Check whether you need a residence permit or not.
Are you citizen of an EU country or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland?
You do not need a residence permit. Instead, apply for the registration of your right of residence if you intend to work in Finland for longer than 90 days. If you are a Nordic citizen and you intend to live in Finland for longer than six months, register with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency within one week from moving to Finland.
Read more about how to register your right of residence (migri.fi).
Registration of a foreigner’s personal data in the Population Information System (dvv.fi).
Apply for a residence permit.
Check that the residence permit for an employed person is the right residence permit for you.
Do you have a job in Finland?
The following are the most common job titles among people who apply for a residence permit for an employed person.
Does any of these job titles describe your work in Finland?
- farm worker
- gardener
- construction worker
- welder
- plasterer
- insulation worker
- cleaner
- cook
- lorry driver, truck driver
- care assistant
- domestic worker
Is your job seasonal work?
‘Seasonal work’ means work in the field of agriculture or tourism that is only done during certain seasons. The maximum duration of seasonal work is 9 months within a 12-month period.
Apply for a residence permit for an employed person.
Some jobs have their own specific residence permit applications. These jobs include, among others,
- specialist (migri.fi)
- tasks that require high-level competence and an EU Blue Card (migri.fi)
- scientific research, studies leading to a licentiate degree or to a doctoral dissertation; these require a residence permit for a researcher (migri.fi).
If none of these permits matches your situation, here is a list of all work-based residence permit applications (migri.fi).
You must have confirmed employment in Finland before you apply for a residence permit.
See the next step:
