Residence permit on the basis of an intimate relationship
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Oleskelulupahakemus seurustelusuhteen perusteella as of 2026-08-22[3] 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 an intimate relationship as of 2026-08-21[3][5] Migri does not classify this as a family-ties permit: it is granted on 'other grounds', because Finnish law does not treat a dating partner as a family member, and the application form is the generic OLE_MUU. It is recorded in the family family here because it is the instrument by which a person moves to Finland to be with a partner, and Migri itself lists it among 'my spouse is in Finland' applications; the classification caveat is stated rather than smoothed over. |
| Legal basis | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-21[4][6] |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA, EFTA as of 2026-08-21[1] Migri states EU citizens do not need a residence permit and directs them to EU registration. |
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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[3] Migri refers to applying for an extended permit on this ground. |
| Work rights | authorisation required as of 2026-08-21[3] Migri: 'your right to work is restricted'. It is confined to six named categories – expert duties requiring special expertise and paying at least the average wage-earner's gross earnings; top or middle management of a company; an international organisation or official cooperation between states; professional athlete, coach or sports referee; professional work in culture or the arts; and service of a religious community in a position involving practising the religion. Mapped to authorisation_required because the right exists only within a defined list, which none of the other vocabulary values describes. The salary figure Migri attaches to the first category is EUR 3,473 per month 'in 2023' – three annual reviews out of date at access; see RM-FI-10. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Not established from a qualifying source |
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Requirements
| Who can sponsor | citizen, permanent resident, temporary permit holder as of 2026-08-21[1][3] Migri states only that the partner lives in Finland, without qualifying their status. All three status values that describe a person living in Finland are therefore recorded; 'specific_permits' is not, because no source narrows the partner's permit type. Note that the partner's income is expressly disregarded precisely because Finnish law does not treat them as a family member, which is what makes 'sponsor' a term of art here. |
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| Eligible relations | unmarried partner as of 2026-08-21[1][3] An established dating relationship in which the parties intend to continue their life together in Finland, and in which neither is married to anyone else. Migri's family hub states in terms that a person one is dating is not a family member and directs them to this permit. Mapped to unmarried_partner as the closest vocabulary value, with the caveat that Migri's own cohabitation-based unmarried-partner route is a different, family-ties permit requiring two years' cohabitation. |
| Sponsor income requirement | Not applicable Not applicable by design, and the reason matters: Migri states that the applicant may not secure their means of support with the income or savings of the partner living in Finland, 'because under Finnish law, he or she is not considered to be your family member'. The means test on this route falls entirely on the applicant – see the disputed value below. |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-08-21[3] Migri's page contemplates proving identity either at a Finnish mission abroad or at a Migri service point in Finland. |
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| Observed processing time | 9 to 12 months as of 2026-08-21[3] Migri's own published expectation for this permit – the longest stated for any route in this record. |
| Fees |
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Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2026-08-21[3] 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 established; Migri's page says nothing about dependants. |
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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 | 6 |
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| of which official (tier 1) | 6 |
| 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] Moving to Finland to be with a family member
Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-21 · Archived copy - [2] Income requirement for persons who apply for a residence permit on the basis of work
Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto, Migri) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-20 - [3] Residence permit application on the basis of intimate relationship
Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-21 - [4] Residence permit types
Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto, Migri) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-20 - [5] My spouse is in Finland
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