Residence permit for a spouse

If you are married to a Finnish citizen who lives in Finland, you may be eligible to receive a residence permit in Finland based on family ties. A spouse of the same sex may also be eligible to receive a residence permit if you are married or in a registered partnership.

A common-law spouse can also get a permit if:

• you and your common-law spouse have lived together for at least two years or
• you and your common-law spouse have a child together (in which case you need not have lived together for the last two years) or
• there is another important reason why you should be granted the permit.

You and your common-law spouse must be able to prove you have lived together for two years, if this is the basis of your permit application. This can be demonstrated, for example, by a register of occupants or a rental agreement bearing both of your names. If you and your common-law spouse have domiciles in different countries, living together during periods such as holidays is not considered adequate grounds for granting a residence permit. You and your common-law spouse cannot be married to third parties.

Income requirement for a spouse of a Finnish citizen

You are not required to have a guaranteed livelihood if you are a family member of a Finnish citizen. You have an unlimited right to work. You may only start working once your residence permit has been granted.

Age limit

You must be at least 21 years old when your residence permit is issued. You may apply for a residence permit no earlier than nine months before your 21st birthday. If you have a child in joint custody, the age limit does not apply to you. In this case, you can apply for a residence permit as a guardian.

EU citizens do not need a residence permit to live in Finland. If you are not a citizen of an EU country, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Norway or Iceland but you are moving to Finland to live with a family member who is an EU citizen, you can get a residence card for an EU citizen’s family member.

If you are applying for registration as a Finnish citizen’s family member, they must have used their right to free movement, meaning they must have lived in an EU country or a country that is comparable to the EU for at least three months.

Read more on the InfoFinland page Registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence.

If your spouse has a residence permit in Finland and he or she lives in Finland, you may be eligible to receive a residence permit in Finland based on family ties. A spouse of the same sex may also be eligible to receive a residence permit if you are married or in a registered partnership.

A common-law spouse can also get a permit if:

• you and your common-law spouse have lived together for at least two years or
• you and your common-law spouse have a child together (in which case you need not have lived together for the past two years), or
• there is another important reason why you should be granted the permit.

You and your common-law spouse must be able to prove you have lived together for two years, if this is the basis of your permit application. This can be demonstrated by, for example, a register of occupants or a rental agreement with both your names on it. If you and your common-law spouse have domiciles in different countries, living together during, say, holidays is not considered adequate grounds for granting a residence permit. 

Income requirement

In order to receive a residence permit in Finland, you or your spouse must also have sufficient income to guarantee your livelihood. At the Finnish Immigration Service website, you can check how much income you need.

Your spouse must have secure means of support if he or she has been granted a residence permit on the basis of subsidiary or temporary protection.

However, in certain situations, sufficient means of support are not required if there are particularly compelling grounds or if it is in the best interests of a child. Read more on the Finnish Immigration Service website.

Age limit

You can only get a residence permit when you and your spouse are 21 years old. You may apply for a residence permit no earlier than nine months before your 21st birthday. If you have a child in joint custody, you can get a residence permit as the child’s guardian even if you are under 21.

Depending on the type of residence permit held by your spouse, additional conditions for obtaining a residence permit may also apply. Read more on the Finnish Immigration Service website.

If your spouse has a residence permit in Finland based on international protection and he or she holds refugee status, you may be eligible to receive a residence permit in Finland based on family ties.

A common-law spouse can also get a permit if:

• you and your common-law spouse have lived together for at least two years or
• you and your common-law spouse have a child together (in which case you need not have lived together for the last two years) or

You and your common-law spouse must be able to prove you have lived together for two years, if this is the basis of your permit application. This can be demonstrated, for example, by a register of occupants or a rental agreement bearing both of your names. If you and your common-law spouse have domiciles in different countries, living together during periods such as holidays is not considered adequate grounds for granting a residence permit. You and your common-law spouse cannot be married to third parties.

Income requirement for a spouse of a refugee

If you are applying for a residence permit on the basis of family ties, you must normally have secure means of support. Secure means of support means that you and your family members have enough money to live in Finland.

The means of support must be secure if the family is formed after the family reunification sponsor’s (perheenkokoaja) arrival in Finland.

Secure means of support are not required if

• the family was formed before the family reunification sponsor came to Finland, and
• the application for a residence permit on the basis of family ties was submitted within three months of the date on which the applicant was informed that he or she had been granted asylum or had been admitted to Finland as a quota refugee (kiintiöpakolainen)
• family reunification is not possible outside Finland.

Read more on the Finnish Immigration Service website.

Age limit

You can only get a residence permit when you and your spouse are 21 years old. You may apply for a residence permit no earlier than nine months before your 21st birthday. If you have a child in joint custody, you can get a residence permit as the child’s guardian even if you are under 21.

Please also take into account the application deadlines and other conditions for the issue of a residence permit. Check the Immigration Service website for more information. 

A residence permit is not usually granted to unmarried partners who do not live together. According to Finnish law, partners in such a relationship are not considered family members.

In some cases, however, you may be eligible for a temporary (B) residence permit in Finland based on a romantic relationship. In order for you to receive such a residence permit in Finland, the relationship between you and your partner must be established. Proof of an established relationship would be, for example, intent to marry each other in Finland.

To satisfy these conditions, neither you nor your partner may be married to a third party.

In order to obtain a residence permit, you must have sufficient funds to secure your income. These funds must be at your free disposal, for example in a bank account under your own name. The income of your partner residing in Finland will not be considered.

You can only get a residence permit when you and your partner are 21 years old. You may apply for a residence permit no earlier than nine months before your 21st birthday. If you apply before then, the decision may be negative.

Usually, you must apply for the first residence permit before you come to Finland. Apply for the permit in your home country or another country where you are residing legally.You can also apply for a residence permit in Finland if your spouse is a Finnish citizen and you are a citizen of a visa-free country, i.e. you do not need a visa to come to Finland.

You can apply for a permit online through the Enter Finland service. After applying, you must visit the closest Finnish diplomatic mission or a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service to prove your identity, and present original copies of the application appendices. You must visit a Finnish diplomatic mission or service point within three months of submitting the application online. The application cannot be processed until you have visited the Finnish diplomatic mission or service point. You usually need to make an appointment in advance to visit a diplomatic mission or service point.

Remember to check your Enter Finland account regularly. If further clarifications are needed, you will be informed through your account.

If you are unable to apply online, you can bring a paper application form and its appendices to the closest Finnish diplomatic mission or, in Finland, to a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service. You can print out the application form from the Finnish Immigration Service website.

A residence permit is subject to a fee. You must pay the fee when applying for the permit.

Finnish personal ID code

If you are granted a residence permit for Finland, you will be automatically registered in the Finnish Population Information System. You will receive a Finnish personal identity code at the same time.

When you have moved to Finland, you must visit the nearest service location of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency to register as a resident. Read more on the InfoFinland page Registering as a resident.

Your spouse will not be granted a residence permit if the conditions for a residence permit are not met. Your spouse may also be refused a permit if the Finnish authorities consider that the marriage was contracted solely for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit and the spouses do not intend to live together as a family. The authorities may suspect that a marriage has been contracted for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit, for example if it was entered into after only a brief acquaintance or if one of the parties has had several short-lived marriages. If you receive a negative decision on your application, you can appeal to the Administrative Court. The instructions are attached to the residence permit decision.

Read more about residence permit problems on the InfoFinland page Residence permit problems.