Residence permit on the basis of family ties – spouse is a Finnish citizen
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Oleskelulupahakemus perhesiteen perusteella, kun aviopuoliso on Suomen kansalainen as of 2026-08-22[5] Heading of the Finnish-language edition of this route's own page on migri.fi, transcribed as published. Migri's Finnish headings are application-form titles rather than permit names; this field carries the statutory permit name where an act supplies one, and the authority's published heading where it does not. |
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| Official name (English) | Residence permit on the basis of family ties – spouse is a Finnish citizen as of 2026-08-21[4][5] |
| Legal basis | Ulkomaalaislaki 301/2004 (Aliens Act, consolidated to 22 December 2025), section 50(1) as of 2026-08-22[7] Section 50(1) grants a continuous permit to the family member of a Finnish citizen resident in Finland, and to that family member's minor unmarried child, applied for in Finland or abroad. The section's own closing sentence states that no means test applies, which is the statutory basis for the difference between this route and the route for a spouse who holds a residence permit. Finnish text: “50 § … Suomessa asuvan Suomen kansalaisen perheenjäsenelle ja tämän alaikäiselle naimattomalle lapselle myönnetään perhesiteen perusteella jatkuva oleskelulupa Suomessa tai ulkomailla haettuna. … Tässä pykälässä tarkoitetun oleskeluluvan myöntäminen ei edellytä, että ulkomaalaisen toimeentulo on turvattu.” |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-21[3][6] |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA, EFTA as of 2026-08-21[2] Migri states EU citizens do not need a residence permit and directs them to EU registration. |
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| Minimum age | 21 as of 2026-08-21[1][5] For applications submitted on or after 16 June 2025 the applicant must be at least 21 when the permit becomes valid, and may apply at most 9 months before turning 21. Unlike the sibling route, the age condition does not bind the sponsor: Migri states expressly that the new age requirement does not apply to sponsors who are Finnish citizens. Joint custody of a child opens the parent-or-guardian alternative with no age condition. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | Not established from a qualifying source Migri's page states no term for this permit. |
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| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-08-21[2] Migri publishes a separate extended-permit page for a family member. |
| Work rights | Not established from a qualifying source Not established. Migri's page for this permit does not state the right to work attaching to it. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Not established from a qualifying source |
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Requirements
| Who can sponsor | citizen as of 2026-08-21[5] The sponsor is a Finnish citizen who lives in Finland or is going to move to Finland. |
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| Eligible relations | spouse, registered partner as of 2026-08-21[5] |
| Sponsor income requirement | Not applicable No income requirement. Migri's requirement lists for this permit – both the pre-16 June 2025 list and the current one – contain three conditions each and no means test, where the sibling route's lists contain the income requirement expressly. Recorded not_applicable on that contrast rather than on silence alone. |
| Sponsor and relation matrix |
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Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2026-08-21[5] Migri's route page states no residence or presence condition for keeping this permit. Recorded none_stated on that basis, not as a positive statement that absence is unlimited. Continuity of residence bites later, at the permanent-residence and naturalisation stages, which are recorded at country level. |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Not established from a qualifying source Not applicable in the ordinary sense and not established: this route is itself the family-reunification instrument. |
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Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 7 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 7 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-08-21 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-22 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-22 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Amendments to the family reunification provisions of the Aliens Act (in force 16 June 2025)
Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-21 - [2] Moving to Finland to be with a family member
Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-21 · Archived copy - [3] Residence permit types
Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto, Migri) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-20 - [4] My spouse is in Finland
Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-21 - [5] Residence permit application on the basis of family ties when your spouse is a Finnish citizen
Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-21 - [6] Residence permits on the basis of work
Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-21 - [7] Ulkomaalaislaki 301/2004 (Aliens Act, consolidated text)
Oikeusministeriö / Finlex · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2025-12-22 · Accessed 2026-08-22