Residence permit application for internship

Apply for a residence permit for internship if you are coming to Finland for an internship or for an unpaid traineeship through a training programme, such as Eramus+. A residence permit for internship can be issued for a maximum period of 18 months.

Expected processing time for electronic application

First permit 1-2 months /

extended permit 2-3 months
Expected processing time for paper application

First permit 1-2 months /

extended permit 2-3 months
Electronic application fee

First permit 380 € / extended permit 160 €
Paper application fee

First permit 480 € / extended permit 430 €

This is what you should do to apply for a residence permit for internship

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. You can follow the processing of your application with the help of our chatbot Kamu. In addition, you will usually receive automated messages at the different processing stages of your application.

8

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

Internship

If you intend to come to Finland for an internship, you must meet one of the following conditions:

You submit your application for a residence permit for internship 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.

If you are coming to Finland as a trainee employee in the context of an intra-corporate transfer, apply for an ICT residence permit.

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

You have long-term resident status in a Member State of the European Union as a third-country national (EU residence permit).

Requirements for an internship in Finland

You have to get paid for your 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 1,283 per month in 2022. 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.

The documents you need to attach to the application are listed at the end of the page.

Unpaid training program

Requirements for traineeship in Finland through an unpaid training programme

Erasmus+
The Finnish National Agency for Education’s Finnish in Finland training programme
Mid-Career Professional Development Program
Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching, and
U.S. Scholar Program

The training agreement signed by you and the organisation responsible for the training programme must include documentation of how you intend to finance your stay in Finland during the traineeship. The documentation can be, for example, a decision stating that you have been granted a scholarship or other benefit for the traineeship. Prove documentation of the scholarship or other benefit in your application.

You have to sign a training agreement with the organisation responsible for the training programme. The training agreement contains the terms and conditions of your training. The training agreement must contain the following information:

a description of the training programme, including the educational objective or learning components
the duration of the traineeship
the placement and supervision conditions of the traineeship (where the traineeship takes place and who supervises the traineeship)
the traineeship hours, that is, how many hours per day, week, or month the training will take
scholarship and other benefits for the traineeship.

The documents you need to attach to the application are listed at the end of the page.

General requirements for entry into Finland

Make sure you meet the general requirements for entry into Finland before you submit an application.

When can I start my internship?

You cannot start the training before you get a residence permit. You are only allowed to do work that is included in the internship.

If you apply for an extended permit, check if you have the right to do the training while your application is being processed. The same instructions that apply to working while your extended permit application is being processed also apply to internships.

Attach the following attachments to your application:

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)

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)
- the principal terms and conditions of the internship, including the applicable collective agreement
- the salary paid for the internship; the salary must at least correspond to the salary specified in the collective agreement that applies to 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 employment relationship 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.
Depending on the nature of your internship, you must also attach:
- a certificate from your educational institution stating that the internship matches your studies or degree; and
- a certificate from your educational institution regarding your incomplete studies; or
- a degree certificate; or
- a certificate from the organisation arranging the internship (if the internship is related to an exchange programme of a non-governmental organisation).

The training agreement between you and the organisation responsible for the training programme. The training agreement must contain the following information:
- a description of the training programme, including the educational objective or learning components
- the duration of the traineeship
- the placement and supervision conditions of the traineeship (where the traineeship takes place and who supervises the traineeship)
- the traineeship hours, that is, how many hours per day, week, or month the training will take
- scholarship and other benefits for the traineeship.