Residence permit application for a start-up entrepreneur

1. You are a start-up entrepreneur

• You either own a recently founded start-up company that aims for growth or are about to establish a start-up company. See the website of Business Finland for information on what the start-up company must be like. 

2. You have a positive Eligibility Statement from Business Finland

• An Eligibility Statement is required when you apply for:
  • a first residence permit for a start-up entrepreneur; or
  • an extended permit for a start-up entrepreneur if you have not held a startup permit before.
     
• Apply for an Eligibility Statement in Enter Finland. You can fill in and submit your residence permit application after receiving a positive Eligibility Statement to your Enter Finland account.
• Before you submit your residence permit application in Enter Finland, make sure that your Eligibility Statement is no more than 4 months old. Example: If your Eligibility Statement is issued 10 April, you must submit your application on 10 August at the latest. If the statement is older than 4 months, apply for a new statement.

3. You have sufficient financial resources for the entire duration of your residence permit. 

• You must have EUR 1,000 per month, which amounts to EUR 12,000 per year, at your disposal. It needs to be money which you can use to support yourself in Finland. 
• You must have the required sum in your own bank account. The money can consist of, for example, your savings, income from your start-up company, funding granted to your start-up company or of other regular income which continues during your entire stay in Finland.
• You must have enough money for at least one year. However, you may be granted a first residence permit for two years if you have enough money to cover your living costs for two years (EUR 24,000).
• When you apply for an extended permit (your next fixed-term residence permit), the permit can only be granted for the time period during which you have a proven and continuous income. Your continuous income may consist of, for example, income from your start-up company. An extended permit can be valid for up to 4 years.
• Read more on the page Income requirement. 

 

In addition, you must meet the general requirements for obtaining a residence permit. See the general requirements for granting a residence permit.

Have the attachments translated and legalised if needed.

To apply for a residence permit as a start-up entrepreneur, you need the following attachments:

• A valid passport accepted by Finland (um.fi). Present your passport when you submit your residence permit application.
• Passport photo (PDF) complying with the photo guidelines (PDF, poliisi.fi) issued by the police, or a photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop.
• Colour copy of the passport page containing your personal data.
• A document (such as visa or residence permit) showing that you are legally staying in the country where you submit your residence permit application to Finland.
• If you already are in Finland and apply for a first residence permit, fill in and sign the form MP_1 (PDF).
• Eligibility Statement from Business Finland.
  • Add an Eligibility Statement to your application when you apply for a start-up permit for the first time. Before you submit your residence permit application in Enter Finland, make sure that your Eligibility Statement is no more than 4 months old. If the statement is older than 4 months, apply for a new statement.
• Proof of sufficient financial resources.
  • You need documents to prove that you have sufficient financial resources for living in Finland for at least one year (see section 1 point 3). Examples of what is accepted as proof:
    • Bank statement showing that you have enough money to support yourself. 
    • Decision on funding, if you have received funding for your start-up company. The source of such funding can be, for instance, Business Finland. 
    • Your start-up company's updated accounts for the ongoing accounting period (current income statement and balance sheet) if the money is income from your start-up company.
    • Rental agreement, if the money consists of continuous income from rents.
    • Employment contract, if the money consists of income from work conducted with another company.

When you apply for an extended permit as a start-up entrepreneur, you will also need the following attachments:

• Updated accounts for the ongoing accounting period (current income statement and balance sheet). You do not need to add financial statements to your application because they are available in a register maintained by authorities.
• You will also need an Eligibility Statement from Business Finland if you have not held a residence permit for a start-up entrepreneur before.

You can fill in the application online in Enter Finland. The 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.

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.

If you apply for a residence permit online in Enter Finland, you need to pay the processing fee  

• with a credit card or with Finnish online banking credentials when you submit your application, or
• when you visit a Finnish embassy or consulate abroad or a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service in Finland to prove your identity.  

If you apply for a residence permit with a paper application, you need to pay the processing fee

• when you visit a Finnish embassy or consulate abroad or a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service in Finland to prove your identity.

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

When you apply for an extended permit, you may avoid the need to visit a service point to prove your identity if you log in Enter Finland using Finnish online banking credentials. Read more on the page Identification.

For more information, see: 

• Handling your matters at a Finnish mission
• Handling matters at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service

• 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

You can follow the processing of your application with the help of our chatbot, Kamu, by giving Kamu the diary number of your application. Kamu will also tell you the expected processing time of your application. 

For more information, see: What affects the processing time of your application

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)