Residence permit application on the basis of family ties when your spouse is a Finnish citizen

Apply for a residence permit with this application if:

your spouse is a Finnish citizen and
you are married or in a registered partnership.

Expected processing times:

Processing times
Electronic application fee

530 €
Paper application fee

580 €

Permit requirements for applications submitted before 16 June 2025

Make sure you meet the following requirements and the general requirements for entry into Finland. See the general requirements for entry into the country on the page First residence permit.

Permit requirements for applications submitted on or after 16 June 2025

Make sure you meet the following requirements and the general requirements for entry into Finland. See the general requirements for entry into the country on the page First residence permit.

The residence permit application may be submitted at the earliest 9 months before turning 21. If you submit the application earlier, the decision may be negative.
The validity period of the residence permit cannot begin before you have turned 21.
If you and your spouse have joint custody of a child, you can obtain a residence permit as the child’s parent or guardian even if you are not yet 21 years of age.

General attachments

Valid passport accepted by Finland (um.fi). Present your passport when you submit your residence permit application
A passport photo complying with the photo guidelines issued by the police (poliisi.fi), or a photograph retrieval code you received from a photo shop
- The passport photo must be no more than 6 months old.
Colour copy of the passport page containing your personal data and copies of all passport pages with notes
Colour copy of your spouse’s passport page containing personal data and copies of all passport pages with notes
Supplement form for spouse LIITE_PUOLISO (pdf) (to be filled in and signed by your spouse living in Finland)
Document showing that you are legally staying in the country where you submit the application
Form MP_1 (pdf) (if you already are in Finland and apply for your first residence permit)

Application-specific attachments

Below is a list of application-specific documents. Submit the documents that your situation requires. The documents must be legalised, unless they have been issued by authorities of the Nordic countries or by authorities of an EU Member State. See the page Interpretation, translation and legalisation for instructions on how to have your documents legalised.

Marriage certificate if the marriage was contracted in another country than Finland.
Certificate of registered partnership if the partnership was registered in another country than Finland.
Divorce certificate (if you have previously been married and have divorced).
Certificate of dissolution of registered partnership (if you have previously been in a registered partnership that has been dissolved).
Death certificate (if you have previously been married or in a registered partnership and the former spouse has died).

Fill in the application:

If you apply for a residence permit online in Enter Finland, you need to pay the processing fee

with a credit card or with Finnish online banking credentials when you submit your application, or
when you visit a Finnish embassy or consulate abroad to prove your identity.

If you apply for a residence permit with a paper application, you need to pay the processing fee

when you visit a Finnish embassy or consulate abroad to prove your identity.

Book an appointment to visit a Finnish mission (finlandabroad.fi) to prove your identity.

Applications for a first residence permit can be submitted in Finland only in certain exceptional situations.

For more information, see the page Proving your identity abroad.