With the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day, nearly every fee on Finland’s immigration tariff code jumped. A press release issued on 31 December by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) confirms that the cost of an electronic permanent-residence application has risen from €240 to €380—a 58 % increase—while a paper submission now costs €600. First-time work-and-study permits see similar hikes, and even residence-permit extensions rise to €210 online. International-protection applications remain exempt.
The Interior Ministry says the new schedule reflects a sharp fall in application volumes in 2025 that pushed per-case processing costs up. The decree is valid for the whole of 2026 and is designed to make Migri “cost-neutral,” a long-stated goal of the current government.
For employers the timing is awkward: tighter substantive criteria for permanent residence enter into force on 8 January, meaning applicants now face a double hit of higher fees and tougher eligibility. Mobility teams shepherding key talent toward long-term status must therefore update budget forecasts and, where possible, accelerate filings that still fall under the old rules. Applicants who met the previous four-year residence threshold by 17 December 2025 have a six-month grace period to lodge under the former criteria—but they will still pay the new, higher processing charge.
![Finnish Immigration Service Confirms Higher Residence-Permit Fees From 1 January 2026]()
At this juncture, mobility managers may find third-party support useful. VisaHQ’s Finland desk (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) monitors fee updates in real time, helps model the cost impact for both employers and assignees, and can assemble or quality-check online and paper applications, reducing the risk of delays and expensive re-filings.
Migri warns of heavy traffic on its Enter Finland portal in the first business week of January after a 16-hour maintenance window that began at 08:00 on 31 December. Corporates should advise transferees to collect payment receipts for tax-equalisation purposes and to account for longer internal approval flows caused by the bigger out-of-pocket cost.
Looking ahead, the ministry will publish an online eligibility calculator and draft guidance for a 2027 civic-knowledge test for citizenship, signalling that cost recovery and stricter integration benchmarks are Finland’s new immigration norm.
The Interior Ministry says the new schedule reflects a sharp fall in application volumes in 2025 that pushed per-case processing costs up. The decree is valid for the whole of 2026 and is designed to make Migri “cost-neutral,” a long-stated goal of the current government.
For employers the timing is awkward: tighter substantive criteria for permanent residence enter into force on 8 January, meaning applicants now face a double hit of higher fees and tougher eligibility. Mobility teams shepherding key talent toward long-term status must therefore update budget forecasts and, where possible, accelerate filings that still fall under the old rules. Applicants who met the previous four-year residence threshold by 17 December 2025 have a six-month grace period to lodge under the former criteria—but they will still pay the new, higher processing charge.
At this juncture, mobility managers may find third-party support useful. VisaHQ’s Finland desk (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) monitors fee updates in real time, helps model the cost impact for both employers and assignees, and can assemble or quality-check online and paper applications, reducing the risk of delays and expensive re-filings.
Migri warns of heavy traffic on its Enter Finland portal in the first business week of January after a 16-hour maintenance window that began at 08:00 on 31 December. Corporates should advise transferees to collect payment receipts for tax-equalisation purposes and to account for longer internal approval flows caused by the bigger out-of-pocket cost.
Looking ahead, the ministry will publish an online eligibility calculator and draft guidance for a 2027 civic-knowledge test for citizenship, signalling that cost recovery and stricter integration benchmarks are Finland’s new immigration norm.
