Skip to Content
Temporary protection

Residence permit card on the basis of temporary protection 

If you are granted temporary protection, you will receive a residence permit card. All residence permit cards issued on the basis of temporary protection are valid until 4 March 2025, even if their last day of validity is 4 March 2023 or 4 March 2024. Residence permit cards are not official identity documents.

  • Expected processing time for electronic application

    2 weeks

  • Expected processing time for paper application

    2 weeks

  • Electronic application fee

    0 €

  • Paper application fee

    0 €

We recommend that you apply for a new residence permit card after your permit has been extended

You can apply for a new residence permit card as of 17 February 2024. We recommend that you apply for a new card in our online service Enter Finland. There is no need to hurry with the application, as you can apply for a new card at any time as long as your residence permit on the basis of temporary protection is valid. The updated validity period of your residence permit will be printed on the new card. The new residence permit card issued on the basis of temporary protection is free of charge.

Having a new residence permit card has considerable advantages when you reside and handle matters in Finland

We recommend that you apply for a new residence permit card for the following reasons: 

  • You can easily prove that your residence permit is valid, that you are staying in Finland legally and that you have a valid right to work. 
  • It will be easier for you to travel in Europe.
  • For example, Finnish authorities, banks, employers, healthcare and social service providers, schools and daycare centres can reliably verify that your residence permit is valid.

It is legal for you to stay in Finland even if you do not apply for a new card

All residence permit cards issued on the basis of temporary protection are valid, even if their last day of validity is 4 March 2023 or 4 March 2024. Your right to work on the basis of temporary protection will also be valid until 4 March 2025. 

However, with a new residence permit card you can always prove with certainty that you have a valid residence permit and right to work and reside in Finland. 

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.

Apply for a new residence permit card in the online service Enter Finland

We recommend that you apply for a new residence permit card in our 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

Check our video tutorial how to create an EnterFinland account and apply for a new temporary protection residence permit card.

If you cannot apply for a new card in Enter Finland, you can visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service and apply for it there

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.

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 or SMS, 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 will indicate the collection point from which you can collect the delivery and the last date for collection.

Please collect the card as soon as possible after receiving the arrival notification. If you cannot collect the card, it will be returned to the Finnish Immigration Service. We will post the card directly to you to the address that you stated in your card application. In this case, it may take more than a month for the card to arrive.

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 you have given in your card application if you live in Åland, if we do not have your email address or 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), and a PIN code that is the same as your Immigration Service customer number.
    • You can find the PIN code in the “Asiakasnumero/Kundnummer” (Customer number) section of the reception centre's customer card or on your old residence permit card, if you have one.
    • You do not need to show your customer card to a collection point employee. All you need to do is tell them your PIN code.
  2.  Show the notice of arrival and tell them your PIN 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 and PIN code 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

Do not return your old 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.

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. 

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. For information on the processing fee and further instructions, see the page Renewal of residence permit card.

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. If your residence permit card was granted on the basis of temporary protection and the expiration date printed on the card was 4 March 2023 or 4 March 2024, you can apply for a new residence permit card free of charge.

If you had a new residence permit card that was granted on the basis of temporary protection and the expiration date printed on the card was 4 March 2025, a new card is subject to a fee. For instructions on how to apply for a new card, see the page Renewal of residence permit card.

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 2025 even if you do not apply for a new residence permit card.