Residence permit application for persons applying for an EU Blue Card

1. You have found employment.  

• Your employer must supplement your application by filling in your terms of employment either online in Enter Finland for Employers or by using a paper form. 

2. Your employment relationship lasts for at least 6 months.

• If your employment relationship is shorter than that, you need to apply for some other residence permit. You can use the Application Finder to find the right application for you.

3. Your work consists of expert tasks that require special expertise.

• Your employer verifies that you have the special expertise required in your work.  

4. You have the required higher professional qualifications, attested by evidence of higher education qualifications or higher professional skills.

• You have higher education qualifications if you have completed a higher education degree that takes at least 3 years to complete.
• Usually, you have higher professional skills if you have at least 5 years of professional experience, acquired through actual pursuit of your profession, at a level comparable to higher education qualifications. 

5. Your gross salary is at least EUR 3,638 per month. 

• Fringe benefits are not counted towards this sum when we assess whether your salary is sufficient for this permit.
• If your salary is less than EUR 3,638 per month, you cannot be granted an EU Blue Card. 

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

You cannot be granted an EU Blue Card in the following situations:

• If you are waiting for a decision on your asylum application which you have lodged in Finland or in another EU Member State. 
• If you (have fled Ukraine and) are a beneficiary of temporary protection. 
• If you have been granted asylum in Finland.
• If you are applying for a residence permit for a researcher to conduct research.
• If you hold an EU long-term resident status. 
• If your removal from the country has been suspended for reasons of fact or law.
• If you have the right of free movement.

In the situations listed above, you can apply for a residence permit for a specialist. 

Have the attachments translated and legalised if needed.

• Valid passport accepted by Finland (um.fi). Present your passport when you submit your residence permit application
• A passport photo complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police, or a photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop
  • The passport photo must be no more than 6 months old.
• 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 (PDF) (if you already are in Finland and apply for your first residence permit)
• If you have a valid EU Blue Card granted to you by another EU Member State, add a copy of the card to your application.

When you apply for an extended permit, you do not need to submit a document as proof of legal stay, and you do not need to submit the form MP_1 (your opinion on possible denial of admittance or stay and entry ban).

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 online via the online service 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.

After you have submitted your application in Enter Finland, your employer must add your terms of employment and other required documents to your application using Enter Finland for Employers. See the page Filling in the terms of employment to check what information your employer needs to fill in and which attachments are required. 

An employer who cannot use Enter Finland for Employers can fill in the ‘Terms of employment’ paper form. In that case, you need to attach the form to your application in Enter Finland. 

If you are submitting your residence permit application on paper, attach to your application the form ‘Terms of employment’, filled in by your employer.

Book an appointment to visit a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) abroad to prove your identity.

For more information, see the page Proving your identity abroad.

• 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)