Impact of crimes on getting a permanent residence permit
If you have committed crimes or are suspected of crimes, it may not be possible for you to get a permanent residence permit. Even minor offences or suspected offences may prevent the issue of a permanent residence permit or a P-EU permit.
You must report any committed and suspected offences in your application. We obtain information on offences committed in Finland and on suspected offences from official registers.
If you have been sentenced for an offence or are suspected of an offence, you can state in your application why you should be granted a permanent residence permit despite the offence or suspicion of offence.
Impact of offences if you are applying for a permanent residence permit
If you have committed an offence, you may have to wait a specific period of time before you can apply for a permanent residence permit. The decision will be negative if you apply for a permanent residence permit before the waiting period has ended.
If you are suspected of an offence, we will assess whether you can be granted a permanent residence permit despite the suspected offence. Among other things, the type and seriousness of your suspected offence, when the offence was committed and your ties to Finland will be taken into account when we make the decision.
Our decision is always based on an overall assessment. For example, if you have a history of serious offences, it is possible that you cannot get a permanent residence permit even if your waiting period has ended.
Read below about the impact of different types of sentences and suspected offences on obtaining a permanent permit.
If you have applied for a permanent residence permit before 8 January 2026:
- You may get a permanent residence permit at the earliest when more than 3 years have passed since you served your sentence.
If you have applied for a permanent residence permit on or after 8 Janurary 2026:
- Unconditional imprisonment interrupts a period of continuous residence. The calculation of the period of residence will start from the beginning at the earliest when the sentence of unconditional imprisonment has been fully served.
- If you are applying for a permanent residence permit on the application path ‘Higher education degree completed in Finland’, you may get a permanent residence permit at the earliest when more than 4 years have passed since you served your sentence.
- You may get a permanent residence permit at the earliest when more than 2 years have passed since you served your sentence;
- the sentence has often been served when the probationary period has ended;
- the sentence need not be final.
- You may get a permanent residence permit if the offence was committed more than 2 years before the date of decision on your application.
- You may get a permanent residence permit if the offence was committed more than 2 years before the date of decision on your application;
- there is an obstacle to issuing a permanent residence permit even if you have been sentenced to unit fines, for example, instead of imprisonment.
- It may not be possible for you to get a permanent residence permit;
- when making the decision, we will take into account the nature and seriousness of the suspected crime, when the crime was committed and your ties to Finland, among other things.
Impact of offences if you are applying for a P-EU permit
If you are applying for a P-EU permit and have committed or are suspected of an offence, our decision may be negative in the following cases:
- You have been found guilty or are suspected of an offence punishable by imprisonment.
- You have been found guilty or are suspected of two or more offences.
Our decision on your application will be based on an overall assessment. When making our decision, we will assess, among other things:
- the type of offence for which you have been sentenced or the type of offence of which you have been found guilty
- when the offence was committed and how serious it is
- what type of ties you have to Finland.
There are no waiting periods resulting from sentences or suspected offences similar to those set out for permanent residence permits. This is because the P-EU permit is based on an EU directive.
If you have been sentenced to unconditional imprisonment or community service, your period of continuous residence in Finland has been interrupted. The calculation of your period of residence will start from the beginning at the earliest when the sentence of unconditional imprisonment has been fully served.
Your residence permit may be withdrawn if you have committed a serious offence
If you are issued a permanent residence permit or P-EU permit, the permit may be withdrawn if you are found guilty or suspected of an offence. See the page Withdrawal of residence permits for more information on when a residence permit may be withdrawn.