Means of support
When you apply for Finnish citizenship, you must provide information on your income sources in Finland. The requirements concerning sufficient financial resources depend on whether you have submitted your application on or after 17 December 2025, or before 17 December 2025.
The following links will take you directly to the different sections of the page:
- Requirement for sufficient financial resources if you have submitted your application on or after 17 December 2025
- Requirement for sufficient financial resources if you have submitted your application before 17 December 2025
Requirement for sufficient financial resources if you have submitted your application on or after 17 December 2025
When you apply for Finnish citizenship, you must meet the requirement for sufficient financial resources. Sufficient financial resources means that you have not received unemployment benefit or social assistance for longer than 3 months in total during the past 2 years.
- Unemployment benefit refers to labour market subsidy, basic unemployment allowance and earnings-related unemployment allowance.
- Social assistance refers to basic social assistance paid to the applicant or his or her spouse or partner by Kela and supplementary and preventive social assistance paid by a wellbeing services county, City of Helsinki or Åland.
See examples of sufficient financial resources on the page Frequently asked questions: Finnish citizenship.
State in your application your income sources in Finland during the past 2 years.
Your income must be legal and enough to live on. If you have only received general housing allowance, for example, it is not regarded as sufficient without any other sources of income.
If your spouse has received social assistance
When we examine whether the income requirement is met, we also verify whether your spouse has been paid social assistance during the past 2 years. This is because all family members living together are considered to be recipients of social assistance from the date of payment of the social assistance. A spouse refers to a married spouse, a cohabiting partner and a registered partner.
If you are over 65 years old
If you have reached the age of 65, the requirement for sufficient financial resources does not concern you. You do not need to attach any documents on your income to the application, and your income will not be investigated.
Proving your means of support
State in your application your income sources in Finland during the past 2 years. For example: if you have a job now but you have earlier received benefits from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), mention both sources.
You can prove your means of support in the following ways:
Add the following documents to your application:
- an employment contract for your current job
- other statement if you do not have an employment contract.
The Finnish Immigration Service receives information on your salaries from the Incomes Register. Therefore, you do not need to attach documents on salaries to your application. If we need further information, we will send you a request for additional information. Read more on the page Incomes Register.
If you are a private trader or have an individually-owned business (toiminimi), add the following documents to your application:
- An accountant’s certificate of your private withdrawals and private investments. Private withdrawal means that you withdraw money from your business account for your own use. Private investment means that you invest money or other assets for the disposal of the company.
- If you do not have an accountant, submit a document listing your private withdrawals and private investments based on your own bookkeeping.
- An income statement and a balance sheet covering the previous accounting period.
If you have a limited liability company, general partnership or limited partnership, you do not have to attach documents concerning business activities to your application.
If your family member is a private trader (working under a business name) and your income is based on your family member’s income, attach an accountant’s certificate of private withdrawals and private investments to your application. If your family member does not have an accountant or an accounting firm, attach a statement of private withdrawals and private investments based on your family member’s own bookkeeping.
If your family member has a limited liability company, general partnership or limited partnership, you do not have to attach a statement concerning his or her income to your application.
- If you have received any benefits from the Social Insurance Institute of Finland (Kela), attach a list of the benefits you have received to your application.
- You do not need to attach any decisions of Kela to your application because the Finnish Immigration Service will receive information on benefits paid to you directly from Kela.
- If we need further information, we will send you a request for additional information.
- If your spouse has received social assistance paid by Kela, attach the decision to grant the assistance and the latest payment decision to the application.
- If you or your spouse have received supplementary or preventive social assistance from a wellbeing services county, the City of Helsinki or Åland, attach the decision to grant the assistance and the latest payment decision to the application.
- If you have received a benefit, assistance or pension from elsewhere than Kela, a wellbeing services county, the City of Helsinki or Åland, attach the decision to grant the assistance and the latest payment decision to the application.
- If you receive a pension from abroad, attach the decision to grant the pension and the latest payment decision to the application.
If you receive money for your living costs from somewhere else, attach a document to the application.
- If your financial resources are based on your family member’s gainful employment, attach your family member’s employment contract, or other document if there is no employment contract, to the application.
- If you are living on your own savings, attach documents as proof of the funds, for example a bank statement. The documents must show where the funds originate from.
- If you receive money transfers, loans or allowances from Finland or outside Finland, attach proof of them to the application.
- If you are living on your family member’s savings, attach bank statements or other proof of your family member’s funds to the application. The documents must show where the funds originate from.
If you have received employment benefit or social assistance for longer than 3 months
You do not meet the requirement for sufficient financial resources if you have received employment benefit or social assistance for longer than 3 months during the past 2 years.
You can request an exception to the requirement for sufficient financial resources if you are unable to earn income from gainful employment or business activities due to your health or disability. In that case, attach a statement on your health or disability by the doctor who treated you to your application. The statement must clarify how an illness or disability prevents you from earning a living in the long term. You can also attach other statements to your application.
You can request an exception also if there are other very serious reasons for an exception. In that case, attach a free-form statement on why you are applying for an exception.
Requirement for sufficient financial resources if you have submitted your application before 17 December 2025
When you apply for Finnish citizenship, you must provide a reliable account of how you have earned enough money to live in Finland. Provide documents on your income over the past 5 years. If the required period of residence is shorter than 5 years in your case, provide documents on your income for the period of residence required of you.
Your income must be legal and enough to live on.
- If you have only received general housing allowance, for example, it is not regarded as sufficient without any other sources of income.
Proving your means of support
Mention all your current and past income sources in your application. For example: if you have a job now but you have earlier received benefits from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), mention both sources.
You can prove your means of support in the following ways:
Add the following documents to your application:
- your employment contract
- certificates of employment from your previous employment relationships
- If you do not have any certificates of employment, give the name and contact information of your employer on your application.
The Finnish Immigration Service receives information about your salaries and benefits from the Incomes Register. Therefore, you do not need to attach certificates of salaries or benefits to your application. If we need further information, we will send you a request for additional information. Read more on the page Incomes Register.
If you are a private trader or have an individually-owned business (toiminimi), add the following documents to your application:
- A certificate from your accountant of private investments and private withdrawals.
- If you do not have an accountant, submit a document listing your private investments and private withdrawals based on your own bookkeeping.
- 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’.
If you own a limited liability company, general partnership or limited partnership, add the following documents to your application:
- 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.
- Decision on start-up grant if you have been granted a start-up grant, ‘starttiraha’.
- If you have received any benefits from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), indicate in your application the benefits you have received.
- You do not need to attach any Kela decisions to your application because the Finnish Immigration Service will obtain the necessary information directly from Kela.
The Finnish Immigration Service receives information about your benefits from the Incomes Register. Therefore, you do not need to attach certificates of benefits to your application. If we need further information, we will send you a request for additional information.
- If you get money for your living costs from some other source, such as from your spouse, attach documents on his or her income to your application. The documents can be, for instance, a copy of your spouse's employment contract and payslip.
- If you draw pension from a country other than Finland, attach a copy of the pension decision.
- If you are using your own savings, attach documents as proof of the funds. The documents can be, for instance, bank statements from all your bank accounts.