Residence card in Finland for a family member of an EU citizen

Apply for a residence card for a family member of an EU citizen if you are a family member of a citizen of the European Union, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland but you yourself are not an EU citizen and you wish to stay in Finland for over three months.

You can also use this application to apply for a new fixed-term residence card, if you do not meet the requirements for a permanent residence permit.

You can submit the application only in Finland.

Expected processing time for electronic application
6 months
Expected processing time for paper application
6 months
Electronic application fee
54 €
Paper application fee
54 €

Make sure you meet the following requirements:

You are a spouse or a cohabiting partner.
- Persons living continuously in a marriage-like relationship in the same household, regardless of their sex, are comparable to cohabiting partners if
  - they have lived in the same household for at least two years; or
  - they have a child in their joint custody; or
  - they can be considered to be cohabiting partners for another weighty reason.
- You are under 21 years of age or a dependent child.
  - A child must be
    - under 21 years of age; or
    - an EU citizen's or his or her spouse's direct descendant, for example a child or a grandchild, who is dependent on him or her.
- You are a dependent older relative.
A relative in a direct ascending line, for example a mother, a father or a grandparent, who is dependent on an EU citizen or his/her spouse.
If the EU citizen in question is under 18 years of age, you are his or her guardian
You are another relative.
- Other relatives are treated as family members of EU citizens, regardless of their citizenship, if
  - the relative is, in the country of departure, dependent on an EU citizen who has the primary right of residence, or the relative lived in the same household with the EU citizen in question. Other relatives of an EU citizen’s spouse are not usually treated as the EU citizen’s family members.
  - serious health grounds absolutely require the EU citizen in question to give the relative personal care.

A family member of a Finnish citizen may be granted a residence card only if the Finnish citizen has exercised his or her right of free movement.
Your Finnish family member needs to have lived in another EU Member State outside Finland for longer than three months.
You can get a residence card for a family member of 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.
Attach to your application documentation proving that a Finnish citizen has exercised his or her right of free movement and that you have lived together in another EU Member State.

This is what you should do:

1

Read the migri.fi website carefully.

Read the website to find out about the registration of the right of residence, the residence card of a family member of an EU citizen, and detailed instructions on how to use the services of the Finnish Immigration Service.

2

Make sure you meet the requirements for a residence card.

3

Make sure you have all the attachments needed for the application and that they are up to date.

If any attachments are missing, it will delay the processing of your application.

The attachments you need are listed on this site and on the application.

If necessary, you should have your attachments translated and legalised.

4

Fill in the application carefully.

Fill in your application online in our e-service Enter Finland. If you cannot fill in an application online, please use a paper application.

If the Finnish Immigration Service has to ask you to supplement your application, this will delay the processing of your application.

5

Book an appointment at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service.

Book an appointment in our appointment system online: migri.vihta.com

If you have applied for a residence card in the online service Enter Finland, you must later visit a service point to prove your identity.

If you have used a paper form to apply for a residence card, you must submit the application to us personally and pay a processing fee at one of our service points.

Bring all your attachments with you.

6

We will inform you when we have made a decision on your matter.

The Finnish Immigration Service will contact you if necessary.

You do not need to contact the Finnish Immigration Service while your application is being processed.

If we need further information from you, we will contact you.

Attachments

a photo
a valid passport
if you are the spouse of an EU citizen, a certificate of the marriage or registered partnership
if you are the cohabiting partner of an EU citizen, documentation showing that you live together or have a child in your joint custody
if you are the child of an EU citizen or a dependant relative, documentation showing the family relationship
if you are another family member of an EU citizen,
- a document issued by an authority in your country of origin or the country of departure certifying that
  - you are a dependant of the EU citizen; or
  - you are a member of the same household as the EU citizen; or
  - proof of the existence of serious health grounds which absolutely require that the EU citizen personally cares for you

If your family member is a Finnish citizen, attach to your application documentation proving that your family member has exercised his or her right of free movement and that you have lived together in another EU Member State.

Normally, a legalised document issued by an authority is presented as documentation of family ties. Legalisation is not required, if the document presented as proof of family ties has been issued by an authority in one of the Nordic countries or in an EU Member State.

Right to work

As a family member of an EU citizen, you have the right to start working immediately after arriving in Finland, provided that your family member lives in Finland or is moving to Finland.