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Residence permit application for a researcher

Apply for a residence permit with this application if you are coming to Finland in order to conduct research, study for a licentiate degree or prepare a doctoral dissertation. You can be granted either a residence permit for research under the Directive or a national residence permit for research.

When applying, you do not need to know which of the residence permits you are applying for. The Finnish Immigration Service will investigate which permit you can be issued with.

A first residence permit for research can be granted for a maximum of two years.

You can apply for a D visa at the same time as you apply for a residence permit. The D visa allows you to travel to Finland immediately after you have been issued with a residence permit and a D visa sticker has been attached to your passport. Read more about the D visa.

  • Expected processing time for online application:

    first permit: 1 month / 

    extended permit: 1 month

  • Expected processing time for paper application

    first permit: 23 months / 

    extended permit: 13 months

  • Online application fee:

    first permit: 380 € / extended permit: 170 €

  • Paper application fee:

    first permit: 480 € / extended permit: 430 €

You can be granted either a residence permit for research under the Directive or a national residence permit for research

This is what you should do

Prepare:

Fill in the application:

Right to work

  • If you are in Finland when you are applying for a residence permit, you have the right to work as a researcher already before you get a residence permit. In this case, you must reside in Finland legally (you have a valid visa or you are allowed to stay in Finland without a visa). However, your right to work will end after three months at the latest, or even earlier if your visa expires.
  • Once you are granted a residence permit, you can also do other types of work while working as a researcher. You must, however, work full-time as a researcher and make progress in your research work. When you apply for an extended permit, the Finnish Immigration Service will check that you are making progress with your research work and that scientific research is still the main purpose of your stay in Finland.
  • If you apply for an extended permit, check if you have the right to work while your application is being processed.

Your residence permit can be either an A permit or a B permit

If you hold a master’s degree, you will be granted an A permit, that is, a continuous residence permit.

Depending on the length of the agreement signed by the research organisation and the researcher, a national residence permit for research can be temporary (a B permit) or continuous (an A permit). If the duration of the agreement is less than two years, you can be granted the B permit. If the duration of the agreement is two years or more, you can be granted the A permit.

Read more about residence permit types.

Residence permit application for scientific research, OLE_TUT

Fill in an electronic application

Extended permit for a researcher, OLE_TUT

Fill in an electronic application