Can I lose my residence permit?

Your permanent or fixed-term residence permit will be cancelled if

• you provided incorrect information when applying for the permit,
• you have moved permanently away from Finland
• your refugee status has been revoked because you have committed a crime
• you live outside of Finland and have committed a crime
• some other country has imposed an entry ban on you, prohibiting you from entering the Schengen area. 

A fixed-term residence permit can also be revoked if the grounds on which it was granted no longer exist. Your residence permit may be cancelled, for example, if

• you hold a residence permit on the basis of studies but your studies are not progressing sufficiently or you do not have a study place
• you hold a residence permit on the basis of family ties but your family ties have broken
• you hold a residence permit with an income requirement but you do not have enough income to live in Finland
• you have a residence permit on the basis of work or an EU Blue Card (EU:n sininen kortti), but you are unemployed and your unemployment protection period has ended

The protection period (suoja-aika) means that you have either three or six months to find a new job in Finland. Cancellation of your permit will not be initiated during that period. If you do not find a new job within the period, your permit may be cancelled.

If your residence permit expires before the protection period ends, you must leave Finland already when your residence permit expires.

If you have a permanent residence permit, the termination of your employment will not affect your permit.

The decisions regarding residence permit cancellations are made by the Finnish Immigration Service.

If you intend to move away from Finland for two years due to, for example, work or studies, you can submit an application to the Finnish Immigration Service to prevent the cancellation of your residence permit. The application can be free form but must include the date, along with your signature and personal information. It must also indicate the duration of and reason for your stay abroad. In addition, it must include justification for why your residence permit should not be cancelled. You must submit the application before residing abroad for two years.

If your Finnish employer has assigned you to work abroad, you will not lose your residence permit for Finland even if your work forces you to reside abroad for more than two years.

More information on applying for a residence permit is available on the InfoFinland page Moving abroad from Finland.

If you have a fixed-term residence permit based on family ties, the end of your marriage or registered partnership may affect your residence permit. The death of a family member may also affect your residence permit if he/she was the family reunification sponsor in Finland.

If the family tie no longer exists, a residence permit granted on that basis will not necessarily be extended. It is also possible that your residence permit currently in force will be cancelled.

However, your residence permit can be extended if you continue to have strong ties to Finland. Examples of such strong ties include:

• children or other family members in Finland
• a job or a business in Finland
• a student position in Finland.

If you divorce your spouse because of his or her violent behaviour towards you, your residence permit can be extended despite the divorce. You should present a clarifying document, such as a doctor’s certificate or a statement from a family counselling centre. You should also attach your account of the circumstances to the residence permit application.

More information on divorce and the termination of a registered partnership is available on the InfoFinland page Divorce.

If you have a work-based residence permit and your employment relationship ends, you must find a new job within a specified period. The period is three months if you have lived in Finland for less than two years. If you have had a work-based residence permit for at least two years, the period is six months. This three- or six-month period is called a protection period (suoja-aika). Your residence permit will not be cancelled during the protection period. If you do not find a new job within the protection period, your permit may be cancelled.

You have six months to find a new job if you have:

• a residence permit for a specialist
• a residence permit for work in top or middle management of a company
• a residence permit for an intra-corporate transferee (ICT residence permit)
• an EU Blue Card or
• you have held another residence permit granted on the basis of work for at least two years (for example, a residence permit for an employed person).

You have three months to find a new job if you have had one of the following for less than two years:

• a residence permit for an employed person
• a residence permit on the basis of research completed in Finland
• a residence permit for a person with a degree completed in Finland
• a residence permit for a visiting teacher, lecturer, instructor or
• a residence permit for an athlete.

You can find a comprehensive list of all the work-based residence permit types covered by the protection period on the Finnish Immigration Service website.

If the Finnish Immigration Service has granted you a residence permit for an employed person and your employment ends before the permit, your employer must notify the Immigration Service within 14 days that your employment will end.

If your work-based residence permit is still valid, you can also apply for work in national labour shortage sectors. See the labour shortage sectors on the Työvoimabarometri website.

You can find more information about the labour market situation and applying for work on the InfoFinland page Find a job in Finland. 

Have you fallen victim to exploitation and considerable neglect by your employer?

If you already have a residence permit in Finland and have been the victim of exploitation by your employer, you can apply for an extended permit or a certificate of expanded right to work due to exploitation by employer. Apply for an extended permit due to exploitation by employer if your current residence permit is about to expire and you do not yet have a new employer. Apply for a certificate due to exploitation by employer if you have a valid residence permit and you have found a new employer. With a certificate or extended permit, you can work in any field.

If you already have a residence permit in Finland but are not granted a residence permit extension, the Finnish Immigration Service makes a deportation decision.

If you commit crimes in Finland, you can also be deported based on the crimes.

If you are deported, any valid residence permit that you have will become void and you must leave the country. You will usually be given a deadline by which you must leave Finland.

If you do not leave Finland before the deadline, the police or Border Guard will remove you from the country.

According to the law, you will not be deported if you are in danger of the death penalty, torture, persecution or other inhumane or degrading treatment in your home country.

Are you in Finland without a residence permit? Are you afraid of losing your residence permit? You can get help in dealing with everyday matters and legal advice on permit issues from many different places. Read more on the InfoFinland page In Finland without a residence permit.