Residence permit for a specialist in Finland

What Migri actually decides

Migri does not weigh the application as a whole impression. It decides these questions one by one, and the weakest one carries the decision.

• Is the employment in Finland confirmed, with an identified employer and agreed terms of employment?
• Do the duties require special expertise? This is assessed from the actual work, not from the job advertisement or the seniority of the title.
• Does the applicant have the required expertise? As a rule this means a higher-education degree; Migri also accepts special expertise acquired through work experience or other education, verified by the employer.
• Does the gross salary reach the specialist threshold, counting only what Migri allows to be counted?
• Has the employer supplied the terms of employment, and are they consistent with the contract and the salary claimed?
• Is the applicant's identity reliably established, and is the passport valid for the period applied for?

The figures that decide it in 2026

• Gross salary: at least EUR 3,937 per month in 2026. Migri states that fringe benefits are not counted towards this sum.
• Daily allowances are not counted towards the threshold either.
• A first specialist permit is granted for a maximum of 2 years. If the employment is shorter, the permit follows the employment period.
• Statutory maximum processing time for work-based permits: 2 months.
• Fast Track target described by Migri: 14 days, on conditions set out below.
• Migri processing fee: EUR 530 online and EUR 630 on paper for a first permit; EUR 230 online and EUR 430 on paper for an extension.

The evidence, and what is most often missing or wrong

The document list for a specialist permit is short. Almost every delayed file we see fails on one of the same few points, and none of them are on Migri's document list because the authority sees the consequence rather than the cause.

• A salary that reaches EUR 3,937 only once a car, housing, phone or lunch benefit is added. Fringe benefits do not count towards the specialist threshold.
• A job description written for recruitment, which describes responsibility and seniority but never says what special expertise the work requires.
• A degree certificate with no translation, or a translation that is not in a form Finland accepts, and no legalisation where the country of issue requires it.
• Expertise claimed through experience with no employer statement verifying it, so there is nothing on file for Migri to assess against the degree rule.
• Terms of employment the employer has not submitted, or submitted with a different salary or title from the contract.
• An identity appointment booked after the fifth working day, which takes the file out of Fast Track even though everything else was ready.
• A passport that expires inside the two-year period, which shortens the permit granted.

The order of steps, and where each one happens

• 1. Route decision: specialist, TTOL or EU Blue Card. Changing category later means a new application and a new fee.
• 2. The applicant completes the application, attaches the documents and pays the fee in Enter Finland. A first permit is normally applied for from outside Finland.
• 3. The employer completes the terms of employment in Enter Finland. For an employer-dependent permit the processing time starts when the employer submits them.
• 4. The applicant proves their identity at a Finnish mission or an external service provider abroad — within five working days of submitting, if Fast Track is intended.
• 5. Migri processes the application and may send a request for further information with a binding deadline.
• 6. Decision. A D visa can be requested in connection with an eligible first residence-permit application, so travel is possible before the permit card arrives.
• 7. Work starts only after the permit is granted. After arrival: DVV for the personal identity code and municipality of residence, then Vero for the tax card, then the bank.

How long it takes

The law sets a maximum processing time of 2 months for work-based residence permits, and Migri publishes its own current estimates per category, stating that where processing has not begun within the shorter published estimate the longer estimate applies to that case.

Migri lists the specialist permit among Fast Track categories and describes a target of 14 days. The target has conditions: the application and its attachments are completed and paid in Enter Finland, the applicant proves their identity within five working days of submitting, and the employer completes the terms of employment within two working days of the employee's submission. Fast Track is for first permits only, not for extensions, and not for an applicant already in Finland. This is an authority service target. ENB does not promise a processing time or a decision date.

• Makes a case slower: an incomplete application, a late employer submission, a missing or late identity appointment, untranslated or unlegalised documents, or a salary sitting exactly on the threshold.
• Makes a case slower and is often overlooked: a change of duties, salary or employer while the application is pending.

What goes wrong

• The salary is below EUR 3,937 once fringe benefits and allowances are excluded.
• The duties do not support the specialist category, and the file would have been stronger as a TTOL application from the start.
• The expertise evidence does not reach either limb of the test: no recognised higher-education degree, and no employer-verified experience standing in its place.
• The employment is not confirmed: an offer conditional in a way that leaves no agreed employment, or an employer that cannot be identified as the actual employer.
• A request for further information is answered late or not at all, and the decision is made on the file as it stands.
• Work has already started before the permit was granted.

If the decision is negative

A refusal is appealable. The binding appeal period and the competent Administrative Court are stated in the appeal instructions attached to the decision, and the period runs from service of the decision rather than from the day it is read. Under the Act on Judicial Procedure in Administrative Matters the general appeal period is 30 days from service. Once that period has passed it cannot be extended, and the decision stands.

The court fee is EUR 310 at an Administrative Court and EUR 610 at the Supreme Administrative Court, as set for 2025-2027, and no fee is charged where the court changes the decision in the appellant's favour. Reaching the Supreme Administrative Court requires leave to appeal, which is not granted in every case. Where an Administrative Court upholds an appeal it returns the matter to Migri for reprocessing; the court does not grant the permit itself.

Because a first specialist permit is applied for from abroad, a refusal does not interrupt a right to stay in Finland that never began. If you are in Finland on an earlier permit, what happens to residence and work is governed by that permit and by the decision text — read the appeal instructions the day the decision arrives.

What ENB does, and what ENB does not do

• Does: checks whether specialist, TTOL or EU Blue Card is the stronger route for the actual duties and salary.
• Does: reviews the salary and employment terms against the chosen route, and shows which parts of the package Migri will not count.
• Does: builds the applicant and employer document checklists and reviews the qualification and expertise evidence before filing.
• Does: structures the Enter Finland file, plans the identity step against the Fast Track conditions, and prepares responses to requests for further information.
• Does not: decide anything. ENB is not an authority, has no delegated power from Migri and promises no outcome, however strong a file looks.
• Does not: control Migri processing times, or commit to the 14-day Fast Track target on Migri's behalf.
• Does not: replace the employer's statutory duties, or act as your representative before a court where qualified legal representation is required.

What it costs: two separate payments to two separate parties

ENB's fee is paid to ENB. Migri's processing fee is paid to Migri in Enter Finland and is not refunded if the application is refused.

• ENB work-based residence permit service: EUR 1,500 excluding VAT, paid to ENB.
• ENB residence permit extension service: EUR 350 excluding VAT, paid to ENB.
• ENB appeal review after a Migri decision: EUR 1,000 excluding VAT, paid to ENB.
• Migri first specialist permit: EUR 530 online, EUR 630 on paper - paid to Migri.
• Migri extended specialist permit: EUR 230 online, EUR 430 on paper - paid to Migri.
• Migri D visa with an eligible first permit: EUR 95 online, EUR 120 on paper - paid to Migri.
• All ENB fees exclude Finnish VAT, where the standard rate is 25.5%. Authority fees are set by the authority and should be re-checked on its own page before payment.