Terms and Conditions of the Enter Finland Online Service

You can use the services of the Finnish Immigration Service online via the Enter Finland online service (hereinafter ‘the Service’ or ‘Enter Finland’). Enter Finland is available in Finnish, Swedish and English. Enter Finland has dedicated sections for applicants, employers of foreign nationals and the counsels and representatives of foreign nationals:

• Applicant’s Enter Finland: enterfinland.fi
• Enter Finland for Employers: enterfinland.fi/eServices/home/employer
• Enter Finland for Counsels and Representatives: enterfinland.fi/eServices/home/advisor.

Please read these terms and conditions carefully before using Enter Finland.

The service is provided by the Finnish Immigration Service. The contact details of the Finnish Immigration Service are:
P.O. Box 10
00086 Finnish Immigration Service
migri@migri.fi

Enter Finland enables you to use the services of the Finnish Immigration Service and, in some matters, Business Finland online. Applications submitted through the service are processed and decided in accordance with the law by the Finnish Immigration Service. There is one exception: requests for an opinion on persons intending to become start-up entrepreneurs are processed and resolved by Business Finland in accordance with the law.

A ‘Service User’ refers to a person who accepts these Terms and Conditions and who uses the Service. The user must be a natural person, i.e., an individual, a real person with rights and obligations. For example, a company cannot register directly as a Service User.

When using Enter Finland, you must accept the use of cookies and JavaScript in your internet browser. The service will not work properly if you do not accept cookies and JavaScript. Read more about the cookies used on the website.

The Finnish Immigration Service delivers decisions and other documents in PDF format. To open documents, you need a tool that allows you to open PDF files. For more detailed instructions on how to use PDF files, see the instructions on how to use the service.

Use the latest version of your browser. For more detailed instructions on recommended browser versions and devices, see the instructions on how to use the service.

You can view some Enter Finland content and give feedback on it without creating a user account or logging in to the service. If you would like to use the online services of the Finnish Immigration Service, you must log in to your user account. The features available to you in the Service depend on your user role, i.e., whether you are the applicant or the applicant's parent or guardian or whether you are using the Service as the employer, counsel or representative of a foreign national.

You can create your own user account in Enter Finland.

• You need a personal email address for your account.
• The login methods available to you depend on the user role of your account.
  • If you are using the applicant’s Enter Finland service, you can select either a strong or weak identification method.
  • If you are using Enter Finland for employers or Enter Finland for counsels and representatives, you must use strong identification.
  • Strong identification is the safer identification method. For example, you can use Finnish online banking credentials for strong identification. See an up-to-date list of strong identification methods that you can use in Enter Finland.
  • Weak identification is intended for persons with no access to strong identification methods, such as Finnish online banking credentials. Weak identification means that you log in to your account using your email address and password. Weak identification is only available in the applicant’s Enter Finland.

As a user, you are responsible for the information security and secure use of your own information systems and data connections.

If you need to use both the applicant’s Enter Finland and Enter Finland for Counsels and Representatives, you must create a separate user account for each service.

If you are using the applicant’s Enter Finland service with the user account of another Enter Finland user, the service may not work as intended. If you are using the applicant’s Enter Finland with incorrect service IDs, the Finnish Immigration Service will not be liable for any inconveniences, costs or indirect damages that may be caused to you or the person on whose behalf you are making the application.

Enter Finland collects and processes personal data as required by legislation. The data and their intended use are described in the Finnish Immigration Service’s Privacy Notice. The Finnish Immigration Service processes data related to your application in Enter Finland and in the Finnish Immigration Service’s case management system (UMA). If you are applying for a D visa, your data will also be processed in the VISA system of the Finnish Foreign Service. For more information, see the privacy statement for the VISA system (um.fi).

Suomi.fi e-Identification is used for strong identification in Enter Finland. If you represent a company or organisation in Enter Finland, Enter Finland will use Suomi.fi e-Authorizations to check whether you are authorised to represent it. When you proceed to the Suomi.fi service, the valid terms and conditions of use of the Suomi.fi service apply. The Finnish Immigration Service is not responsible for the content or functionality of the Suomi.fi services.

If you pay a processing fee in Enter Finland, the Paytrail service is used for the payment. In connection with the payment, your email address will be shared with the Paytrail service, and Paytrail will send you an email receipt of the successful payment. When you proceed to the Paytrail service, the valid terms and conditions of the Paytrail service apply. The Finnish Immigration Service is not responsible for the content or functionality of the Paytrail service.

You can apply for citizenship on application or by declaration in Enter Finland when you meet one of the following conditions:

• You are at least 18 years old, and the service use is related to your own application.
• The service use is related to the application of a minor whose parent or guardian you are.
• You are the guardian of a foreign national, your customer is a minor or otherwise incompetent, and the service is related to their application.

If you are under 18 years old, you may not use Enter Finland for yourself. Enter Finland may be used on your behalf by your parent or guardian.

In other matters, you may use the applicant’s Enter Finland when you are at least 15 years old and you meet one of the following conditions:

• The service use is related to your own application.
• The service use is related to the application of a minor whose parent or guardian you are.
• The service use is related to a minor’s application, and the minor’s parent or guardian has authorised you to submit the application.
• You are an attorney or legal counsel of a foreign national and the service is related to their application.
• You are the guardian or representative* of a foreign national, your customer is a minor or otherwise incompetent, and the service is related to their application.

If you are under 15 years old, you may not use Enter Finland for yourself. Enter Finland can be used on your behalf by your parent or guardian, attorney, legal counsel, guardian or representative*.

* A representative refers to a person legally ordered to represent a minor seeking international protection (Act on the Reception of Persons Applying for International Protection and on the Identification of and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings (746/2011): Chapter 5)

4.1 Obligations and responsibilities of users

As a user, you are responsible for ensuring that the contact information you provide is correct and up to date. You must notify the Finnish Immigration Service if there are changes to your contact information or other information you have provided in the application during the processing of your application.

The Finnish Immigration Service interprets that any transactions in your Enter Finland account made with your user ID have been made by you.

• If you suspect that someone else can access your Enter Finland account, notify the Finnish Immigration Service. If you do not report it and someone misuses your Enter Finland account, you are responsible for any misuse of the service and the damage caused by it. 
• You are responsible for ensuring that no applications are made from your account without the right to apply. The Finnish Immigration Service will not examine an application in the following cases:
  • You submit an application that you are not legally entitled to submit.
  • You submit an application on behalf of a person you are not legally entitled to represent. 

When you submit an application in Enter Finland, you commit to using the online service to manage matters related to the application with the Finnish Immigration Service throughout the processing of the application, if possible. For example, if the Finnish Immigration Service requests additional information from you through Enter Finland, the Finnish Immigration Service expects you to respond to the request via Enter Finland.

You are responsible for ensuring that your application, the attachments to the application and any reports you submit afterwards are relevant and easy to read and understand.

• You may not upload or enter a document or other material to Enter Finland that contains viruses or other features that interfere with the system’s operations. Such actions may result in penalties under the Criminal Code of Finland (Criminal Code: Chapter 38, sections 5 to 8).
• You may not use the service to send harmful or disturbing messages. Such actions may result in penalties under the Criminal Code of Finland (Criminal Code: Chapter 38, sections 5 to 8).

4.2 Verifying identity at an embassy, consulate or service point

When you submit your application in Enter Finland, Enter Finland will inform you whether you (or your child or customer if you apply on behalf of another person) need to verify your identity in person.

If you need to verify your identity, you must do so within three (3) months of submitting the application. If you do not verify your identity in person within three months, the Finnish Immigration Service will make a negative decision on your application. The fee for processing your application will not be refunded.

• If you applied from outside Finland, please verify your identity at a Finnish embassy or consulate or an office of an external service provider. External service providers refer to parties with which the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs has concluded an agreement and which provide similar services as Finnish embassies or consulates abroad.
• If you applied in Finland, please verify your identity at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service.

4.3 Deleting data

4.3a Deleting documents

In your Enter Finland account, you can delete draft applications and other draft documents that you have not yet sent to the authority. You may also ask the Finnish Immigration Service to delete the drafts.

You will see the documents related to the application you have submitted in your Enter Finland account for one (1) year from the date of notice of the decision, i.e., the moment you opened the decision you received. Once the year has passed, the documents related to your application will be deleted from Enter Finland. However, they will remain in the case management system of the Finnish Immigration Service (UMA). Contact the Finnish Immigration Service to request a copy of your document that is no longer available in your Enter Finland account. See our Privacy Notice for more information about the deletion and retention periods of submitted data.

The Finnish Immigration Service may remove material you have uploaded to Enter Finland from the online system if the material meets one of the following conditions:

• The material violates the copyrights or other rights of another person.
• The content of the material is in violation of the law or these Terms and Conditions.
• The material may cause damage.
• You have not sent the document or attachment to the authority and have not edited it in the last six (6) months.

4.3b Deleting a user account

If you no longer need to use the services of the Finnish Immigration Service, you may request that the Finnish Immigration Service delete your Enter Finland account. When the Finnish Immigration Service deletes your account, it will also delete any draft documents.

The Finnish Immigration Service will not delete your user account if you have submitted an application in Enter Finland but have not yet received a decision on it or if the decision is not yet legally valid.

You can use Enter Finland for Employers when you are able to identify yourself strongly online and meet one of the following conditions:

• You are the employer of a foreign national.
• You are authorised to represent a company or organisation that is the employer of a foreign national.

5.1 Obligations and responsibilities of users

As a user, you are responsible for ensuring that the contact information you provide is correct and up to date. You must notify the Finnish Immigration Service if there are changes to your contact information or other information you have provided during the processing of an application.

The Finnish Immigration Service interprets that any transactions in your Enter Finland account made with your user ID have been made by you.

• If you suspect that someone else can access your Enter Finland account, notify the Finnish Immigration Service. If you do not report the matter and someone misuses your Enter Finland account, you are responsible for any misuse of the service and the damage caused by it. 
• You are responsible for ensuring that no applications are made from your account without the right to apply. The Finnish Immigration Service will not investigate the matter if you submit an application that you are not legally entitled to submit.

When you submit an application in Enter Finland, you commit to using Enter Finland in managing matters related to the application with the Finnish Immigration Service throughout the processing of the application to the extent possible. For example, if the Finnish Immigration Service requests additional information from you through Enter Finland, the Finnish Immigration Service expects you to respond to the request via Enter Finland.

You are responsible for ensuring that the data and documents you submit to the Finnish Immigration Service are relevant and easy to read and understand.

• You may not upload or enter a document or other material to Enter Finland that contains viruses or other features that interfere with the system’s operations. Such actions may result in penalties under the Criminal Code of Finland (Criminal Code: Chapter 38, sections 5 to 8).
• You may not use the service to send harmful or disturbing messages. Such actions may result in penalties under the Criminal Code of Finland (Criminal Code: Chapter 38, sections 5 to 8).

5.2 Deleting data

5.2a Deleting documents

In your Enter Finland account, you can delete draft applications and other draft documents that you have not yet sent to the Finnish Immigration Service. You may also ask the Finnish Immigration Service to delete the drafts.

The data will be stored in Enter Finland as follows:

• Employee announcements will be stored for 30 days after submitting the announcement.
• Data related to a residence permit application for an employed person will be stored in Enter Finland until the employee stops sharing their application or the decision received by the employee becomes legally valid.
• If you are representing an employer who has received a positive decision for an employer’s certification application, you will see the documents related to employer certification on your Enter Finland account until the date of expiry of the certification. Otherwise, the documents related to the employer certification will remain in your Enter Finland account for one (1) year from the date of notice of the decision, i.e., when the decision was first opened.

After these deadlines, the documents will be removed from Enter Finland. However, they will remain in the case management system of the Finnish Immigration Service (UMA). Contact the Finnish Immigration Service to request a copy of your document that is no longer visible in your Enter Finland account. See our Privacy Notice for more information about the deletion and retention periods of submitted data.

The Finnish Immigration Service may remove material you have uploaded to Enter Finland from the online system if the material meets one of the following conditions:

• The material violates the copyrights or other rights of another person.
• The content of the material is in violation of the law or these Terms and Conditions.
• The material may cause damage.
• You have not sent the document or attachment to the authority and have not edited it in the last six (6) months.

5.2b Deleting a user account

If you no longer need to use the services of the Finnish Immigration Service, you may request that the Finnish Immigration Service delete your Enter Finland account. When the Finnish Immigration Service deletes your account, it will also delete any draft documents.

You can use Enter Finland for Counsels and Representatives when you are able to identify yourself strongly online and meet one of the following conditions:

• You are the attorney or legal counsel of a foreign national.
• You are the guardian or representative* of a foreign national and your customer is a minor or otherwise incompetent.

* A representative refers to a person legally ordered to represent a minor seeking international protection (Act on the Reception of Persons Applying for International Protection and on the Identification of and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings (746/2011): Chapter 5)

If your customer has several legal counsels, only one of the counsels may use Enter Finland. The service may usually be used by the counsel who has first sent a request for access to the Finnish Immigration Service through the Service. The other counsels can manage the customer’s matters with the Finnish Immigration Service using other service channels, such as email.

If your customer’s matter is already legally valid, you cannot submit a document request in Enter Finland. In such cases, you can contact the Finnish Immigration Service by email at arkisto@migri.fi.

6.1 Obligations and responsibilities of users

As a user, you are responsible for ensuring that the contact information you provide is correct and up to date. You must notify the Finnish Immigration Service if there are changes to your contact information or other information you have provided during the processing of an application.

The Finnish Immigration Service interprets that any transactions in your Enter Finland account made with your user ID have been made by you.

• If you suspect that someone else can access your Enter Finland account, notify the Finnish Immigration Service. If you do not report it and someone misuses your Enter Finland account, you are responsible for any misuse of the service and the damage caused by it. 

The Finnish Immigration Service can send you documents related to your customer’s application through Enter Finland. You must use and store the documents you receive in a manner required by their security level.

• You may not share the documents with anyone other than the person who has the right to view them.
• If you are using Enter Finland on a shared device, clear the browsing history of the device after use.
• Once your customer’s application has become legally valid, you must destroy the documents related to the application as required by their security level. Unauthorised persons must not have access to the destroyed documents.
• When the Finnish Immigration Service sends you a document via Enter Finland, the Finnish Immigration Service adds a watermark to the document, which can be used to link a certain document to a specific user account if necessary.

When you start using Enter Finland in your customer’s matter, you commit to using the online service to manage matters related to the application with the Finnish Immigration Service throughout the processing of the application, if possible. For example, if the Finnish Immigration Service requests additional information from you through Enter Finland, the Finnish Immigration Service expects you to respond to the request via Enter Finland.

You are responsible for ensuring that any data and documents you submit to the Finnish Immigration Service are relevant and easy to read and understand.

• You may not upload or enter a document or other material to Enter Finland that contains viruses or other features that interfere with the system’s operations. Such actions may result in penalties under the Criminal Code of Finland (Criminal Code: Chapter 38, sections 5 to 8).
• You may not use the service to send harmful or disturbing messages. Such actions may result in penalties under the Criminal Code of Finland (Criminal Code: Chapter 38, sections 5 to 8).

6.2 Deleting data

6.2a Deleting documents

In your Enter Finland account, you can delete draft documents that you have not yet sent to the Finnish Immigration Service. You may also ask the Finnish Immigration Service to delete the drafts.

You will see the documents you have sent and the documents you have received from the Finnish Immigration Service in Enter Finland until one of the following conditions is met:

• Your customer's matter became legally valid 30 days ago.
• Your customer notifies the Finnish Immigration Service that they are no longer your customer.
• The credentials you have submitted are no longer valid.

After these deadlines, the documents will be removed from Enter Finland. However, they will remain in the case management system of the Finnish Immigration Service (UMA). Contact the Finnish Immigration Service to request a copy of your document that is no longer available in your Enter Finland account. See our Privacy Notice for more information about the deletion and retention periods of submitted data.

The Finnish Immigration Service may remove material you have uploaded to Enter Finland from the online system if the material meets one of the following conditions:

• The material violates the copyrights or other rights of another person.
• The content of the material is in violation of the law or these Terms and Conditions.
• The material may cause damage.
• You have not sent the document or attachment to the authority and have not edited it in the last six (6) months.

6.2b Deleting a user account

If you no longer need to use the services of the Finnish Immigration Service, you may request that the Finnish Immigration Service delete your Enter Finland account. When the Finnish Immigration Service deletes your account, it will also delete any draft documents.

The Finnish Immigration Service is constantly developing Enter Finland. The Finnish Immigration Service has the right to change the service and its content in the manner and at the times it sees fit. The Finnish Immigration Service also has the right to stop providing the service and shut it down at any time.

The Finnish Immigration Service is not responsible for damages caused by any of the following:

• third-party information system or communication error or failure
• technical fault
• malicious software or malware.

The Finnish Immigration Service has the right to monitor materials uploaded to the service by monitoring usage reports and by performing virus and malware scans, for example. The Finnish Immigration Service may shut down Enter Finland if it suspects that the service is subject to a cyberattack or other forms of interference. The Finnish Immigration Service may close your account if one of the following conditions is met:

• You are using the service in violation of the law, in violation of these Terms and Conditions, or in violation of the intended purpose of the service.
• You are using the service in a manner that compromises its functionality or information security arrangements.
• The Finnish Immigration Service has reason to suspect that you have misused the service.
• The Finnish Immigration Service has reason to suspect that your account is subject to a cyberattack.

The Finnish Immigration Service has the right to change your Enter Finland account user ID, password and any other necessary identifiers if there is a technical or other acceptable reason for this.

Decisions made at the Finnish Immigration Service are always based on legislation and not on the content of Enter Finland. However, the Finnish Immigration Service makes every effort to ensure that the content of Enter Finland is up to date and correct. However, if there are deficiencies or errors in the service, the Finnish Immigration Service will not be liable for any costs or damages they may cause to the user.

The Finnish Immigration Service will not compensate for any inconvenience, costs or indirect damage caused to you by using Enter Finland or an inability to use Enter Finland.

If you provide false personal data, a false written certificate to the authority or cause a risk to data processing, you are guilty of a crime in Finland. Such actions may result in penalties under the Criminal Code of Finland (Criminal Code: Chapter 16, sections 5, 7 and 8 and Chapter 34, section 9a).

If you provide false information, one or more of the following may also occur:

• You will not be granted the permit you have applied for.
• A permit already granted to you will be withdrawn.
• You will be deported from Finland (removal from the country).
• An entry ban will be imposed on you, applying to the entire Schengen Area.

When an authority informs you of a decision on your application, for example, this is considered the service of documents. Under law, you must give your consent so that an authority can provide the electronic service of documents (Act on Electronic Services and Communication in the Public Sector: sections 18–19). The Finnish Immigration Service considers that when you accept these Terms and Conditions, you also consent to the electronic service of documents. This means that you agree to receive the decision via your Enter Finland account. Regardless of your consent, the Finnish Immigration Service also has the right to use other forms of service, such as a paper document, which is mailed to you.

The Finnish Immigration Service does not need to provide the decision for your information if there is a legal or administrative reason for it.

9.1 Ordinary electronic service of documents

Once the decision or other document has been completed, you can read it in your Enter Finland account.

• The Finnish Immigration Service will send you a notification message once the document is available to you in your Enter Finland account. However, the Finnish Immigration Service is not responsible if you do not receive this notification message.
• The Finnish Immigration Service considers that you have received the document for information when it has been visible on your Enter Finland account for three (3) days (date of notice of the decision). This time will not change even if you do not receive a message notifying you of the document (Act on Electronic Services and Communication in the Public Sector: section 19, section 2).
• You do not need to send a separate read receipt to the Finnish Immigration Service.

9.2 Electronic verifiable service

Some documents must be served with proof, i.e., the authority must be able to verify when you received the document (date of notice of the decision). For example, a time stamp may be used as such proof. You may receive a document on your Enter Finland account that requires verifiable service.

• The Finnish Immigration Service will send you a notification message once the document is available to you in your Enter Finland account.
• The Finnish Immigration Service considers that you have received the document for information when you open it on your Enter Finland account for the first time (date of notice of the decision).
• The Finnish Immigration Service will automatically be notified when you have opened the document. You do not need to send a separate read receipt to the Finnish Immigration Service.
• If the document has an appeal period, it is considered to begin when the document is opened.
• You have seven (7) days to open a document that requires verifiable service. If you do not open it, the Finnish Immigration Service must deliver it to you in some other verifiable way, for example with a paper advice of delivery.

10.1 Using Enter Finland is free of charge, but processing the application is subject to a fee

You will not be charged a separate fee for using the electronic service alone.

When you submit an application in Enter Finland, the processing fee must be paid before the Finnish Immigration Service can start processing the application (section 10 a of the Aliens Act, section 44(5) of the Nationality Act). If you are applying for a residence permit or a D visa but do not pay a processing fee, the Finnish Immigration Service will declare the application inadmissible.

If you withdraw a submitted application after paying the processing fee, the fee will not be refunded.

10.2 Other conditions

The Finnish Immigration Service has the right to change these Terms and Conditions by notifying users in the service. The changes will become valid when the notification has been posted on the service.

In addition to these Terms and Conditions, the Act on Electronic Services and Communication in the Public Sector (13/2003), the Act on the Provision of Digital Services (306/2019) and the Aliens Act (301/2004), including any subsequent amendments, shall apply to the use of the Service.