First residence permits

You must apply for a first residence permit if you plan to stay in Finland for longer than 90 days. Select the application form on the basis of whether you will work or study in Finland or if you want to move to Finland to live with a member of your family. Please remember that e-service accounts are for personal use only, so you can't send an application for your spouse or your employee through your own account. They must have their own account in Enter Finland.

You may have to apply for a residence permit for working even if your stay does not exceed 90 days. The right to work without a residence permit is restricted.

You cannot apply electronically in the following cases:

• You are a former Finnish citizen or a returnee.
• You are applying for a residence permit on other grounds.

More information can be found on our website.

If you are an EU citizen or a citizen of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you do not need a residence permit. Instead you can register your right of residence at the Immigration Service. If you are a family member of a such citizen but not a citizen of these countries yourself, you can apply for a residence card of an EU citizen's family member.

 If you are not sure which grounds for applying you should choose, use the Application Finder on the Finnish Immigration Service website to find out.

Select the application that suits your situation