Residence permit applications on the basis of family ties can be submitted online
You can apply for a residence permit on the basis of family ties online at enterfinland.fi(Link to another website.). However, a visit to the Embassy of Finland is still required. You must follow the status of your application in the e-service.
To submit an application online, the following steps are needed:
Visit the e-service: enterfinland.fi(Link to another website.)
Choose ‘First residence permit’.
Read and follow the instructions carefully.
Collect all the necessary documents, legalise them and convert them into an electronic format.
Create a user account. All adults (aged 18 or older) must create a user account for themselves. Only a parent or guardian may apply for a residence permit on behalf of a minor child.
Fill in the application carefully. Requests for additional information may slow down the processing of your application.
Prove your identity at a Finnish mission
After you have filled in your application online, you need to visit a Finnish mission abroad to prove your identity. The mission establishes your identity and takes the biometric identifiers required by law. Visit the mission within three months of submitting your application to show your passport photo and the original copies of the documents that you attached to your online application. You may need to visit the mission for an interview, too.
Follow the status of your application in the e-service
Follow the status of your application regularly by logging in to your account. If additional information to process your application is needed, you will be notified of this only in the e-service. If you do not reply to the request for additional information, you will get a negative decision on your application. In the e-service, you can see the processing stage of your application in real time. As soon as the decision has been made, you can see it in your account in the e-service.
The family member of a refugee must have information about the sponsor’s decision
If your family member who has arrived in Finland has come to the country as an asylum seeker or a quota refugee, you must have the following information:
the grounds for your family member's residence permit (for example asylum, subsidiary protection)
the date when the decision was made
the date when the decision was notified to your family member.