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Residence permit application for voluntary work

Apply for a residence permit with this application if you are coming to Finland through a volunteer programme. 

You can apply for this residence permit if you are coming to Finland to: 

  • volunteer through the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) programme of the European Union; or
  • do voluntary work as part of a non-governmental organisation’s exchange programme, such as programmes run by Maailmanvaihto ry – ICYE Finland or AIESEC.

The residence permit is issued as a temporary residence permit for a maximum of one year.

You cannot be granted a residence permit for voluntary work in the following situations:

  • You have a long-term resident status in an EU Member State as a third-country national (EU residence permit).
  • You are coming to Finland in the form of an intra-corporate transfer to do a paid internship. In that case, you need to apply for a residence permit for intra-corporate transfer. Read more on the page Internal transfer within a company.
     
  • Expected processing time

    3 months

  • Electronic application fee

    First permit 380 € / extended permit 170 €

  • Paper application fee

    First permit 480 € / extended permit 430 €

This is what you should do

Prepare:

Fill in the application:

Right to work

You have the right to do voluntary work. This residence permit does not give you the right to do other work.

You cannot start your voluntary work until the residence permit has been granted.

Residence permit application for internship, OLE_TY3

Fill in an electronic application

Extended permit for a trainee, OLE_TY3

Fill in an electronic application