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Permits and citizenship

Income requirement

In many cases, sufficient financial resources are a requirement for getting a residence permit. ‘Sufficient financial resources’ or 'secure means of support' means that you have sufficient funds to live in Finland.

See the requirements for the registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence and a residence card for a family member.

If you apply for Finnish citizenship, read more about means of support.

Income requirement for various residence permits

See more detailed information on the income requirement on the page of each residence permit:

If you apply for a long-term resident’s EU residence permit, you have to provide a statement on your financial resources.

You are not required to have sufficient financial resources if:

  • You have been granted a residence permit on compassionate grounds or as a victim of human trafficking.
  • You are an underage sibling of a minor foreign national who has come to Finland alone and has been granted a residence permit on compassionate grounds, and your parents have died or disappeared.
  • You have been granted a residence permit on the basis of international protection (asylum, subsidiary protection or temporary protection).
  • You have been accepted as a quota refugee.
  • You are a family member of a Finnish citizen, or an underage, unmarried child of such a family member.
  • You are another relative of a Finnish citizen.
  • You are a former Finnish citizen or a family member of a former Finnish citizen.
  • You are a descendant of a former Finnish citizen, or a family member of such a descendant.
  • You are from the area of the former Soviet Union and you were evacuated from Ingria or you served in the Finnish army, or you are a family member of such a person.
  • You are an Ingrian returnee and you are applying for an extended permit or a permanent residence permit.
  • You are the spouse or an underage child of an Ingrian returnee, you are applying for an extended permit or a permanent residence permit, and you applied for your first residence permit on the basis of family ties before 1 July 2016.

Family members of persons who have been granted international protection

The following people are not required to have sufficient financial resources:

  • A family member of a person who has been granted asylum or accepted as a quota refugee before 1 July 2016, if the family has been started before the sponsor arrived in Finland.
  • A family member of a person who has been granted asylum on or after 1 July 2016, if the family was started before the sponsor came to Finland and if the family member submits his or her application for a residence permit on the basis of family ties within three months after the sponsor is informed that he or she has been granted asylum.
  • A family member of a person who has been accepted as a quota refugee to Finland on and after 1 July 2016, if the family was started before the sponsor was accepted as a quota refugee and the family member submits his or her application for a residence permit on the basis of family ties within three months after the sponsor is informed that he or she has been accepted as a quota refugee.
  • A brother or a sister of an underage person who has been granted international protection and who arrived in Finland alone. The brother or sister must reside outside Finland. In addition, the following conditions must be met:
    • The siblings have lived together.
    • Their parents have died or disappeared.

Exceptions to the income requirement are only made in exceptional cases

An exemption may be made from the income requirement if there are exceptionally weighty reasons for this or if it is in the best interests of a child.

If you feel that you should not be required to have sufficient financial resources, please attach the necessary reasons and documents to your residence permit application.