Verkkopalvelu / Onlinetjänst / Online Service

When can I apply for a permanent residence (P) permit or for Finnish citizenship?

Answer a few questions about your permits and your years in Finland and you get a short written answer: when you can apply, and what is still missing. The check is free and asks for nothing but your own dates.

Free of charge - no payment, no card. This is the free service of the office (box 12 of the online service).
Check permanent residence - free Check Finnish citizenship - free

Permanent residence permit (P) - the usual requirements

  • You hold a continuous residence permit (A), not a temporary (B) one, for the whole time.
  • You have lived in Finland continuously for 4 years with that A permit.
  • The residence has not been broken by long absences (or you can explain them).
  • You have a secure means of support, and there is no obstacle for security reasons.
Check permanent residence - free

Finnish citizenship - the usual requirements

  • 5 years of continuous residence, or 7 years of residence in Finland in total after the age of 15 (with the last 2 years continuous).
  • Language skills in Finnish or Swedish at level YKI 3, or an accepted school certificate.
  • A secure means of support, no criminal record, and your identity must be established.
  • The time can be shorter or longer in your situation - that is what the check looks at.
Check Finnish citizenship - free

How the free check works

  1. You tell the service which of the two questions you want answered and give your own dates: when you arrived, which permits you had, when you got them.
  2. Our Legal-AI goes through the dates of your residence and asks only the few questions that are still open in your case.
  3. You get the answer as a short written summary: the estimated date, what is still missing, and what to send with the application to Migri.

Questions about the check

Is the check really free?

Yes. The eligibility check (box 12) is free of charge: nothing is paid, no card is asked for, no order is created. You fill in your own dates and read the answer.

What do I need to have at hand?

The dates of your residence in Finland and your permits: when you arrived, which permit you had at the start (B, A, P, student, employee, family member), when you got it, and whether you have been away from Finland for long periods.

Do I need a language test for citizenship?

Yes: Finnish or Swedish at level 3 of the national language test (YKI 3), or another proof the authorities accept, for example a Finnish school certificate. The check tells you what counts in your case.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is an indicative summary built from your own answers. If you want a lawyer to go through the case, the office can do that as a separate service - the check itself is free in any case.

Can I do the check in my own language?

The service is written in Finnish, Swedish and English, and the wizard translates the questions into many other languages (Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Nepali, Arabic, Somali and more).

The list above summarises the usual requirements of the Finnish Aliens Act and the Citizenship Act. The final decision is always made by Migri (or a court) and every case has its own details - the free check goes through your own dates and tells you what is still open.

The other services of the office

The same online service also drafts appeals, residence permit applications and family, business and property documents, and a lawyer of the office can review a document or take a matter over.

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