Residence permit application on the basis of family ties for a child whose parent or guardian has refugee status, subsidiary protection status or a residence permit on the basis of temporary protection
Use this application to apply for a residence permit for your child if:
- your child is under 18 years of age and unmarried and
- you have custody of the child and you will live together with your child in Finland and
- you have refugee status, subsidiary protection status or a residence permit on the basis of temporary protection.
Use this application to apply for a residence permit for your child also if:
- you have been granted asylum in Finland and
- your child has turned 18 after you submitted the asylum application on the basis of which you were granted asylum.
- Apply for a residence permit for your child within 3 months of the date on which you were served the decision that you have been granted asylum.
- In individual cases, derogations may be made from the time limit of 3 months if there are exceptionally serious grounds for such a derogation.
If the child applies for this permit as a first residence permit, the application must be submitted abroad. In contrast, applications for an extended permit can only be submitted in Finland. Read more on the pages First residence permit and Extended permit.
Permit requirements for applications submitted before 16 June 2025
Make sure the following requirements and the general requirements for entry into Finland are met. See the general requirements for entry into the country on the page First residence permit.
- Whether the child is required to be a minor may depend on whether the application was submitted within 3 months of the day when the child was served the decision that he or she has been granted asylum or refugee status. Send your application using the online service Enter Finland or submit a paper application at a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) abroad within 3 months of the date on which your child was served with the decision.
- If you are unable to submit a paper application within this time, for example due to a lack of appointments at the Finnish mission, you must use the first available appointment to submit the application.
- If the child’s parent or guardian has been granted asylum, it is required that the child was under 18 years of age on the day the parent or guardian submitted the asylum application on the basis of which he or she was granted asylum.
- If the child’s parents or guardians have joint custody and the other parent or guardian lives abroad, he or she must give his or her consent for the child to move to Finland. The consent must be given as a written document that is confirmed by a notary public or another authority.
- If the child’s parents or guardians are divorced and the child is moving to Finland to live with the parent or guardian who is living in Finland, attach a document on the custody of the child to the application.
The documents must be legalised, unless they have been issued by authorities of the Nordic countries or by authorities of an EU Member State. See the page Interpretation, translation and legalisation for instructions on how to have your documents legalised.
If the child is your biological child
- Submit the child’s birth certificate. If the child’s parents are divorced or were not married to each other when the child was born, submit a certificate issued by authorities of the custody of your biological child.
If the child is adopted
- Present proof of adoption.
If the child is your foster child
- Submit evidence that the persons who previously had custody of the child have died or are missing. In addition, submit evidence that you or your spouse had actual custody of the child before you entered Finland.
‘Foster child’ means a child who:
- is under 18 years of age and unmarried
- is under actual care of the person who has custody of him or her on the day a decision is made on the residence permit application
- has no official statement on his or her dependency status.
- The income requirement (requirement for sufficient financial resources) must be met if the child’s parent or guardian has been granted a residence permit on the basis of subsidiary protection or temporary protection. Income cannot be based on social assistance, labour market subsidy or basic unemployment allowance. Read more about the income requirement on the page Income requirement for family members of a person who has been granted international or temporary protection.
- In certain cases, the income requirement must be met if the child’s parent or guardian has been granted refugee status. Income cannot be based on social assistance, labour market subsidy or basic unemployment allowance. Check whether the income requirement must be met in your case on the page Income requirement for family members of a person who has been granted international or temporary protection.
Permit requirements for applications submitted on or after 16 June 2025
Make sure the following requirements and the general requirements for entry into Finland are met. See the general requirements for entry into the country on the page First residence permit.
Whether the child is required to be a minor may depend on whether the application was submitted within 3 months of the day when the child was served the decision that he or she has been granted asylum or refugee status. Send your application using the online service Enter Finland or submit a paper application at a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) abroad within 3 months of the date on which your child was served with the decision.
- If you are unable to submit a paper application within this time, for example due to a lack of appointments at the Finnish mission, you must use the first available appointment to submit the application.
- If the child’s parents or guardians have joint custody and the other parent or guardian lives abroad, he or she must give his or her consent for the child to move to Finland. The consent must be given as a written document that is confirmed by a notary public or another authority.
- If the child’s parents or guardians are divorced and the child is moving to Finland to live with the parent or guardian who is living in Finland, attach a document on the custody of the child to the application.
The documents must be legalised, unless they have been issued by authorities of the Nordic countries or by authorities of an EU Member State. See the page Interpretation, translation and legalisation for instructions on how to have your documents legalised.
If the child is your biological child
- Submit the child’s birth certificate. If the child’s parents are divorced or were not married to each other when the child was born, submit a certificate issued by authorities of the custody of your biological child.
If the child is adopted
- Present proof of adoption.
If the child is your foster child
- Submit evidence that the persons who previously had custody of the child have died or are missing. In addition, submit evidence that you or your spouse had actual custody of the child before you entered Finland.
‘Foster child’ means a child who:
- is under 18 years of age and unmarried
- is under actual care of the person who has custody of him or her on the day a decision is made on the residence permit application
- has no official statement on his or her dependency status.
If the parent or guardian has refugee status, it is required that he or she has lived in Finland for at least 2 years only if:
- the family was formed after the parent or guardian arrived in Finland, or
- the family was formed after the parent or guardian was admitted to Finland under the refugee quota, or
- the family was formed after the parent or guardian was granted refugee status as a family member.
See the page Period of residence requirement for more information.
- The income requirement (requirement for sufficient financial resources) must be met if the child’s parent or guardian has been granted a residence permit on the basis of subsidiary protection or temporary protection. Income cannot be based on social assistance, labour market subsidy or basic unemployment allowance. Read more about the income requirement on the page Income requirement for family members of a person who has been granted international or temporary protection.
- In certain cases, the income requirement must be met if the child’s parent or guardian has been granted refugee status. Income cannot be based on social assistance, labour market subsidy or basic unemployment allowance. Check whether the income requirement must be met in your case on the page Income requirement for family members of a person who has been granted international or temporary protection.
Attachments
- The child’s valid passport. Present your passport when you submit your residence permit application. For more information, see the page Passports and other travel documents.
- A passport photo of the child, complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police, or a photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop
- The passport photo must be no more than 6 months old.
- If the income requirement must be met, submit evidence of sufficient financial resources. The application form contains further details on what documents you must submit as proof of your income and financial resources. What documents you must provide depends on how you will secure sufficient financial resources for yourself in Finland.
- Examples of acceptable income sources for parents and guardians:
- gainful employment or business activities
- pension, assets or other income (such as rental income or income from dividends).
- Examples of acceptable income sources for parents and guardians:
The documents must be legalised, unless they have been issued by authorities of the Nordic countries or by authorities of an EU Member State. See the page Interpretation, translation and legalisation for instructions on how to have your documents legalised.
- The child’s valid passport. Present your passport when you submit your residence permit application. For more information, see the page Passports and other travel documents.
- A passport photo of the child, complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police, or a photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop
- The passport photo must be no more than 6 months old.
- Document showing that you are legally staying in the country where you submit the application.
- Form MP_1 (if the child is already in Finland and applies for his or her first residence permit).
- Birth certificate with information on the child's parents.
- Document on the custody of the child.
- Consent given by the other guardian for the child to move to Finland (if the guardian will not move to Finland at the same time) (the document must be confirmed by a notary public or another authority).
- Consent from the guardian’s spouse who lives in Finland for the child to move to the same household with the guardian and the spouse (if the guardian lives in Finland with a spouse who is not the child’s parent).
- Certificate of establishment of paternity (if the child is born out of wedlock).
- Decision on adoption (if the child is adopted).
- Evidence of income or financial resources. The application form contains further details on what documents you must submit as proof of your income and financial resources. What documents you must provide depends on how you will secure sufficient financial resources for yourself in Finland.
- Examples of acceptable income sources for parents and guardians:
- gainful employment or business activities
- pension, assets or other income (such as rental income or income from dividends).
- Examples of acceptable income sources for parents and guardians:
- Divorce certificate (if the parents of the child are divorced).
- Death certificate (if one or both of the child’s parents have died).
The documents must be legalised, unless they have been issued by authorities of the Nordic countries or by authorities of an EU Member State. See the page Interpretation, translation and legalisation for instructions on how to have your documents legalised.
- The child’s valid passport. Present your passport when you submit your residence permit application. For more information, see the page Passports and other travel documents.
- A passport photo of the child, complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police, 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 child’s passport page containing personal data and of all pages with notes in the passport.
- Colour copies of the passport page containing personal data and of all pages with notes in the passport of the guardian living in Finland.
- Supplement form for parent or guardian, LIITE_LAPSI (pdf) (to be filled in and signed by the guardian living in Finland).
- Supplement form for parent or guardian, LIITE_LAPSI (pdf) (to be filled in and signed by the guardian living in the child’s home country).
- Document showing that you are legally staying in the country where you submit the application.
- Form MP_1 (if the child is already in Finland and applies for his or her first residence permit).
- Birth certificate with information on the child's parents.
- Document on the custody of the child.
- Consent given by the other guardian for the child to move to Finland (if the guardian will not move to Finland at the same time) (the document must be confirmed by a notary public or another authority).
- Consent from the guardian’s spouse who lives in Finland for the child to move to the same household with the guardian and the spouse (if the guardian lives in Finland with a spouse who is not the child’s parent).
- Evidence of income or financial resources. The application form contains further details on what documents you must submit as proof of your income and financial resources. What documents you must provide depends on how you will secure sufficient financial resources for yourself in Finland.
- Examples of acceptable income sources for parents and guardians:
- gainful employment or business activities
- pension, assets or other income (such as rental income or income from dividends).
- Examples of acceptable income sources for parents and guardians:
- Certificate of establishment of paternity (if the child is born out of wedlock.
- Decision on adoption (if the child is adopted).
- Divorce certificate (if the parents of the child are divorced).
- Death certificate (if one or both of the child’s parents have died).
Fill in the application:
If you apply for a residence permit online in Enter Finland, you need to pay the processing fee
- with a credit card or with Finnish online banking credentials when you submit your application, or
- when you visit a Finnish embassy or consulate abroad to prove your identity.
If you apply for a residence permit with a paper application, you need to pay the processing fee
- when you visit a Finnish embassy or consulate abroad to prove your identity.
Book an appointment to visit a Finnish mission (finlandabroad.fi) to prove your identity.
Applications for a first residence permit can be submitted in Finland only in certain exceptional situations.
For more information, see the page Proving your identity abroad.
Read what happens after you have applied. Check the estimated processing time of your application. In addition, you will usually receive automated messages at the different processing stages of your application.
Residence permit application on the basis of family ties for a child whose guardian lives in Finland, OLE_LAPSI
Fill in an electronic applicationPrepare for your life in Finland
Among other things, the authorities may ask you for information about whether you have enough money to live in Finland.
If you were not issued a personal identity code together with your residence permit card, you must visit a service location of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency in person.
The Digital and Population Data Services Agency enters your personal details, information about your family relations and your address in the Population Information System. You can also apply for a municipality of residence at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
For more information, visit the website of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (dvv.fi)