🇫🇮 Permanent residence

From 8 January 2026, Finland introduced several pathways for obtaining permanent residence. Under the standard six-year pathway, the applicant must have: At least six years of qualifying residence in Finland under a continuous residence permit or Brexit permit. At least two years of work history in Finland. Satisfactory Finnish or Swedish language skills, normally equivalent to B1. Applicants may instead qualify through one of the alternative four-year pathways if they meet one of the following conditions: Annual income above EUR 40,000. A recognised foreign master's, licentiate or doctoral degree, together with at least two years of work history in Finland. At least three years of work history in Finland, together with particularly good Finnish or Swedish language skills, normally equivalent to C1. A separate Finnish degree pathway allows qualifying graduates to apply for permanent residence without meeting the standard residence-period requirement. The applicant must still meet the applicable language requirement, normally at the A2 level, but there is no work-history requirement under this pathway. In addition, an unconditional prison sentence can interrupt the qualifying period of residence for permanent residence and P-EU permits.

Current rules for this policy, plus every recorded change.