service if you are in Finland.
    • If you are applying for an extended permit and submitted an online application, proving your identity at a service point is not always required. After you have submitted the application, Enter Finland will tell you whether or not you need to visit a service point.

You do not need to submit a new application in the following cases:

  • You have applied for a residence permit on the basis of an established intimate relationship and have married your partner while the application has been pending, you have lived together for at least 2 years, or you live together and have a child in your joint custody.
    • Send your marriage certificate, evidence on living together, or evidence on the custody of your child to the Finnish Immigration Service using your Enter Finland account, encrypted email, or by post.
  • You have applied for a residence permit for seasonal work or a certificate for seasonal work but you will change employers and your work with the new employer will be seasonal work.
    • Inform the Finnish Immigration Service of the change using your Enter Finland account or encrypted email or by post.
  • You have applied for a residence permit to look for work and find employment while the application is pending.
    • Send your employment contract to the Finnish Immigration Service using your Enter Finland account or encrypted email or by post.

If you already have a residence permit but apply for a new permit on new grounds

If your grounds for residing in Finland are changing, you need to apply for a new residence permit on new grounds.

Submit a new application if, for example:

  • You are an entrepreneur and hold a residence permit for entrepreneurs but you shut down your business and become an employee instead.
  • You hold a field-specific residence permit for an employed person and wish to start working in a new field.
  • You hold a residence permit issued on the basis of work, your permit is bound to a specific employer and you are changing employers. 
  • You hold a residence permit on the basis of family ties and you and your spouse are divorcing.
  • You have applied for a residence permit for an employed person or for a residence permit for seasonal work and you change employers before you receive a decision.

You do not need to submit a new application if, for example:

  • You hold a residence permit for specialists and are changing jobs but your new job will still be a specialist job and meets the requirements for a residence permit for a specialist.
  • You hold a residence permit granted for work on the basis of a degree completed in Finland but you quit paid employment and become an entrepreneur or start working through an invoicing service company as a ‘kevytyrittäjä’.

Read more about applying for an extended permit.
 

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