Residence permit application for internship

Apply for a residence permit with this application if you are coming to Finland for an internship and you meet one of the following conditions:

You are applying for a residence permit within a maximum of two years of completing your higher education degree.
You are currently participating in a course of study that leads to a higher education degree and the internship is in a field matching your studies.
You are between 18 and 30 years of age, and you are studying the Finnish or Swedish language at a university outside Finland.
You are between 18 and 30 years of age, you are studying at a university outside Finland, and the internship is in a field matching your studies or your degree.

You should also apply for a residence permit with this application if you are coming to Finland for an internship which is part of:

an agreement between states; or
a non-governmental organisation’s exchange programme.

A residence permit for internship is issued as a temporary residence permit for a maximum period of 18 months.

You cannot be granted a residence permit for internship in the following situations:

You are applying for asylum in Finland. You cannot get a residence permit for internship if you have a pending asylum application. If you wish to apply for a residence permit for internship, you need to cancel your application for international protection.
You have been granted international protection in an EU Member State.
You have received a decision on deportation from Finland.
You have long-term resident status in an EU Member State as a third-country national (EU residence permit).
You are coming to Finland as a trainee employee in the context of an intra-corporate transfer.

Expected processing time for electronic application

First permit 2 - 8 months /

extended permit 4 months
Expected processing time for paper application

First permit 2 months /

extended permit 4 months
Electronic application fee

First permit 410 € / extended permit 260 €
Paper application fee

First permit 560 € / extended permit 260 €

Internship

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. If necessary, have them translated and legalised. The processing time may be longer if you have not filled in your application sufficiently.

3

Fill in your application.

4

Pay for your application in the online service Enter Finland, at a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) or at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service.

5

If you are abroad, visit a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate). If you are already in Finland, book an appointment at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service.

6

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

7

Read what happens after you have applied. Check the estimated processing time of your application here.

8

You should wait for the residence permit in the same country or locality where you submitted your application and proved your identity.

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 have to get paid for your internship. You cannot get a residence permit for an unpaid internship. Your salary must at least correspond to the salary specified in the collective agreement that applies to your employment relationship.

If there is no collective agreement in your sector, your gross salary must be at least EUR 1,236 per month (in 2020). This sum meets the condition regarding previous employment (in Finnish: ‘työssäoloehto’) under the Unemployment Security Act.

Grants or scholarships granted by your home country university (Erasmus+ grants, for example) or pocket money paid by an organisation are not taken into account when assessing your financial resources on the basis of your internship. Food and housing allowances can be accepted, according to their taxable value, in the assessment of your means of support. The allowances must be mentioned in the internship agreement.

For example the following exchange programmes are accepted:

programmes of the Finnish National Agency for Education
programmes of the EU or of educational institutions or student organisations that the EU supports
labour policy education that is part of a regional training programme funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland.

Income requirement

You must have secure means of support

If you apply for a residence permit in order to work in Finland, you need to be able to earn your living in Finland through gainful employment throughout the time your residence permit is valid. The minimum salary from gainful employment is reviewed annually.

For more information, see the section ‘Requirements’.

Right to work

You cannot start working before you get a residence permit.
Your right to work gives you the right to perform the work for which you have been granted a residence permit.
If you apply for an extended permit, check if you have the right to work while your application is being processed.

General attachments

Valid passport (you must present it when you submit the residence permit application)
Passport photo complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police or a photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop, OLEL_PK
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 (if you already are in Finland and apply for your first residence permit)

Application-specific attachments

Internship agreement containing the following information:
- a description of the internship programme, including the educational objective or learning components
- the duration of the internship
- the placement and supervision conditions of the internship
- the internship hours
- the legal relationship between you and your employer (the organisation where your internship takes place)
Documentation of means of support (the salary paid for the internship)
The employer’s assurance of or documentation showing the following:
- assurance or documentation showing that the internship does not replace a job
- assurance or documentation showing that the employer has not, during the preceding four months, terminated the contract of an employee with the same or similar work due to financial or production-related reasons or reasons arising from the reorganisation of the employer’s operations.