Finland to tighten conditions for obtaining permanent residence permit

The Finnish Government proposes tightening the conditions for a permanent residence permit by extending the continuous period of residence required for a permanent residence permit and by requiring language skills in Finnish or Swedish and a work history of a certain length, among other things, Report informs, referring to the government’s website.

The government proposal to amend the Aliens Act was sent out for comments on January 27.

“One of the objectives set in the Government Programme is to encourage immigrants to comply with the rules of Finnish society, to work and to study the language. In the future, successful integration would be a prerequisite for obtaining a permanent residence permit,” says Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen.

According to the proposal, the continuous period of residence required for a permanent residence permit would be extended from four to six years in normal cases. Based on a six-year period of residence, a permanent residence permit could in the future be issued to an applicant who has sufficient skills in the Finnish or Swedish language and a two-year work history.

Obtaining a permanent residence permit based on a four-year period of residence would still be possible, but the applicant would have to meet one of the three additional requirements: a minimum annual income of €40,000; a Master’s degree or a postgraduate degree recognized in Finland and two years of work history; or particularly good skills in the Finnish or Swedish language along with three years of work history.

Furthermore, the Finnish Government proposes that an unconditional sentence of imprisonment would in the future affect the calculation of the period of residence required for a permanent residence permit and a long-term resident’s residence permit.