Tourists in Finland can stay there for up to 90 days without having to worry about obtaining a visa or residence permit. European Union citizens, as well as citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, also don’t need a residence permit to stay in Finland for longer than three months – all they have to do is register their right of residence. Everyone else, however, must apply to become a resident of Finland if they want to stay there for longer than 90 days.
There are different types of residency permit application forms depending on the reason the applicant wants to move to Finland. Possible reasons includes:
- The applicant’s spouse or another family member already resides in Finland.
- The applicant is applying for a residence permit at the same time as his or her spouse or another family member.
- The applicant wants to study in Finland.
- The applicant wants to work in Finland.
- The applicant is a former Finnish citizen, is a descendant of someone who is a Finnish citizen by birth, evacuated from the former Soviet Union in 1943 or 1944, or served in the Finnish army between 1939 and 1945.
