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EU-kansalaisen oleskeluoikeuden rekisteröinti

Registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence

Published31.01.2024
If you are citizen of an EU member state and intend to live in Finland for over three months, you must register your right of residence. Apply for a registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence within three months of your date of entry.

The registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence is not automatic. You can apply for registration of your right of residence if your livelihood in Finland is ensured. It can be based on work, studying, entrepreneurship, family ties or sufficient resources.

If you plan to stay in Finland for more than three months, you must register your right of residence at the Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto). The application must be submitted within three months of the day of arrival.

Registration by the Finnish Immigration Service is not the same thing as registering your place of residence in the Population Information System at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (Digi- ja väestötietovirasto). You do not need to register your residence at the Finnish Immigration Service if you reside in Finland for a continuous period of less than three months. The three months’ residence is always counted from the time when you have last been outside the borders of Finland.

Read more about the requirements on the page EU citizens.

How do I apply?

Processing the application for registration of the right of residence is subject to a fee. You must pay the fee when you submit the application.

Apply for a registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence through the Enter Finland service:

  1. Fill in the application form and include the required appendices. 
  2. You should go to a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service because you must prove your identity and present the original copies of the appendices to your application. Take with you a valid identity card or passport.
  3. You must visit a service point within three months of submitting the application. You should book an appointment in advance to visit the service point. Book the appointment in the electronic appointment booking service of the Finnish Immigration Service.
  4. Remember to check your Enter Finland account regularly. If further clarifications are needed, you will be informed through your Enter Finland account. You will be informed when the decision has been made.

If you are unable to register online:

  1. Apply for registration by filling in the paper application form. You can also do it in person at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service. Submit the application within three months of the day of arrival.
  2. Print out the registration form from the Finnish Immigration Service website and fill it in advance. The application must be filled in carefully. Incorrectly filled applications will not be accepted.
  3. Make an appointment for the service point in the electronic appointment booking service of the Finnish Immigration Service. You should book an appointment in advance to visit the service point.
  4. Take with you the filled-in registration form, a valid identity card or passport and the necessary appendices. 

If the grounds for your residence in Finland and the requirements are met, you can get a certificate of registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence from the Finnish Immigration Service. The registration of the right of residence is valid until further notice.

When you have lived in Finland legally and continuously for five years, you have the right for permanent residence in Finland. EU citizen’s right of permanent residence must be applied for separately at the Finnish Immigration Service.

Finnish personal identity code (suomalainen henkilötunnus)

If the Finnish Immigration Service registers your right of residence, your personal data is automatically also registered in the Population Information System. You will receive a Finnish personal identity code at the same time.

You can also get a Finnish personal identity code at a service location of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency and some tax offices.

If you move to Finland for a year or more, you must also register at the nearest Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

Read more on the InfoFinland page Registering as a resident.

The InfoFinland page Moving to Finland checklist contains useful information on other things you have to attend to when moving to Finland.

What is needed for registration?

Employee or entrepreneur

Your right of residence can be registered if you have a job or a business in Finland.

You need the following documents:

  • EU registering form
  • valid identity card or passport
  • contract of employment (if you have a job)
  • account on business activities (if you are an entrepreneur)

Student

Your right of residence can be registered if you study at an approved educational institution in Finland.

You need the following documents:

  • EU registering form
  • valid identity card or passport
  • certificate of attendance (proof that you are a student at an approved educational institution in Finland)
  • certificate of health insurance (for example, a European Health Insurance card)
  • account of your income in Finland

Family member of a person living in Finland

Your right of residence can be registered if you have a family member living permanently in Finland.

You need the following documents:

  • EU registering form
  • valid identity card or passport
  • certificate of marriage or registered partnership
  • account on living together for two years or on a child in joint custody, if you are in a common-law relationship
  • birth certificate of the child, if you have a child in your custody
  • account on the grounds of the sponsor’s residence in Finland

Residence card for an EU citizen’s family member

If you are not a citizen of an EU country, Liechtenstein or Switzerland but you are moving to Finland to live with a family member who is an EU citizen, you must apply for a residence card for an EU citizen’s family member.

You can apply for a residence card online through the Enter Finland service or at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto). Processing the application for a residence card is subject to a fee. You must pay the fee when you submit the application.

You need the following documents:

  • application for a residence card
  • valid passport
  • certificate of marriage or registered partnership
  • registering certificate of the EU citizen you come to Finland with
  • account of relationship (children or other dependent relatives of an EU citizen)
  • account on living together (if you are a common-law spouse of an EU citizen and you do not have children in joint custody)

The residence card for an EU citizen’s family member is granted for five years or a shorter time if the duration of living in Finland is less than five years.

Sufficient resources

If your right of residence cannot be registered on any of the grounds stated above, you can apply for registration if you have sufficient resources for living in Finland. Sufficient resources are grounds for registration.

You need the following documents:

  • EU registering form
  • valid identity card or passport
  • explanation that you have sufficient resources for living in Finland

Can I lose my right of residence?

Registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence and residence card for an EU citizen’s family member may be cancelled or it may expire if:

  • you move away from Finland permanently,
  • you continuously reside abroad for two years.
  • you have given false information when applying for the registration or residence card for an EU citizen’s family member
  • you have withheld a factor that could have prevented you from being registered or receiving the residence card
  • you are deported from Finland
  • you are granted Finnish citizenship.

Bear in mind that, if your situation in life changes, this may affect your right of residence. If your right of residence has been registered based on work, business operations, study place, family ties or sufficient funds and this reason no longer exists, your registration may be cancelled.

The Finnish Immigration Service makes decisions on cancelling or expiring rights of residence.

If you move abroad

If you do not want your right of residence or residence card to be cancelled, you can submit an application to the Finnish Immigration Service at the latest within two years of moving abroad.

Link redirects to another websiteFinnish Immigration Service

Cancelling residence permits

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