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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 Renew your residence card also if you misplace your card, the card is damaged or the information on the card is no longer valid.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 Matkahuolto service point

Once a decision has been issued, the card will be sent to your nearest Matkahuolto service point within two weeks. You will receive a notification of arrival by email and text message, containing the Matkahuolto consignment number, the address of the Matkahuolto service 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 Matkahuolto notification of arrival will be sent to you by post. When collecting your card, bring with you:

  • the message from Matkahuolto containing the consignment number, and
  • a certificate of a pending residence card application containing the PIN code required for collection (The PIN code is the bar code of the certificate).
    • You can log in to your Enter Finland account and print out a new certificate of a pending application.
    • If you have submitted your application inat the service point, a new certificate of a pending application will be posted to you to your home address once a decision has been issued.

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.