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Temporary protection

Residence permit card on the basis of temporary protection 

Submitting applications for a residence permit card on the basis of temporary protection is not possible in Enter Finland between 1 January and 22 January 2025.

If you are granted temporary protection, you will receive a residence permit card. You do not need to apply for a new residence permit card when the Finnish Immigration Service extends your temporary protection residence permit. All residence permit cards issued on the basis of temporary protection are valid until 4 March 2026 even if the expiry date printed on the card is 4 March 2023, 4 March 2024 or 4 March 2025 if:

  • the card holder is a Ukrainian citizen or a family member of a Ukrainian citizen
  • the card holder has a residence permit in Ukraine on the basis of international protection or is a family member of a person who has been granted international protection in Ukraine, or
  • the card holder has a permanent residence permit in Ukraine.
  • Expected processing time for electronic application

    2 weeks

  • Expected processing time for paper application

    2 weeks

  • Renewal of a residence permit card, temporary protection, electronic application

    20 €

  • Renewal of a residence permit card, temporary protection, paper application

    40 €

  • New residence permit card to replace a lost or stolen one

    120 €

For certain third-country nationals, residence permits issued on the basis of temporary protection will expire in the spring of 2025. These permits are currently expected to expire on 31 March 2025. The temporary protection residence permit will expire for third-country nationals who have been residing in Ukraine with a temporary residence permit and who are not family members of Ukrainian citizens. For such persons, the residence permit card for temporary protection expires when their residence permit on the basis of temporary protection in Finland expires. If you are a third-country national whose residence permit issued on the basis of temporary protection is about to expire, you do not need to apply for a new temporary protection residence permit card. According to law, your old residence permit card issued on the basis of temporary protection is valid for as long as your residence permit based on temporary protection is valid, even if the expiry date printed on your residence permit card is 4 March 2023, 4 March 2024 or 4 March 2025. If you apply for a new residence permit card, it is subject to a fee and the new card will be valid for a very short time. Read more on the page Extension of temporary protection.

Residence permit cards are not official identity documents.

You do not need to apply for a new residence permit card

If the Finnish Immigration Service has extended your temporary protection residence permit and temporary protection has not ended in your case, you are residing in Finland legally and your old residence permit card that was issued on the basis of temporary protection is valid under law even if the expiry date printed on the card is 4 March 2023, 4 March 2024 or 4 March 2025. 

Your right to work on the basis of temporary protection will also be valid until 4 March 2026 even if the expiry date printed on your card is 4 March 2023, 4 March 2024 or 4 March 2025, provided that the Finnish Immigration Service has extended your temporary protection residence permit and that temporary protection has not ended in your case.

Applying for a new residence permit card is still possible starting from 23 January 2025. However, between 1 January and 22 January 2025, there is a break in the reception of applications for a residence permit card on the basis of temporary protection. New cards are subject to a fee.

Changing a name on a residence permit card

If there have been changes in your name after you received your previous residence permit card, see the instructions on this page under Changing a name on a residence permit cardn before you order a new card.

How to use Enter Finland to apply for a new residence permit card

If you wish to apply for a new residence permit card on the basis of temporary protection, we recommend that you use the online service Enter Finland. If you do so, you do not need to visit a service point. You can apply for a new card at any time as long as your residence permit is valid. You will receive your new card within approximately two weeks of submitting the application.

  • If you have children who are under 18 years of age and who have received temporary protection in Finland, you can use Enter Finland to apply for new residence permit cards for them as well.
    • However, you cannot use Enter Finland to apply for a new residence permit card for a child who has turned 6 after receiving his or her current residence permit card on the basis of temporary protection because, under law, your child’s fingerprints are required for the residence permit card. To apply for a residence permit card for a child who is at least 6 years old, you need to visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service to submit an application. The child must come to the service point with you.
  • Children who have reached the age of 15 can also apply for a new card independently in Enter Finland. They need to create a user account in the Enter Finland online service that is intended for applicants.
  • If you are a representative of an unaccompanied minor, you can use the Enter Finland online service intended for applicants to apply for a new residence permit card for the child. You cannot submit the application in the Enter Finland online service that is intended for counsels and representatives. See the instructions on how to create a user account and how to submit the application below (‘How to apply for a new residence permit card in Enter Finland’).

How to apply for a new residence permit card in Enter Finland

How to apply for a new residence permit card at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service

If you want a new residence permit card but cannot apply for it in Enter Finland, you can apply for a new card at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service. Book an appointment beforehand in our appointment system. You can see all appointments available for booking at our service points in the appointment system.

The service point staff can help you in Finnish, Swedish or English. We do not have interpreters at our service points.

The application is subject to a fee.

This is how to collect your residence permit card from a collection point

You will receive a new card within about 2 weeks of your application.

Once your residence permit card is ready, you will receive a notice of arrival by email and as a text message, telling you that your delivery is ready for collection. Your residence permit card will be delivered to a collection point near your address. The notification contains the address of the collection point where you can collect your card and the last day when the card is still available for collection.

Please collect the card as soon as possible after receiving the arrival notification. 

We send each card as a separate shipment. If you have also applied for temporary protection for your child, we will send both cards separately. Your card will be posted directly to the address that the Finnish Immigration Service has for you if you live on the Åland Islands, if we do not have your email address or Finnish phone number, or if a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons has been registered for you.

When you receive a notification, do this

  1. Bring the notice of arrival (an email or SMS.
  2.  Show the notice of arrival at the collection point.
  3. The collection point employee will give you the shipment containing your new residence permit card.
  4. If you collect the card on behalf of another person, you do not need a power of attorney. Take the notice of arrival of the person whose card you are collecting.

Do this if you assist a temporary protection client who needs help with submitting the application due to illness or disability, for example 

  • If a client who has been granted temporary protection needs a new residence permit card but is not able to submit the application in the online service Enter Finland or at a service point due to an illness or a disability, for example, please contact us by email. 

  • Use the Securemail service (securemail.migri.fi) of the Finnish Immigration Service to email suojelu.tilapainen.tupa@migri.fi. The Securemail service will encrypt your message. Do not use other email encryption services. For more information about sending us email using the Securemail service, please see the page Contact information.

  • Explain in your email that the client needs a new residence permit card for temporary protection. Include the following information in your email:

    • The client’s customer number at the Finnish Immigration Service. Do not write any other personal details or personal information about the client in your email.

    • A short explanation of why the client is not able to apply for a new residence permit card in the online service Enter Finland or at our service point. Based on your message, we will assess what needs to be done so that the client can get a new residence permit card.

    • Your own contact details: name, email and phone number and your role or relationship with the client

  • We will contact you when we have received your message.

Destroy your old residence permit card after you have received your new card

Please do not return your old temporary protection residence permit card to the Finnish Immigration Service. Destroy the old card instead.

  • Cut the card’s chip into four parts – first into two parts vertically and then horizontally.
  • Put the parts in the mixed waste bin, preferably in several different bin bags.

The residence permit card must be destroyed so that it will not be misused. If you have already sent your old card to the Finnish Immigration Service, we will destroy it for you.

When you receive a new residence permit card on the basis of temporary protection, the letter contains the card and a return envelope. However, the return envelope is not needed because you do not need to return your residence permit card for temporary protection to the Finnish Immigration Service. The same cover note and return envelope are posted to all customers who have received a new residence permit card. The cover note will state which cards must be returned to the Finnish Immigration Service. 

Changing a name on a residence permit card

When you change your name, submit an application to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (‘DVV’) first

If you are changing your name, submit an application for a name change (dvv.fi) to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (‘DVV’) before you apply for a new residence permit card. Wait for the Digital and Population Data Services Agency to confirm your name change before you apply for a new residence permit card. See the page Processing times of services for private customers (dvv.fi) to check the processing times of name changes. You can be issued with a new residence permit card with your new name after the Digital and Population Data Services Agency has changed your name.

Once your name change has been confirmed by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, you can apply for a new residence permit card for temporary protection. State your new name, confirmed by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, in your application. The new card is subject to a fee.

If you suspect an error in your residence permit card or if your card does not contain your personal identity code

Please contact the Finnish Immigration Service if you suspect that your residence permit card contains an error (if your name is wrong or if you already had a Finnish personal identity code but it is not printed on the card, for example).

  • Ask the Finnish Immigration Service to correct the information printed on your residence permit card by sending an email to the address tilapainen.suojelu.korjauspyynnot@migri.fi
    • When you email us, please write only your customer number and a short explanation of what error you suspect in your residence permit card. 
    • Do not include any personal information in your email. Do not send your personal identity code by email.
  • In our reply, we will tell you whether getting a new card is free of charge or whether you need to pay a fee to apply for a new card.
    • You will get a new residence permit card free of charge if your name needs to be corrected due to an error made by the Finnish Immigration Service. Otherwise, the card renewal application is subject to a fee. 

If your residence permit card is lost or stolen

You should always report your lost or stolen residence permit card to the Finnish police. If your card is lost or stolen outside Finland, report it to the authorities in the country in question and to the police in Finland. The new card is subject to a fee.

Right to work

You will have the right to work and study as soon as you register your application for temporary protection with the police or a border control authority. Your right to work is valid until 4 March 2026 regardless of whether or not you apply for a new residence permit card, provided that the Finnish Immigration Service has extended your temporary protection residence permit and that your residence permit on the basis of temporary protection has not expired. 

For certain third-country nationals, the residence permits granted on the basis of temporary protection will expire during the spring 2025. The temporary protection residence permit will expire for third-country nationals who have been residing in Ukraine with a temporary residence permit and who are not family members of Ukrainian citizens. For such persons, the right to work on the basis of temporary protection ends when their residence permit on the basis of temporary protection in Finland expires. For more information on the ending of temporary protection for certain third-country nationals, see the page Extension of temporary protection.