New requirements for permanent residence permits have come into effect
The requirements for permanent residence permits have changed on 8 January 2026 when amendments to the Aliens Act came into force. Which requirements you must meet depends on whether you have submitted your application before the amendments of 8 January 2026 or thereafter.
When you apply for a permanent residence permit on or after 8 January 2026, you must choose an application path that you will use to apply for a permanent residence permit.
There are several different application paths, and each application path has different requirements regarding the period of residence, your Finnish or Swedish language skills and work history. These new requirements are called integration requirements. For more information on the different paths and their requirements, please visit Migri’s webpages.
There is a separate application path if you have completed a Master’s degree at a University or a University of Applied Sciences, a licenciate, a doctoral degree or a Bachelor’s degree at a University in Finland and the level of your Finnish or Swedish language skills is developing (level A2 or 15 ECTS in Finnish or Swedish language studies completed at a higher education institution). There are no work history or residence period requirements for applicants that have completed a tertiary degree in Finland.
The requirements for a P-EU permits have also changed. If you apply for a P-EU permit on or after 8 January 2026, you must meet the requirement for Finnish or Swedish language skills in addition to the other requirements for obtaining a P-EU permit.
The level of your oral and written Finnish or Swedish language skills must be good. This skill level corresponds to level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
For further information on how to prove your language skills, see Migri’s page Language skills requirement.