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Residence permit application for descendants of Finnish citizens by birth

Apply for a residence permit with this application if at least one of your parents or grandparents is or has been a Finnish citizen by birth.

  • Expected processing time

    8–11 months

  • Paper application fee

    520 €

Descendant of someone who is or was a Finnish citizen by birth

General requirements for entry into Finland

Make sure you meet the general requirements for entry into Finland before you submit an application.

Requirements

You must also meet the following requirements:

  • You are a descendant of a Finnish citizen by birth.
    • At least one of your parents or grandparents is or was a Finnish citizen by birth.

You do not need to have secure means of support.

This is what you should do

1

Make sure you meet the requirements for the residence permit you are applying for.

2

Make sure you have all the attachments needed for the application and that they are up to date. If necessary, have them translated and legalised.

3

Fill in your application.

4

Pay for your application at a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate).

5

Book an appointment to visit a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) to prove your identity.

For more information, see the page Proving your identity abroad.

6

Wait for a decision abroad. The Finnish Immigration Service will contact you if necessary.

7

Read what happens after you have applied.

Right to work

You have an unrestricted right to work. You cannot start working before you get a residence permit.

General attachments

  • A valid passport accepted by Finland (um.fi). Present your passport when you submit your residence permit application
  • A passport photo complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police (poliisi.fi), or a photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop
    • The passport photo must be no more than 6 months old.
  • Colour copies of the passport page containing personal data and of all passport pages that contain notes
  • Document showing that you are legally staying in the country where you submit the application
  • Form MP_1 (pdf) (if you already are in Finland and apply for your first residence permit)

Application-specific attachments

  • Birth certificate (must be legalised if not issued in the Nordic countries or in an EU Member State)
  • Birth certificate(s) of your parent(s) (must be legalised if not issued in the Nordic countries or in an EU Member State)
  • Birth certificates of your grandparents (must be legalised if not issued in the Nordic countries or in an EU Member State)
  • Certificates from Finnish archives verifying Finnish citizenship (e.g. official certificates from parishes, certificates from the Finnish National Archives)
  • Certificates of changes of name

Residence permit application for former Finnish citizens, OLE_EN

Fill in a paper application
You cannot apply for this permit in the e-service