Applying for a residence permit for an employee

The employee will apply for a residence permit electronically via the Enter Finland online service or by submitting a paper application to a Finnish diplomatic mission abroad. If the application has been submitted electronically, the applicant must visit the Finnish mission or a Finland Visa Application centre to prove their identity, give their fingerprints and present the original copies of the appendices to their application. This may require travel to another country if there is no diplomatic mission or visa application centre in the applicant’s country of residence.

As an employer, you must complete the agreed terms of employment and other necessary attachments to the employee’s residence permit application. You can enter the information in the Enter Finland for Employers online service. If the employee has applied for a residence permit using a paper form or you cannot use the Enter Finland service yourself, fill in a paper Terms of  Employment form and send it to the employee. The employee attaches the form to their application.

If an employee is applying for an extension to their permit in the Enter Finland online service, they do not need to visit a service point to prove their identity if they have used strong electronic identification.

You can monitor the progress of the application in the Enter Finland service.

A specialist may fast track their first residence permit application to the Finnish Immigration Service. The Immigration Service can issue a decision on the residence permit application within two weeks. A residence permit can only be fast-tracked while the applicant is abroad and in cases where an employee comes to work in Finland as a specialist, start-up entrepreneur or in senior or middle management.

If an employee applies for a residence permit in the Enter Finland online service, you can agree with them on who will pay the processing fee for the residence permit application. If an employee fast-tracks their residence permit application to the Finnish Immigration Service, the employee must pay the processing fee themselves.

Working in Finland will require compliance with Finnish legislation. A foreign employee has the same rights as a Finnish employee, i.e. the terms of employment, such as pay and working hours, must comply with Finnish laws and collective agreements.