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Migri residence permits in 2026 – who needs what to live and work in Finland after the reforms

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

An EU passport gets you in with a registration that costs 53 euros. Everyone else needs a permit from Migri, and the rules behind those permits changed in stages through 2025 and 2026. Here is what applies to you – from the 1,600-euro salary floor to the EU Blue Card, family and student routes.

Smiling woman in a trench coat holding a passport and boarding pass at an airport
Photo: Drazen/Adobe Stock

Finland has rewritten its permit rules in stages since late 2024; these dates decide which rules apply to you.

DateWhat changed
11 June 2025Three or six months to find a new job after losing one (Act 255/2025)
16 June 2025Spouse and sponsor must be 21; sponsors with international protection wait two years (Act 302/2025)
8 January 2026Permanent residence permit: six years, two years of work and B1 language (Act 1408/2025)
Fourth quarter of 2026ETIAS travel authorisation for visa-exempt non-EU nationals expected (Ministry for Foreign Affairs)

Source: Migri and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, read 24 September 2026.

EU registration, Nordic citizens and family members of EU citizens

As a citizen of an EU state, Liechtenstein or Switzerland you need no residence permit. You may stay three months without registering; beyond that you apply to Migri (Finnish Immigration Service; Migrationsverket in Swedish) for EU registration within three months of arrival, only once you are in the country, for 53 euros. Grounds are employment, self-employment, studies, family ties to an EU citizen or sufficient financial resources; looking for work is not one. After five years of continuous legal residence you have a right of permanent residence.

Citizen ofWhat you needWhere
Sweden, Norway, Denmark or IcelandNo permit, no Migri registration; register at DVV within one month if staying over six monthsDVV
Another EU state, Liechtenstein or SwitzerlandEU registration within three months of arrival, 53 eurosMigri, from inside Finland
A non-EU country, as spouse or child of an EU citizenResidence card of a family member of an EU citizen, 53 euros, usually five yearsMigri
A non-EU country, as family of a Finnish citizenA national permit, which can be applied for in Finland; EU registration only if the Finn lived in another EU stateMigri
The United Kingdom, first moveA national residence permit; the Brexit permit is only for residents since before 1 January 2021Migri
Any other countryA residence permit, applied for abroad before you comeEnter Finland and a Finnish mission

Source: Migri and DVV, read 24 September 2026.

Residence permit for an employed person: the 1,600-euro floor

The residence permit for an employed person (TTOL) requires confirmed employment in Finland and a gross salary of at least 1,600 euros a month in 2026; zero-hours contracts do not count, shift supplements are excluded and at most half may be fringe benefits. It is granted for a field of employment, may be subject to a labour market test, and on extension Migri checks that you were actually paid that average.

You apply abroad in Enter Finland and pay, your employer adds the terms of employment, and you prove your identity at a Finnish mission; you cannot start work before the decision. In July 2026 a positive first decision took 17 days on average, Migri reports. With the permit you may change jobs within the same field or into a national labour-shortage sector.

The 2025 protection period is the change you feel most. Since 11 June 2025, if your job ends you have three months to find a new one when you have held a work-based permit for under two years, and six months as a specialist, EU Blue Card holder, top or middle manager or ICT transferee, or after two years on any work-based permit. Your employer reports the end of employment to Migri within 14 days.

Specialist permit, EU Blue Card and the two-week fast track

For expert duties the specialist permit needs a gross salary of at least 3,937 euros a month in 2026 and as a rule a higher education degree; a first permit runs up to two years. The EU Blue Card has the same floor plus a degree of at least three years or five years’ experience and a job of at least six months, and it is not bound to one employer.

Both use Migri’s fast track: apply online with every attachment, pay, prove your identity within five working days while your employer adds the terms within two, and the decision comes in two weeks, for first permits only. A long-term D visa, 95 euros online, lets you travel as soon as the permit is granted.

PermitRequirement 2026Fee online / paperMigri processing
Employed person (TTOL)Gross 1,600 euros a month; field-specific750 / 950 euros; extension 230 / 4301 month in most cases, 2 at most
Specialist3,937 euros a month, expert duties, usually a degree530 / 630 eurosFast track: 2 weeks
EU Blue Card3,937 euros, degree or 5 years’ experience, job of at least 6 months530 / 630 eurosFast track: 2 weeks
Studies800 euros a month; 9,600 euros in your own account for a year or more600 / 750 euros82 per cent decided within 30 days in 2026

Source: Migri, read 24 September 2026.

Bringing your family after 16 June 2025

Family members are a spouse, a registered partner, a cohabiting partner after two years together or with a joint child, and unmarried children under 18. For applications from 16 June 2025 both spouse and sponsor must be at least 21 when the permit becomes valid – unless the sponsor is a Finnish citizen – and a sponsor with international protection must have lived in Finland for two years. A spouse’s permit costs 750 euros online.

The sponsor also meets a net income requirement set by municipality group, in force since 1 November 2024. Anna, who works in Tampere and wants to bring her partner and two children, needs 1,090 + 550 + 550 + 430 = 2,620 euros a month, Migri’s own worked example. Social assistance and the general social security benefit that replaced Kela’s unemployment benefits on 1 May 2026 do not count. Family of Finnish citizens and of refugees are exempt.

Household memberHelsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, KauniainenTampere, Turku, Oulu and other large municipalitiesOther municipalities
First adult1,210 euros1,090 euros1,030 euros
Second adult610550520
First child610550520
Second child480430410
Each further child360320310

Source: Migri, read 24 September 2026.

Family-ties applications have a backlog: Migri cannot publish an estimate and cites the statutory maximum of nine months.

Students, graduates and the road to staying

A student permit covers the whole degree. You need 800 euros a month – 9,600 euros in your own account for a year or more – plus tuition money if unpaid and private health insurance. Higher-education degree students get a continuous A permit and a kotikunta (municipality of residence); others a temporary B permit. You may work 30 hours a week on average.

Non-EU/EEA applicants to bachelor’s and master’s programmes have paid a 100-euro application fee per term since 2025, and those starting foreign-language degrees on or after 1 August 2026 pay full-cost tuition under the Universities Act as amended by Act 658/2024; Finnish- and Swedish-taught programmes are free. After a degree you can get a two-year permit to look for work.

Permits are A (continuous), B (temporary), P (permanent) or P-EU (long-term resident). Since 8 January 2026 the main path to a permanent permit is six years on an A permit, two years of work and Finnish or Swedish at B1, or four years with taxable income of 40,000 euros; Migri quotes 12 to 15 months of processing. Citizenship needs eight years of residence and, from March 2027, a citizenship test. Part 15 explains.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Find your row in the citizenship table aboveBefore you book the move
2Outside the EU: compare the offer with 1,600 euros a month, or 3,937 for the specialist permitBefore you apply
3Apply in Enter Finland, pay, and prove your identity at a Finnish missionAs soon as you have the contract
4Sponsors: check net income against the family tableBefore the family applies
5Questions: Migri answers on +358 295 790 602 (studies and work) and +358 295 790 603 (family)Mon–Wed and Fri 8.30–11.30 and 12.30–15.30, Thu 10.30–11.30 and 12.30–15.30

Source: Migri, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.