Residence Permit For A Specialist Applications Significantly Delayed

At a Glance

• Due to increased application volumes, government processing times for Residence Permit for a Specialist applications – the main Finnish work authorization type for experts and managers – have increased from three to five weeks to three to four months, and residence card issuance processing times have increased from two to three weeks to three to four weeks.

• Visa nationals without a Schengen visa are most affected by these delays as they can only enter Finland and start working after they have collected their residence card.

• Visa-exempt nationals and Schengen visa holders may also face a gap during which they can reside in but cannot work in Finland, as well as additional work start date delays since in-country biometrics appointment waiting times have also increased.