On 27 May 2026 Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment released a draft bill aimed at streamlining the much-criticised residence-permit route for startup entrepreneurs. The proposal—now open for public comment until 8 July—would scrap the separate, pre-application assessment currently issued by Business Finland and merge it into the main residence-permit process for a fee. Under today’s rules, founders must first secure a positive growth-potential opinion from Business Finland before they can even file a permit application with the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). Officials say roughly half of those statements have been negative, clogging the pipeline and fuelling allegations that some applicants were “shopping” for EU entry rather than building genuine companies.
![Government sends startup-entrepreneur residence-permit overhaul out for consultation]()
Entrepreneurs who need help navigating Finland’s evolving immigration requirements can lean on VisaHQ’s Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/). The platform guides users through document collection, fee payments and appointment scheduling, offering a single dashboard to track applications and stay compliant while the new rules take shape.
The new model would let Migri collect all materials in one digital dossier, commission a growth review where needed, and issue a single decision—cutting duplication and reducing processing time. Foreign entrepreneurs would be allowed to apply for a Finnish business ID only after the permit is granted, eliminating wasted registrations for ventures that never secure immigration approval. For global mobility teams the change promises clearer timelines and reduced legal fees when relocating founders or key engineers to Finland. Investors running acceleration programmes in Helsinki and Tampere note that synchronising the permit with the tax-registration step should help cohort companies hit the ground running. However, planned implementation has been pencilled in for early 2028, so current cohorts must still navigate the old two-step structure through 2027. Stakeholders—including technology clusters, chambers of commerce and migration-law practitioners—are urged to submit feedback via the Lausuntopalvelu.fi portal. Observers expect Parliament to debate the bill in its autumn session; with cross-party backing for entrepreneurship-led growth, passage is considered likely.
Entrepreneurs who need help navigating Finland’s evolving immigration requirements can lean on VisaHQ’s Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/). The platform guides users through document collection, fee payments and appointment scheduling, offering a single dashboard to track applications and stay compliant while the new rules take shape.
The new model would let Migri collect all materials in one digital dossier, commission a growth review where needed, and issue a single decision—cutting duplication and reducing processing time. Foreign entrepreneurs would be allowed to apply for a Finnish business ID only after the permit is granted, eliminating wasted registrations for ventures that never secure immigration approval. For global mobility teams the change promises clearer timelines and reduced legal fees when relocating founders or key engineers to Finland. Investors running acceleration programmes in Helsinki and Tampere note that synchronising the permit with the tax-registration step should help cohort companies hit the ground running. However, planned implementation has been pencilled in for early 2028, so current cohorts must still navigate the old two-step structure through 2027. Stakeholders—including technology clusters, chambers of commerce and migration-law practitioners—are urged to submit feedback via the Lausuntopalvelu.fi portal. Observers expect Parliament to debate the bill in its autumn session; with cross-party backing for entrepreneurship-led growth, passage is considered likely.
