Permanent residence permit
A permanent residence permit is valid until further notice. This page contains information about obtaining a permanent residence permit. The application form for a permanent residence permit and more information about applying can be found on the page Application for a permanent residence permit.
The requirements for permanent residence permits changed on 8 January 2026 when amendments to the Aliens Act entered into force. Which requirements you must meet depends on whether you have submitted your application before the amendments of 8 January 2026 or thereafter. For more information on the requirements, see the page Application for a permanent residence permit.
See the requirements and application instructions on the page Permanent residence permit for a child if you are applying for a permanent residence permit for a child under 18 years of age who is in your custody.
If you have submitted your application before 8 January 2026, you must meet the following requirements:
- You have lived in Finland for a continuous period of 4 years with a continuous residence permit (A permit).
- You still meet the requirements for a continuous residence permit (A permit). You must also meet the general requirements for entry into the country.
- You must have sufficient financial resources if the requirement for sufficient financial resources applies to you.
When you apply for a permanent residence permit on or after 8 January 2026, select an application path
When you apply for a permanent residence permit on or after 8 January 2026, you must choose an application path that you will use to apply for a permanent residence permit.
There are several different application paths, and each application path has different requirements regarding the period of residence, your Finnish or Swedish language skills and work history. These new requirements are called integration requirements.
You can obtain a permanent residence permit through one of the following application paths:
- You have lived in Finland for at least 6 years under a continuous residence permit (A permit) or a Brexit permit, you have at least 2 years of work history in Finland, and the level of your Finnish or Swedish language skills is satisfactory (level B1). If you have reached 65 years of age, the language skills requirement does not apply to you.
- You have lived in Finland for at least 4 years under a continuous residence permit (A permit) or a Brexit permit, and your annual income is more than EUR 40,000.
- You have completed a master’s degree at a university or a university of applied sciences, a licentiate or doctoral degree or a bachelor’s degree at a university (not at a university of applied sciences) in Finland, and the level of your Finnish or Swedish language skills is developing (level A2 or 15 credits in Finnish or Swedish language studies completed at a higher education institution).
- You have lived in Finland for at least 4 years under a continuous residence permit (A permit) or a Brexit permit, you have a master’s degree or a licentiate or doctoral degree recognised in Finland and at least 2 years of work history in Finland.
- You have lived in Finland for at least 4 years under a continuous residence permit (A permit) or a Brexit permit, you have at least 3 years of work history in Finland, and the level of your Finnish or Swedish language skills is particularly good (level C1).
Read more about the application paths and their requirements on the page Application for a permanent residence permit.
If you are not sure which residence permit you should apply for, you can use the Application Finder on our website.
Read more about the integration requirements:
You can obtain a permanent residence permit if you still have grounds for a continuous residence permit
You must meet the requirements for a continuous residence permit (A permit) in order to be granted a permanent residence permit. The grounds for your permit may either be the same as for your continuous residence permit (A permit) or you may have new grounds.
When you apply for a permanent residence permit, the following grounds for a continuous residence permit (A permit) can be accepted as the basis for your application:
- Family ties to spouse or partner
- Family ties to a child under 18 years of age of whom you have custody
- Family ties to some other relative who is a Finnish citizen
- Family ties to some other relative who has been granted refugee status or subsidiary protection.
- Employment (residence permit for an employed person)
- Entrepreneur or startup entrepreneur
- Specialist or EU Blue Card
- Degree, qualification or research completed in Finland
- Researcher
- Jobseeking or starting a business when you have completed a degree, qualification or research in Finland
- Other work
- Work in the top or middle management of a company
- Work in an international organisation or in duties concerning official cooperation between States
- Being engaged professionally in the field of mass media (if the employer or contractor has no place of business in Finland)
- Work that is part of an intergovernmental agreement
- Being a professional athlete, coach or referee
- Being engaged professionally in culture or the arts
- Work in the service of a religious community in a position connected with the practice of religion.
- Finnish origin
- Discretionary humanitarian grounds
- Victim of domestic violence when the grounds for the earlier permit were family ties
- Close ties to Finland (grounds for the earlier residence permit were family ties but these family ties are broken)
- Victim of trafficking in human beings
- Misconduct of the employer
- Other humanitarian immigration
- Witness protection programme
- Particularly difficult personal circumstances
- Permit for EU citizen’s family member who does not meet the requirements for obtaining a residence card for a family member of an EU citizen.
Permanent residence permit cannot be issued on the basis of studies.
When you fill in the application for a permanent residence permit, you must select your primary grounds for a continuous residence permit (A permit), on the basis of which you are applying for a permanent residence permit. You can select two additional grounds for a continuous residence permit at the most if you meet the requirements connected with them. If you do not meet the requirements connected with the primary grounds you have selected, we will examine whether you meet the requirements connected with the additional grounds you have selected.
You cannot be granted a permanent residence permit if you do not meet the requirements for a continuous residence permit (A permit).
If you cannot be granted a permanent residence permit, we will consider, when necessary, whether you can get a new continuous residence permit. We will do this if your current residence permit has already expired, for example. In that case, we will examine the grounds for a continuous residence permit (A permit) that you stated in your application.
Committing crimes may affect granting of a permanent residence permit
Even minor offences and suspected offences may prevent getting a permanent residence permit. If you cannot be granted a permanent residence permit because of crimes, for example, we will consider, when necessary, whether you can get a new continuous residence permit (an A permit).
If you have been sentenced to unconditional imprisonment in Finland or outside Finland, your continuous residence has been interrupted. The calculation of your period of residence starts over when you have served your sentence in full, at the earliest.
For more information, see the page Impact of crimes on getting a permanent residence permit.
You must have sufficient financial resources
In most cases, you are required to have sufficient financial resources. When you apply for a permanent residence permit, the requirement for sufficient financial resources depends on the grounds for the continuous residence permit on the basis of which you are applying for a permanent residence permit. See the page Income requirement for information on which grounds include the requirement for sufficient financial resources.
Submit your permanent residence permit application in Finland
You can apply for a permanent residence permit if you are living in Finland legally. You cannot be granted a permanent residence permit if you are outside Finland. If you submit your application abroad, the application will be processed as an application for a first residence permit. This means that the processing fee charged for the application will be the processing fee for a first residence permit.
You can submit your application approximately 3 months before you meet the period of residence requirement if you meet all the other requirements for obtaining a permanent residence permit. You do not have to wait until your current permit expires.
After applying
Wait for the decision. You may not be able to travel outside Finland if your current residence permit expires during the processing of your application for a permanent residence permit.
See the page Processing times for the estimated processing times.