Residence permit application for other family members

Apply with this application for a residence permit if you are some other family member than a spouse, child or guardian. . Your family member living in Finland is a Finnish citizen or has been issued asylum or a residence permit on the grounds of subsidiary protection or temporary protection.

Expected processing time

9 months
Electronic application fee

420 €
Paper application fee

470 €

My relative has been granted international protection

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 e-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

Make sure you also meet the following requirements:

he or she was granted asylum in Finland on the basis of an asylum application or as a quota refugee;
he or she was granted a residence permit on the basis of subsidiary protection;
he or she was granted a residence permit on the basis of temporary protection; or
he or she was granted a residence permit before 1 June 2009 on the basis of need for protection.

Financial dependence alone is not enough. The elderly parents, adult children and unmarried siblings of a person who lives in Finland are usually considered to be dependent on their family member. Residence permits are not usually granted on the grounds of poor health and need for care if the applicant has the opportunity to get treatment for his/her illnesses in his/her home country.

Income requirement

You have secure means of support.

You cannot secure your means of support with benefits paid by the society.
Your means of support may for example be secured by the income from employment or business activities of a sponsor living in Finland.

Right to work

You have an unrestricted right to work. You cannot start working before you get a residence permit.

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 copy of the passport page containing your personal data and copies of all passport pages with notes
Colour copy of the passport page containing personal data and of all pages with notes in the passport of the guardian living in Finland
Form for clarification of family ties PK5_plus (to be filled in and signed by your spouse living in Finland)
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

Document(s) explaining your family relations with your family member residing in Finland (must be legalised if not issued in the Nordic countries)
Statement on income in Finland:
- Your family member’s pay slips and bank statements from the past six months for all Finnish bank accounts the he or she can use
- Copy of your family member’s latest tax card, tax decision and tax return
- Copy of your family member’s employment contract
- Documents concerning your/your family member’s business
  - income statement, balance sheet, audit report, number of employees and salaries paid to them, private withdrawals and deposits, bank statements, contact information of the accountant, trade register extract, bill of sale, tenancy agreement for the premises
- Copy of your employment contract (if you work in Finland)
- Report on other income or assets that you can transfer to Finland (for example, pensions, dividends, rents)
Doctor’s certificate/health statement (if you refer to your state of health in the application)