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Residence permit application for persons employed as a specialist

Apply for a residence permit with this application if you work as a specialist or as a teacher and have a contract of employment with an employer operating in Finland or have accepted a binding job offer. A specialist is a person who comes to Finland to work with expert tasks that require special expertise (highly skilled worker). You are also required to have a higher education degree.

  • Expected processing time for electronic application

    First permit 3–4 months / 

    extended permit 4 months

  • Expected processing time for paper application

    First permit 3–4 months / 

    extended permit 4 months

  • Electronic application fee

    First permit 350 € / extended permit 190 €

  • Paper application fee

    First permit 550 € / extended permit 190 €

Specialist

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 e-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.

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:

Right to work

  • You have the right to work as a specialist. Check your right to work if you wish to change jobs.

  • If you are in Finland when you are applying for a residence permit, you have the right to work as a specialist already before you get a residence permit. In this case, you must reside in Finland legally (you have a valid visa or you are allowed to stay in Finland without a visa). However, your right to work will end after three months at the latest, or even earlier if your visa expires.
  • If you apply for an extended permit, check if you have the right to work while your application is being processed.

General attachments

  • Valid passport (you must present it when you submit the residence permit application)
  • Passport photo complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police or a photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop, OLEL_PK
  • Colour copies of the passport page containing personal data and of all passport pages that contain notes
  • Document showing that you are legally staying in the country where you submit the application
  • Form MP_1 (if you already are in Finland and apply for your first residence permit)

Application-specific attachments

  • Certificate concerning the principal terms and conditions of employment; or
  • Consultancy agreement
  • Certificate of fringe benefits from the employer/client
  • Commission agreement with a Finnish client (must be included if the employer is a foreign company that has no office in Finland)
  • Job description
  • Certificate of a higher education degree

Residence permit application for persons employed as a specialist, OLE_TY2

Fill in an electronic application
Fill in a paper application