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Continuous residence with a continuous residence permit

You need to have lived in Finland continuously with a continuous residence permit (the A permit):

  • for four years if you want to apply for a permanent residence permit (OLE_P)
  • for five years if you want to apply for an EU residence permit (OLE_PEU)

The calculation of the time period begins:

  • on the day of your entry into Finland, if you had a continuous residence permit when you came to Finland; or
  • on the first day of your first continuous residence permit, if you applied for the permit in Finland; or
  • on the day of your entry into Finland if you have been granted a continuous residence permit on the basis of refugee status or subsidiary protection.

Your continuous residence permits must follow each other without any gaps between them. The grounds on which your continuous residence permits are granted to you may change during these four years. For example, if you get married, the grounds of your residence permit change from work to family ties.

If the type of your residence permit has changed from continuous to temporary (from the A permit to the B permit) at some point, you cannot get a permanent residence permit before you have lived in Finland for a continuous period of four years with a continuous residence permit (the A permit).

Your residence in Finland is continuous if you have resided at least a half of the period of validity of your residence permit in Finland.

  • Continuous residence is not interrupted by absences caused by ordinary holiday and other travel or working abroad as an employee posted by a Finnish employer.
  • If you have spent longer times outside Finland, attach to your application a written statement of the reasons and lengths of your absences.