Migri to raise residence permit prices for employees, entrepreneurs

The Ministry of the Interior has issued its annual decree on fees charged by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). The decree will enter into force on 1 January 2021 and it will make Migri raise some of the prices.

Despite having Finland one of the highest prices in the European Union for processing residence permits, prices will be increased "to better reflect the costs incurred to the agency in processing applications," says the department headed by Maria Ohisalo.

The Ministry of the Interior says fees are determined annually based on the costs incurred to the Finnish Immigration Service in processing the applications. 

"The processing fee is still lower than the costs incurred in the case of first residence permit applications (excluding employee and entrepreneur permits) and in the case of residence permit applications for minors and students," the ministry remarks.

Workers, entrepreneurs

The processing fee for paper applications for residence permits submitted by employees and entrepreneurs will be 690 or 610 euros in 2021, depending on whether the labour market test is applied.

The previous fees were 640 and 560 euros, respectively.

The processing fees will remain unchanged for residence permit applications submitted online.

Work is, along with family ties, the main reason for applying for a residence permit.

Citizenship

The processing fees for citizenship applications will also increase.

Starting at the beginning of 2021, the processing fee for citizenship applications submitted in paper form will be 590 euros (previously 520).

In this case, the fee for online citizenship applications will also be raised to 460 euros (420 before).

Students

The processing fees for students will remain unchanged.

The processing fees for first residence permits for students will be 450 euros for applications submitted in paper form and 350 euros for online applications. 

Asylum seekers

For asylum seekers, it will remain free of charge to apply for a residence permit.

"Applying for international protection is free of charge," the Ministry of the Interior says.

The government says that the fees for online applications are lower because "they can be processed more efficiently and generate fewer costs."

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the processing fees also aim to promote the use of online services.