Extension of temporary protection
Temporary protection continues until 4 March 2026 for the following groups:
- All Ukrainian citizens and their family members.
- Third-country nationals who hold a permanent residence permit in Ukraine.
- Third-country nationals who hold a residence permit on the basis of international protection in Ukraine. Their family members will continue to receive temporary protection, too.
For third-country nationals who have been residing in Ukraine with a temporary residence permit and who are not family members of Ukrainian citizens, the residence permit for temporary protection will expire. For more information on the expiry of the permits, see Expiry of certain residence permits for temporary protection on this page.
Extension of residence permits issued on the basis of temporary protection
These instructions apply to you if your residence permit for temporary protection has been extended until 4 March 2026.
You will receive a letter from the Finnish Immigration Service when your residence permit has been extended
Once we have extended the residence permit you have been granted on the basis of temporary protection, we will send you a letter containing information about the extension. If you are still staying in a reception centre, please make sure that your reception centre has your current address, telephone number and email address. If you already are a resident of a municipality, please make sure that your contact details are up to date in the Finnish Population Information System. Inform the Digital and Population Data Services Agency if your address in Finland has changed: Foreigner’s move to Finland, in Finland and out of Finland (dvv.fi).
If we have your phone number, we will also send you a text message stating that your permit has been extended. The message will be in Finnish and English. It will contain a link to our website: https://migri.fi/uk/timcasovij-zahist. The sender of the message is ‘Migri’. You cannot reply to the message.
You do not need to apply for a new residence permit card
If the Finnish Immigration Service has extended your temporary protection residence permit until 4 March 2026 and your permit has not expired, you are residing in Finland legally and your old residence permit card that was issued on the basis of temporary protection is valid under law even if the expiry date printed on the card is 4 March 2023, 4 March 2024 or 4 March 2025. For more information about the residence permit card, see the page Residence permit card for temporary protection.
Your right to work on the basis of temporary protection will also be valid until 4 March 2026 even if the expiry date printed on your card is 4 March 2023, 4 March 2024 or 4 March 2025, provided that the Finnish Immigration Service has extended your temporary protection residence permit and that your permit has not expired.
Expiry of certain residence permits for temporary protection
The instructions below apply to you if you are a third-country national who has resided in Ukraine with a temporary residence permit and who is not a family member of a Ukrainian citizen.
Whose temporary protection permits will end?
Finland is preparing legislative amendments according to which Finland will no longer extend the residence permits for temporary protection granted to third-country nationals who have resided in Ukraine with a temporary residence permit and who are not family members of Ukrainian citizens.The amendments will enter into force on 4 March 2025.
If you are a third-country national who is affected by the amendments, your residence permit for temporary protection will end only after the amendments have entered into force. The amendments will enter into force on 4 March 2025. The amendments are not yet confirmed but according to the information that is currently available, the residence permits granted on the basis of temporary protection will expire on 31 March 2025. The expiry date will be laid down by law when the amendments enter into force.
For this reason, we must extend your residence permit for temporary protection temporarily at the same time as we extend other residence permits issued on the basis of temporary protection. Your residence permit card issued on the basis of temporary protection is valid until your residence permit for temporary protection expires even if the expiry date printed on your card is 4 March 2023, 4 March 2024 or 4 March 2025.
How do I know if my residence permit for temporary protection has been temporarily extended? How do I know when my permit expires?
The Finnish Immigration Service has sent letters to each person who is a third-country national and whose residence permit for temporary protection is about to end during the spring of 2025. The letters were sent in December 2024 to all such clients. The letter contained information about the temporary extension of the residence permits for temporary protection, together with information about the ending of the permits, about the requirements for staying legally in Finland, about the sanctions for illegal residence and about voluntary return.
Once we have temporarily extended your residence permit for temporary protection, we will send you a letter containing information about the temporary extension and about the fact that your residence permit for temporary protection is about to expire. If we have your phone number, we will also send you a text message with information about the temporary extension of your permit, asking you to read the letter that you have received. The text message will be in Finnish and English. You cannot reply to the message.
We will send you a separate notification of the expiry of your residence permit in Finland by letter
You will receive a separate notification of the expiry of your residence permit in Finland by letter. In the letter, we will tell you the date when your residence permit issued on the basis of temporary protection will expire.
If you are staying at a reception centre, you will continue to receive reception services until your residence permit for temporary protection expires. Your right to work on the basis of temporary protection will end when your residence permit for temporary protection expires.
Staying in Finland after the expiry of your residence permit requires legal grounds
If there are no legal grounds for your stay in Finland after your residence permit issued on the basis of temporary protection expires, you must leave Finland and return to your home country or a country where you have a right of residence. You may have legal grounds for staying in Finland if you, for example, have a residence permit in Finland. For more information about legal grounds for residing in Finland, see our website.
If you have some other valid residence permit in Finland in addition to your residence permit for temporary protection, the expiry of the permit for temporary protection will not affect your other residence permit. Your other permit, and your right to work on the basis of the other permit, will be valid until the last day of validity of the permit.
Illegal stay can be sanctioned
If you continue to stay in Finland without legal grounds after your residence permit has expired, you are staying in Finland illegally. You cannot use your residence permit card issued on the basis of temporary protection after your permit has expired. If you are staying in Finland illegally or if you use your residence permit card after your permit has expired, you may be sentenced to a fine for violation of the Aliens Act.
Assisted voluntary return to your home country
It may be possible for you to get assistance for voluntary return to your home country or to a country where you have the right of permanent residence. You cannot, however, get assistance for returning to Ukraine.
If you are a client of a reception centre and wish to return to your home country voluntarily, contact the staff at your reception centre.
If you no longer live in a reception centre, you can contact the Finnish Immigration Service for more information. The Finnish Immigration Service can check whether assisted voluntary return is possible in your case. The service number of the Finnish Immigration Service is +358 50 413 8625. Alternatively, you can send encrypted email to return@migri.fi using the Securemail service of the Finnish Immigration Service at securemail.migri.fi. The Securemail service will encrypt your message and ensure that your message reaches us reliably. The Finnish Immigration Service can give advice in Finnish, English or Arabic.