Registration of the right of residence of a citizen of the European Union

If you are a citizen of a Nordic country, register your right of residence at a Local Register Office.

• You have arrived in Finland as an employed person or a self-employed person.
• You have arrived in Finland as a family member.
• You have arrived in Finland as a student.
• If none of these grounds apply to you, you may still stay in Finland as long as you have sufficient funds to support yourself.

• Your Finnish family member needs to have lived in another EU Member State outside Finland for longer than three months.
• You can register your right of residence as an EU citizen if you have lived together or if the relationship that made you each other’s family members began while you were both living in another EU Member State.
• In other words, the relationship that made you each other’s family members must have begun before you move to Finland. You and your Finnish family member need to have lived in a partnership or led a family life in another EU Member State outside Finland.
• You are not required to present documentation of sufficient funds.

You are not required to have a specific amount of money but you must have enough funds to support yourself. Social assistance may not be your principal means of support. We will take your personal circumstances into account when we consider this income requirement.

Submit the registration request online in the e-service Enter Finland or with a paper application.

You need to submit the application yourself. Your employer or family member, for example, cannot apply for registration on your behalf.

After you have filled in an application, book an appointment at one of the service points of the Finnish Immigration Service:

• If you have applied through the e-service, visit the Finnish Immigration Service to prove your identity and show the originals of the documents that you have attached to your application. If you submit your application through the e-service, pay for it there.
• If you have filled in a paper application, bring it with you. Prove your identity and show the originals of the documents that you have attached to your application.

The processing times for the registration of the right of residence of EU citizens and for residence cards for family members of an EU citizen are laid down in the Aliens Act.

The registration certificate shall be issued immediately after the EU citizen has provided a document showing that he or she fulfils the requirements for registration. A decision on a residence card application for a family member of an EU citizen will be made within six months of the application’s submission date. You may also use the Processing Time Checker to get an estimate on the remaining processing time of your application.

If you have submitted your application in the e-service and you need to supplement your application, do it in the e-service. If you have submitted a paper application and you need to supplement your application, do it by post or by bringing additional documents to an office or a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service during opening hours. Fill in a covering note and attach it to your additional documents. Read more on the page "Supplementing your application".

You may cancel your application at any time during its processing. Read more on the page "Cancelling an application".

If you meet the requirements for registration, the Finnish Immigration Service will issue you a registration certificate. It will be given to you when you visit the Finnish Immigration Service. The certificate includes your name and address as well as the date of registration. If we are unable to give you a decision on your visit because some documents are missing, you will receive it later by post or in the e-service Enter Finland.

If you have applied for registration online, you will receive an email or a text message notification when a decision has been made.

The registration of your right of residence is valid until further notice. In other words, you do not have to extend the validity of the registration. When you have resided legally in Finland for a continuous period of five years, you have the right to permanent residence.

You will receive the registration certificate on paper. If you wish to have a Finnish identity card, you may apply for one from the police after the Finnish Immigration Service has registered your right of residence. Further information about applying for an identity card is available on the website of the Finnish police. Please notice that it is not obligatory to apply for an identity card. You may apply for one if you wish.

If you are not satisfied with the decision, the Finnish law gives you the right to appeal against the decision to an Administrative Court. Instructions on how to appeal will be attached to the decision.

The majority of decisions made by the Administrative Courts are subject to a fee. Contact an Administrative Court to find out more about court fees.