- Residence permit
- EU citizen
- Finnish citizenship
- Asylum in Finland
- Travel documents
- Income requirement
- Processing of applications
- Notify us of changes
- Requests and certificates
- Legislation
- Informing of the decision
- Appealing a decision
- Cancellation of a permit
- Refusal of entry and deportation
- Right to work
- For employers
- Travelling
- Visiting Finland
Means of support
When you apply for Finnish citizenship, you must provide a reliable account of your current and past sources of income. You must tell us the sources of your livelihood during the entire period of residence that is required of you in order to become a Finnish citizen.
A reliable account of your livelihood means that you can prove that you have a legal way to support yourself in Finland that is enough for you to live on. If you have only received general housing allowance, for example, it is not regarded as a sufficient means of support without other sources of income.
Proving your means of support
You need to list all your sources of income in your application. If your source of income has changed during your period of residence, inform us about all sources. For example, if you have a job now but earlier received support from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), mention both sources.
You can prove your means of support in the following ways:
- If you are employed when you submit your application (being in paid employment, doing paid work), include your employment contract and your latest pay slip as attachments to your application.
- Provide certificates of employment from your earlier jobs as attachments to your application. If you do not have any certificates of employment, give the name and contact information of your employer on your application.
If your livelihood is based on income from your own business, your application must include at least the following attachments:
Private trader or an individually-owned business (toiminimi):
- A certificate from your accountant of your private investments and private withdrawals. If you do not have an accountant, submit a certificate of your private investments and private withdrawals based on your own bookkeeping.
- A trade register extract that is six months old at most.
- An income statement and a balance sheet covering the previous accounting period.
- Decision on start-up grant (if you have been granted a start-up grant, ‘starttiraha’).
Limited liability company, general partnership or limited partnership:
- A certificate from your accounting firm on salaries, capital income and dividends paid to you.
- An income statement and a balance sheet covering the previous accounting period.
- A trade register extract that is six months old at most.
- Decision on start-up grant (if you have been granted a start-up grant, ‘starttiraha’).
Please make sure that the documents show how much money you have gotten from your company for your living expenses. The income statement of your company, for instance, does not as such reveal how much money you have had at your disposal.
- If you have received any benefits from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), include a list of the benefits you have received in your application. However, you do not need to attach the Kela decisions on these benefits to your application because the Finnish Immigration Service will get the details directly from Kela.
- If you have received earnings-related unemployment allowance from an unemployment fund, submit a copy of the decision on granting that benefit and a copy of the most recent payment decision.
- If you have received social assistance from the social welfare office of your municipality of residence (not from Kela), submit the payment decisions of each year’s benefits to the Finnish Immigration Service.
- If your livelihood has been based on some other source, such as your spouse’s income, attach documentation of this income to your application.