Permits and registration

Residence permit

If you come to Finland from outside the EU for more than 90 days, you must apply for a residence permit. If you plan to work, you may need the permit even if your stay is shorter than 90 days. You can apply for a residence permit at the Finnish Immigration Service for reasons like work, studies, family ties, or remigration. You can use the Application Finder to help you find the right application.

More information about different types of residence permit: https://migri.fi/en/residence-permit#

Registration of the right of residence of a citizen of the European Union

If you are a citizen of an EU Member State, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, you do not need a residence permit for Finland, but you must register your right of residence in Finland.

If you are a Nordic citizen (citizen of Denmark, Iceland, Norway or Sweden), it is enough for you to register your personal data at the DVV.

More information about residing in Finland as an EU citizen: https://migri.fi/en/eu-citizen

Travel documents

An alien’s passport and a refugee travel document are travel documents that you can get from Migri and use instead of your passport from your own country. However, they are not official identity documents. More information about travel documents: https://migri.fi/en/travel-documents

You can also get a foreigner’s identity card from the police. More information about identity cards: https://poliisi.fi/en/identity-card

Finnish citizenship

You can apply for Finnish citizenship if you are at least 18 years old and meet the requirements for becoming a citizen. These requirements are a long enough period of residence in Finland, at least satisfactory oral and written skills in Finnish or Swedish, and a clean criminal record.

More information about applying for citizenship: https://migri.fi/en/finnish-citizenship

Registration of a foreigner’s personal data in the Population Information System

When you move to Finland for the first time you need to register your personal data in the Population Information System. After registering you will be given a Finnish personal identity code.

More information about registration of personal data: https://dvv.fi/en/foreigner-registration

Applying for a municipality of residence

If you live in Finland, you can get a municipality of residence if you meet certain conditions. To be able to use the services provided by the Municipality of Mäntsälä (such as public health care, education and child day-care) Mäntsälä must be your municipality of residence.

More information on applying for a municipality of residence: https://dvv.fi/en/municipality-of-residence

More specific instructions for those arriving in Finland from Ukraine can be found in English and in Ukrainian.

Moving within Finland

When you move within Finland you need to submit a notification of change of address to both Posti and the DVV: https://www.posti.fi/en/private/change-address

When you move to Finland permanently and you have a residence permit, you are usually entitled to social security in Finland and benefits from Kela. More information on Kela’s website: https://www.kela.fi/from-other-countries-to-finland-quick-guide

Kela’s Centre for International Affairs serves all customers who move to or from Finland and in other international situations: https://www.kela.fi/centre-for-international-affairs

Kela’s benefit forms in English and in Russian

All Kela’s benefit forms are also in English.

The following forms are also in Russian:

• Kela card and child benefit (in Finnish and in Russian)
• Housing allowance (in Russian)
• Social assistance (in Russian)
• Rental security deposit (in Russian)