The moment of truth is approaching for hundreds of citizens of the United Kingdom residing in other member states of the European Union (EU).
The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) published today a reminder for those British citizens who permanently live in Finland and are willing to stay after the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
In order to prevent problems, Finland has prepared for the eventuality of a no-deal Brexit by drafting a special act.
Under this act, British citizens living in Finland could continue to stay in the country until the end of 2020, but only if they have registered their right of residence as EU citizens before the final withdrawal date.
EU leaders agreed in April to extend the deadline for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU until 31 October 2019.
Checklist for British citizens in Finland
- If you have not already registered your right of residence, you should do it as soon as possible. Under the special act, the right to continue to stay in Finland would be extended until the end of 2020 only for those British citizens who have registered their right of residence as EU citizens before the withdrawal date. The easiest way to do the registration is to use the online service Enter Finland.
- If you have legally resided in Finland for an uninterrupted period of five years, you should apply for a certificate of your right of permanent residence as an EU citizen at the Finnish Immigration Service.
- If you also have the citizenship of another EU or EEA country, you should register your right of residence on the basis of this other citizenship. You do not need to submit a new registration application to register the citizenship of another country. You should also make sure that your municipality of residence is entered correctly in the Population Information System.
- Follow Migri's Brexit page, where immigration authorities will publish up-to-date information about Brexit. Migri also recommends to check the Brexit page of the Ministry of the Interior and the Brexit page of the Prime Minister’s Office.
