Application for students and researchers: residence permit to look for work or to start a business

1. You have or have had a residence permit for studies or for research.

2. You have studied and completed a degree in Finland, or you have finished your research work or completed a doctoral degree in Finland.

3. You have not yet found a job.

4. You have sufficient funds for living in Finland.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have sufficient financial resources for living in Finland. You need to have at least 800 euros per month at your disposal to be able to pay for your accommodation, food and other needs. For example, if you apply for the permit for 2 years, you must have at least 19,200 euros at your disposal.

When you are applying for an extended permit, you may secure your means of support with work. The Finnish Immigration Service receives information about your salaries and benefits from the Incomes Register. Therefore, you do not need to attach certificates of salaries or benefits to your application. If we need further information, we will send you a request for additional information. Read more on the page Incomes Register.

See also the general requirements for granting a residence permit on the page First residence permit.

If necessary, have the attachments translated and legalised. Read more on the page Interpretation, translation and legalisation.

General attachments

• A valid passport issued by your country of nationality. For more information, see the page Passports and other travel documents. Show the passport when you visit a service point to prove your identity.  
• A passport photo complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police (poliisi.fi),  or a photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop
  • The passport photo must be no more than 6 months old.
• Color copies of the passport page containing personal data and all pages that contain notes

Application-specific attachments

Student, attach to your application:

• a degree certificate
• documentation of sufficient financial resources

Researcher, attach to your application:

• a degree certificate or a document on the completion of the research work. This document should include the following details:
  • the topic and title of the research
  • where the research was conducted 
  • what you have done in the research
  • when the research was conducted
  • confirmation by the research organisation of the completion of the research
  • list of publications you have contributed to 
• documentation of sufficient financial resources

You can fill in the application in the online service Enter Finland. The processing fee for an online application is lower than for a paper application. If you apply for your first residence permit in Enter Finland, you might not need to visit a service point when you apply for an extended permit. Read more on the page Identification and strong identification in Enter Finland.

If you cannot use Enter Finland, fill in a paper application. You will find a link to the application at the bottom of the page.

Fill in the application yourself. Note that you do not need to use consultancy services subject to a fee. Enter Finland will guide you through the whole process of filling in the application. You can also find helpful advice in our Guide for students.

If you apply online via Enter Finland, pay the processing fee: 

• with a credit card or with Finnish online banking credentials when you submit the application, or
• when you visit a Finnish mission abroad to prove your identity.

If you apply with a paper application, pay the processing fee:

• when you visit a Finnish mission abroad to prove your identity.

Read more on the page Processing fees and payment methods.

If you applied for your residence permit abroad, book an appointment to visit a Finnish mission (finlandabroad.fi). Read more on the page Proving your identity abroad.

If you applied for your residence permit in Finland, book an appointment to a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service. Read more on the page Book an appointment at a service point.

• If you applied online in Enter Finland, you will receive notifications of your application's progress and of possible requests for additional information by email and text message.
• If you applied on paper, you will receive notifications of your application's progress and of possible requests for additional information by email.

For more information, see: Processing of applications

Among other things, the authorities may ask you for information about whether you have enough money to live in Finland.

If you were not issued a personal identity code together with your residence permit card, you must visit a service location of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency in person.

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency enters your personal details, information about your family relations and your address in the Population Information System. You can also apply for a municipality of residence at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

For more information, visit the website of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (dvv.fi).