Residence Permit Guidance for Fulbright Professionals and Teachers

First, fill in the online residence permit application form through the Finnish Immigration Service’s pages. Please read the instructions for the residence permit application for internship carefully. In the online application system, you are looking for the “ Residence permit application for internship” (OLE_TY3).

To fill out the application, you will first need to create a user account at the EnterFinland website: https://enterfinland.fi/eServices/info/internship

Please note that each family member will need to have a separate user account (all the family members will be connected together).

If your family is joining you in Finland, separate forms need to be filled out for each dependent. A spouse also needs to fill out form OLE_PH1 and children the form OLE_PH4. The spouse's residence permit includes unrestricted right to work in Finland. 

Spouse: OLE_PH1

Child: OLE_PH4

In addition, the grantee must also fill the application PK1_plus for their spouse.

Please make sure you fill out all sections of the form. The application will not be processed with inadequate information.

Please take note of the following additional instructions for Fulbright grantees:

Population register and the personal identity code

If the system allows, please request that your personal information is recorded in the Finnish Population Information System by ticking a box that addresses this matter in the residence permit application. This way you will receive a Finnish personal identity code at the same time as you are issued with the permit and this will make many practicalities easier for you in Finland. Please note that this may only be possible if you visit the Finnish Consulate which is an option only for OLE_MUU applicants.

Contact information in Finland

If you do not yet have the address, you can fill out the address of your host institution.

In the section “Beginning and duration of residence in Finland”, please use the grant dates included in the official Fulbright Grant Authorization as your arrival and departure dates.

Internship details

In the section titled “Tell us about your internship”, please select “Exchange programme of a non-governmental organisation” from the options and write that you are a Fulbright grantee conducting a professional project in Finland under the Fulbright Finland Foundation.

For a spouse, in their OLE_PH1, in section “Grounds for the residence permit of your spouse”, category “other” should be selected and the same information should be added, i.e., you are a spouse of a Fulbright grantee conducting a professional project in Finland under the Fulbright Finland Foundation. The same information should be added at the OLE_PH4 for each child.

Information on the employer

In the section where you are asked to write employer information such as name of the employer and company number, please use the following Fulbright Finland Foundation information:

Fulbright Finland Foundation
Company number: 2771106-4
Address: Hakaniemenranta 6
Postal code: 00530
City: Helsinki

In the section “Address and name of workplace where the employee will be employed”, please write that you are conducting your Fulbright project at your host organization’s name and address.

In the section “Contact person”, please include your Fulbright Finland Foundation program coordinator.

Complete the section “Principal terms and conditions of internship” using Visiting Fulbright Teacher or Visiting Fulbright Mid-Career Professional as your title for the purpose of this application.

The photo must follow the passport photo guidelines issued by the police. Incorrect pictures cannot be accepted.

Make sure the U.S. passport is valid for the entire period you will stay in Finland. The Fulbright grant does not cover expenses related to passport fees.

This means both of the following:

• Award letter issued by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB) or the U.S. State Department (ECA) in Washington, D.C. (add this document under “Certificate from the organization organizing the internship”)
• Grant Authorization issued by the Fulbright Finland Foundation (for teachers by the IREX) and signed by you (add this document under “Affirmation from the employer that the intern or trainee will not replace an employee”)

Please note, that the “Grant Authorization” document also gives the required information detailing your allowance, the duration of your stay and the details of your duties.

A spouse also needs to fill out form OLE_PH1 and child a form OLE_PH4. Grantee and spouse need to create their own accounts on the EnterFinland residence permit application system and use their own separate email addresses for that.

Normally, Migri processes children's and spouse's residence permit applications at the same time as the grantee's application.

If your spouse is applying to join you in Finland, a legalized copy of your marriage certificate should be attached to the application. If your children are applying with you, please attach legalized copies of their birth certificates and legalized signatures by both custodians.  The certificates are legalized by an authenticity stamp i.e. apostille. The apostille ensures that the certificates are recognized also in Finland.

If you already have a notarized certificate for the marriage/birth certificate, but it looks like receiving the apostille takes several weeks, according to Migri, you can submit your residence permit application with the notarized certificate and amend it online later with the apostille. Do indicate in the application that you will submit the apostille later. Please note that Migri will not make a decision on your application until they have received all the required documents.

You will be asked to show the original versions of your marriage certificate and children's birth certificates at the VFS Global Application Center or Finnish Consulate. Please hold on to the original documents and take them with you when traveling to Finland. You will be asked to show the certificates as well as the apostilles at the local Digital and Population Data Services Agency DVV when in Finland.

A processing fee is charged for the residence permit application. Pay the processing fee with a credit card or the online bank credentials of a Finnish bank. Personal checks are NOT accepted.

When you start the application process, please contact the VFS Global Application Center or Finnish Consulate to see if you can already schedule an appointment to prove your identity. You will also be fingerprinted for a biometric residence permit card at the Center or Consulate.

Please see instructions on how to book and appointment and what to bring with for the appointment at the VFS Global website. Make sure that your passport is valid for your entire stay in Finland or longer.