Residence permit application for an employed person (TTOL)

Apply for a residence permit with this application if you are coming to Finland to work for a Finnish employer or other employer operating in Finland and you have signed a contract of employment or accepted a binding job offer. A residence permit for an employed person is connected with labour market testing, which means that the employer must establish if there is available labour force within a reasonable time in Finland or within the EU/EEA for the work in question.

Are you applying for a residence permit for an employed person? Check out our new guide for employed persons! When you answer the questions in the guide, you can easily find exactly the information you need. The guide also enables you to compile a checklist of the attachments required for your application.

Expected processing time for electronic application

First permit 2-4 months / extended permit 2-4 months
Expected processing time for paper application

First permit 2-4 months / extended permit 2-4 months
Electronic application fee

First permit 490 € / extended permit 160 €
Paper application fee

First permit 740 € / extended permit 430 €

This is what you should do

1

Make sure you meet the requirements for the residence permit you are applying for.

2

Make sure you have all the attachments needed. If necessary, have them translated and legalised. The processing time may be longer if you have not filled in your application sufficiently.

3

Fill in your application.

4

Pay for your application in the online service Enter Finland, at a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) or at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service.

5

If you are abroad, visit a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate). If you are already in Finland, book an appointment at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service.

6

Wait for a decision. The Finnish Immigration Service will contact you if necessary.

7

Read what happens after you have applied. Check the estimated processing time of your application here. You can follow the processing of your application with the help of our chatbot Kamu. In addition, you will usually receive automated messages at the different processing stages of your application.

8

You should wait for the residence permit in the same country or locality where you submitted your application and proved your identity.

General requirements for entry into Finland

Make sure you meet the general requirements for entry into Finland before you submit an application.

Requirements

You must also meet the following requirements:

You must have confirmed employment before you may apply for a residence permit for an employed person. If you have been offered work by an employer, the employer needs to confirm that you will really be hired. This is usually done in the form of an employment contract. Your employer must confirm this information by filling in the form TEM 054 and signing it.

Please note that an application for a residence permit for an employed person is processed in two stages. First, an Employment and Economic Development Office (TE Office) will assess whether you have sufficient means of support, whether your work will be temporary or continuous, and whether labour force is available within a reasonable time in Finland or within the EU/EEA for the work in question. Secondly, following this, the Finnish Immigration Service makes its decision. Check the current overall processing time with our Processing Time Checker.

Income requirement

You must have sufficient financial resources.

If you apply for a residence permit in order to work in Finland, you need to be able to support yourself in Finland with your salary throughout the time your residence permit is valid.
When you apply for an extended permit, the Finnish Immigration Service will check how much you have been paid in salary during the validity of your previous residence permit.

Read more on the page Income requirement.

Right to work

You cannot start working before you get a residence permit for an employed person.
You can only work in the professional field to which your job belongs and for which you have been granted a residence permit. You may have several jobs in the same professional field.
If you apply for an extended permit, check if you have the right to work while your application is being processed.

Attachments

The attachments are available in Albanian, Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin, Russian, Thai, Ukrainian, Uzbek and Vietnamese.

Personal details

Valid passport (you must present it when you submit the residence permit application)
Colour copies of the passport page and copies of all passport pages containing markings.
A passport photo or a photograph retrieval code complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police. For instructions, please see poliisi.fi/en/submitting-passport-photographs.
A document showing that you are legally staying in the country where you submit your application. You can read more at migri.fi/handling-your-matters-at-a-finnish-mission.
The form MP_1. You need to attach this form only if you are already in Finland and are applying for a first residence permit.

Information on the employer

Ask your employer for the attachment mentioned here and attach it to your application. If you need more information about matters concerning your employer, please contact an Employment and Economic Development Office (TE-Office) for advice (te-palvelut.fi/en).

When you apply for the permit in Enter Finland, you can give your employer permission to supplement your application. The permission can be given on the second page of the application.

Your employer can add the terms of employment online in Enter Finland for Employers.
- If it is not possible to use Enter Finland, attach to your application the supplement form TEM 0.54, filled in and signed by your employer.
Certificate of paid taxes or certificate of tax debts (no more than 3 months old)
Certificates on employer’s statutory insurance premiums:
- 1) certificate from the insurance company regarding TyEL insurance and accident insurance; and
- 2) certificate from the Employment Fund rearding unemployment insurance
  (no more than 3 months old).
Report on the number of employees in the company (also the share of full-time and part-time employees)
Report on recruitment of labour force from the Finnish labour market and the labour market within the EU/EEA.

Additional attachments to an application for an extended permit

If you are applying for an extended permit, please also attach the following documents to your application:

Your employment contract including:
- your duties
- the start and end date and the duration of your employment (fixed-term/permanent employment)
- the name of the collective agreement (TES) applied
- your working hours
- your salary and possible employee benefits
- your locality and country of work
- your employer’s details: name of the company, business ID and contact details
- signatures and names of you and your employer.
A certificate confirmed by an accountant of salaries paid to you each month during the validity of your previous permit and a certificate of other possible benefits or compensation you have received (the salary certificate must include at least the following information: the name of the payer and the payee, the amount of salary or compensation for labour or service, as well as the amount of tax withholding, pension contribution and unemployment insurance in euros).