Skip to Content
Registering an EU citizen's right of residence

Residence card and validity

The sponsor must fulfil the requirements for registering the right of residence before you can get a residence card.

A residence card is issued for five years at a time. It can also be issued for a shorter time if you plan to stay in Finland for less than five years. After five years, you may get a permanent residence card.

If your residence card has been granted for a period shorter than five years and you stay longer,  submit a new application. Renew your residence card also if you misplace your card, the card is damaged or the information on the card is no longer valid.

There are three ways to renew your residence card

Your new residence card will be delivered to a DB Schenker collection point

Once a decision has been issued, the card will be sent to your nearest DB Schenker collection point within 2 weeks. You will receive a notification of arrival by email and text message, containing the DB Schenker consignment number, the address of the collection point and the last day when the card is still available for collection. If you do not have a phone number or an email address, the DB Schenker notification of arrival will be sent to you by post.

When collecting your card, bring with you:

  • the notice of arrival sent by DB Schenker indicating the item ID; and
  • your customer number, in other words your PIN code. You can find your customer number in the certificate of a pending application provided by the Finnish Immigration Service or your old residence card.
    • If you applied for a residence card in Enter Finland, you will find the certificate of a pending application in Enter Finland.
    • If you applied on paper, you can pick up a certificate of a pending application from a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service.

If you are picking up a card on behalf of another person, you will not need a power of attorney. Bring the notice of arrival sent by DB Schenker and the customer number of the person whose card you are picking up.

This website is part of the European Commission's Your Europe portal. Did you find what you were looking for? Give feedback to the European Commission! If you wish to give feedback to the Finnish Immigration Service, go to the page migri.fi/feedback