Finland Residence Permit on Other Grounds and Right to Work 2026

1. Which work is allowed?

2. Why it is not unrestricted

Do not move into any employer/job without checking the work right on the permit card and Migri's category list. Ordinary employment outside the allowed categories may require a separate work-based permit.

3. Specialist salary threshold

For expert duties under the other-grounds permit, the job must require special expertise and the 2026 gross salary must be at least Finland's average wage-earner gross earnings: EUR 3,937/month.

4. What a limited right to work covers, and what it does not

The right to work under an other-grounds permit is limited to the specific work the law lists. The holder may do the work covered by the ground written into their decision; moving to work outside it as a rule needs a new permit. So when a job offer arrives the right order is to read the decision's right-to-work section first, then tell the employer what is possible.

The mistake seen most often in practice is reading "right to work" on the card as an unlimited right. The card shows only whether the right exists; its scope is defined in the Migri decision. When the employer does not know that distinction either, a hire made in good faith can end in unauthorised work. Keeping a copy of the decision with the employer is the cheapest protection there is for both sides.

5. When you need to move to a work-based permit

A limited right to work starts to chafe as a working life grows. When duties change, the work lasts longer, or the employer offers work in a different field, the question to ask is whether that work falls inside the current permit. If it does not, moving to a work-based permit, a specialist permit or, depending on the case, an EU Blue Card is what to assess.

Timing matters. Starting the new work before the new permit is granted counts as unauthorised work, and that stays on the record for later extension, permanent residence and citizenship applications. If instead the application is filed while the current permit is still valid, work within the old permit's scope as a rule continues while it is processed. Applying as soon as the decision is made is therefore safer than waiting for the start date.

6. Reading the right to work from the decision

A residence permit card carries a short note about the right to work, but what defines its scope is the Migri decision rather than the card. The decision states which provision the permit rests on and what right to work follows from it. So the first thing to do before going to a job interview is to find and read the decision's paragraph on the right to work.

Where the wording leaves room for doubt, it is possible to ask Migri for written clarification, and that costs far less than an argument about unauthorised work later. The request should be short: the permit number, which paragraph is unclear, and a concrete question. A concrete question in the form "may I do this particular work" gets a faster and more usable answer than a general request for information.

7. The check the employer has to make

An employer in Finland has a duty to check the right to work of the person they hire and to retain information about that check. The duty is not discharged by the employee's good-faith statement; a document has to be seen. With permits carrying a limited right to work the check matters even more, because a note on the card saying a right to work exists does not show that this particular job falls within it.

The practical approach is to place copies of two documents in the recruitment file: the residence permit card and the page of the Migri decision dealing with the right to work. The check has to be repeated when the role changes; a check made at first hire loses its validity when the person moves to a different role two years later. Retaining these records is the company's only concrete defence in an inspection.

8. Unauthorised work binds both sides

Working outside the scope of a permit is not only the employee's problem. For the employee the consequence is an adverse assessment at the extension, possible withdrawal of the permit, and a record that shows in later permanent residence and citizenship applications. For the employer, administrative sanctions and in some cases criminal liability can arise.

How serious the consequences are also depends on how the situation came to light. Where the error was noticed, corrected voluntarily and the right permit applied for, the picture differs from a situation found in an inspection after running for months. So when a doubt arises, clarify rather than wait: stop the work if necessary, apply in the right category, and document the process. Those three steps are stronger than any explanation offered afterwards.

9. Which permits carry an unrestricted right to work

The difference between a limited and an unrestricted right to work has a direct effect on daily life. Permits based on a family tie as a rule carry an unrestricted right: the person is free in their choice of sector and employer. Permanent residence and the EU long-term residence permit give the same freedom. Work-based permits, by contrast, are often limited by field or employer, and on other-grounds permits the right is framed by the work the law lists.

This picture also guides longer-term planning. For someone living with a limited right, moving to a category that carries an unrestricted one — a family tie, permanent residence or a suitable work permit — is not only a question of status but of being able to move in the labour market. Learning the conditions for that move early, and accumulating the time it requires, is what makes you ready when the need to change jobs arrives.

10. A five-minute check when a job offer arrives

For someone living on this permit, a practical habit is asking the same five questions with every job offer. One: what is the scope of the right to work written in my decision? Two: does the work offered fall inside it? Three: if not, which permit category fits? Four: if a new permit is needed, how long does the application take and may I work during it? Five: does my current permit's expiry date fit that plan?

When those five answers are ready, the conversation with the employer becomes clear too. Being able to tell an employer which permit, in what timeframe, and what can be done meanwhile — rather than saying "a permit might be needed" — is what stops the offer being lost. For most employers uncertainty is more off-putting than risk; a clear timetable is a manageable matter.

11. Is the right to work reassessed at extension?

An extension application is not a copy of the previous permit. Migri looks at the real situation as at the date of application: does the ground still exist, is the person still doing work within it, and is the means requirement met. At the end of that assessment the scope of the right to work can stay the same, widen or narrow; there is no automatic continuity.

So the extension file should account for the period that passed: what work was done, for which employer, on what dates and what was earned. An extract from the incomes register is the strongest support for that account. If work outside the scope was done during the period, explaining it is always better than concealing it and having it surface in an inspection; a voluntary explanation also shows a willingness to put things right.