Mobility notification for researchers

Submit a mobility notification to the Finnish Immigration Service if you intend to move to Finland from another EU Member State in order to conduct scientific research and if you meet the following conditions:

You have been granted a residence permit for research by an EU Member State
You meet the conditions for mobility
You will move to Finland for a maximum of two years
You will carry out part of the research activity in a research organisation.

If you have been granted a residence permit for studies by an EU Member State and you wish to carry out part of your research in Finland, for example as part of a doctoral degree you are going to complete in another EU Member State, you may come to Finland with a researcher's mobility notification, provided that you have a master’s degree (a second-cycle degree) and you meet the other requirements for mobility.

If another EU Member State has granted you a residence permit on grounds other than research or studies, you cannot submit a mobility notification for researchers and come to Finland to do research. You need to apply for a residence permit for scientific research if the duration of your research in Finland is more than 90 days.

The Finnish Immigration Service is not responsible for your mobility period in a second EU Member State. If you have been granted a residence permit for scientific research in Finland and you wish to move to another EU Member State, please ask the competent authorities in the country in question about which conditions for mobility apply in that particular country.

If your family member has been granted a residence permit by an EU Member State, he or she can come to Finland with you. Your family member must submit a separate mobility notification to the Finnish Immigration Service.

Please be sure to include all the attachments required for your mobility notification. The Finnish Immigration Service will not send you a request asking for missing attachments.

Please use the mobility notification form at the bottom of this page.

Expected processing time for mobility notifications

1 month
Processing fee

100 €

This is what you should do

1

Make sure you meet the requirements for mobility.

2

Make sure you have all the attachments needed. If necessary, have them translated.

3

Fill in the notification form.

4

Pay the processing fee. Follow the payment instructions given in the mobility notification form. Attach a copy of the payment receipt to your notification.

5

Send the notification form to the Finnish Immigration Service by post or email.

Requirements

You must meet the following requirements:

1

You have a valid passport.

Your passport must be valid throughout your entire stay in Finland.

2

You have been granted a residence permit for research by another EU Member State.

3

A research organisation in Finland has signed a hosting agreement with you.

The research organisation can fill in this contract template on a computer and print it out so that you can add it to your application.

Alternatively, you can use your own contract template. In that case, please check our contract template to see which information the hosting agreement must contain.

Please note that an invitation letter from a research organisation is not a hosting agreement.

4

You have sufficient financial means for the whole duration of your stay in Finland.

If you are in an employment relationship with the research organisation, you must be able to earn your living in Finland through gainful employment throughout the time you stay in Finland. 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, the employee’s gross salary must be at least EUR 1,399 per month in 2024. Read more on the page Income requirement.

If you are not in an employment relationship with the research organisation, you must have at least EUR 1,210 per month at your disposal for your living costs in Finland. You can secure your income with funds or, for example, with a research scholarship. Before you arrive in Finland, make sure that you have enough funds for the entire time you are carrying out your research.

Attachments

colour copy of the passport page containing your personal data (you must have a valid passport)
copy of a residence permit decision issued in another EU Member State, together with a copy of your residence permit card which is valid for the whole period of your stay
The agreement signed between you and the research organisation, containing the following information:
the title and purpose of the research activity or the research area;
an undertaking by the researcher and the research organisation to endeavour to complete the research activity;
the start and end date or the estimated duration of the research activity;
information on the legal relationship between the research organisation and the researcher;
information on the working conditions of the researcher, if the legal relationship between the research organisation and the researcher is an employment relationship;
clarification of income (to prove that you have sufficient financial resources for your entire stay in Finland)
copy of the payment receipt (for the processing fee).
certificate of a second-cycle degree, if you have been granted a residence permit for studies by some other EU Member State than Finland and you will carry out part of the research activity in Finland.

Certificate of right of residence

If the Finnish Immigration Service does not object to your mobility period, you will receive a certificate of your right to stay in Finland. After submitting your mobility notification, you can arrive in Finland at any moment within the period of validity of the permit issued by the first Member State.

Objections to the mobility period

The Finnish Immigration Service may object to your mobility period within 30 days from having received your mobility notification in the following cases:

Your mobility notification did not include all the requested information.
The documents attached to your notification have been fraudulently acquired, or falsified, or tampered with.
It can be established that you would be entering the country for purposes other than those for which you are applying to be admitted.
The maximum duration of stay (two years) has been reached.

The Finnish Immigration Service must object to the mobility if you are considered to present a danger to public order, security or health.