Finland Entrepreneur Program 2022 – 2023 ⭐

Finland Entrepreneur Program

Finland is a quite stable country regarding various metrics such as human development, infrastructure, and economic growth. The business environment of the country attracts many foreign investors every year.

Finish Entrepreneurship Residence Permit

If you are an entrepreneur outside the EU, EEA, Nordic countries, or Switzerland and intend to move to Finland to start a business, apply with this application for a residence permit.

You should register your business in the Trade Register maintained by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office before your permit is issued.

Other investment programs:   Please click Here

Who can apply for a Finnish entrepreneurial residency?

• a private entrepreneur who has a so-called individually-owned business;
• a partner in a general partnership;
• a general partner in a limited partnership (not a silent partner);
• a member of a cooperative who has unlimited liability for refinancing;

The unlimited obligation to contribute must be registered in the trade register.

• a partner in an executive position in a limited liability company (Managing Director or member of the Board of Directors) or a person working in another type of company in a managerial position if you own at least 30% of the company’s share capital or personally have at least 30% of the number of votes produced by the company’s shares, or if you are a person in a managerial position in another type of company with similar authority in the company concerned

Only owning a company does not mean that you can get a residence permit. You must also work in your company in Finland.

There is no age or education limit as well as no specific English language requirements required for this program.

The two main stages of the application process for entrepreneurship in Finland

1. Assessment of the profitability of your company by ELY Center (Center for Economic Development, Transport, and the Environment)
2. Processing your application and residence permit issuance by the Finnish Immigration Service

Freelancers and Light Entrepreneurs

Freelance work means that you should work independently, and usually for several contractors, without having a permanent employment relationship.

Light entrepreneur means that you should employ yourself and perform entrepreneurial activities. Moreover, you have to provide services or sell products to your customers through a platform company.

So, if you want to work as a freelancer or a light entrepreneur in Finland, you must have a residence permit as an entrepreneur. Therefore, you have to apply for a residence permit for an employed person only if you work in an employment relationship under the employer’s direction and supervision.

To get a residence permit for an entrepreneur, you should have a Business ID. If you are a private trader and have an individually-owned business, your residence must be registered in an EEA country.

You can also apply for a residence permit for an entrepreneur without a Business ID as a private trader, only if you apply for your first residence permit before arriving in Finland. Because you cannot establish an individually-owned business abroad. You must include all necessary details about your business as well as the documents required for registering your business in your residence permit application.

Application Process for Entrepreneurs

1. Meeting the requirements for the residence permit you are applying for;
2. Having all the attachments needed (translated and legalized, if necessary);
3. Filling in your application;
4. Paying for your application in the online service Enter Finland, at a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) or a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service;

Visiting a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) if you are abroad; or

5. Booking an appointment at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service if you are already in Finland;
6. Waiting for a decision;
7. Waiting for the residence permit in the same country or locality where you submitted your application and proved your identity

General Requirements for Entry into Finland

Make sure you meet the general requirements before submitting your application.

1. A valid passport;
2. Have NOT been prescribed a prohibition of entry;
3. Be NOT a danger to public order and security;
4. Be NOT a danger to public health;
5. Be NOT a danger to Finland’s international relations

Requirements

You must also meet the following requirements:

1. Be a self-employed person
2. Your form of business should be one of the following:

• a private trader or a private entrepreneur;
• a partner in a general partnership;
• a general partner (not a silent partner) in a limited partnership;
• a member of a cooperative who has unlimited liability for refinancing;
• entrepreneur in a limited liability company

3. Your business operations are profitable

A Center for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre) will assess whether you meet these requirements.

4. Have registered your business in the Trade Register maintained by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office

Right to Work

• You may also work as an employee for another employer when you have been obtained a residence permit for an entrepreneur. Even in this case, your business must be the main source of your income.
• If you have been granted a residence permit on some other grounds than entrepreneurship, you can still start a business in Finland if the main purpose of your stay in the country is different (such as visiting relatives or studying)
• If you apply for an extended permit, you should check if you have the right to work while your application is being processed.

Dependents

You can include your spouse and your children who are under the age of eighteen.

General Attachments

• Valid passport
• Passport photo
• Color copies of the passport page containing personal data and of all passport pages that contain notes
• Document showing that you are legally staying in the country where you submit the application
• Form MP_1 (if you already are in Finland and apply for your first residence permit)

Application-specific Attachments

• Trade register extract or explanation of why the company has not been entered in the Trade Register
• Description of the business idea of the company
• Document concerning business premises
• Report on the number of employees
• Certificates in professional qualifications
• Document concerning assets and other income
• If the company is already in business:

• The latest financial statements, if the company has been in business so long that it has financial statements
• The latest updated accounts

• If the company is not yet in business:

• Calculation of profitability (estimate of the company’s revenue and costs for the next two years)
• Copies of agreements signed with customers and partners, if such exist

Finnish Start-up Residence Permit

The Finnish Startup Permit allows innovative entrepreneurs outside the European Union to build a startup company in Finland and to become part of Finland’s vibrant startup ecosystem.

If you are a non-EU citizen and wish to establish a start-up company in Finland, you should apply for a residence permit application for a start-up entrepreneur. You cannot get a residence permit without a positive eligibility statement from Business Finland. So, you must have a solid business plan and get a positive assessment from Business Finland before sending your Startup Permit application to the Finnish Immigration Service. Business Finland evaluates your business model, resources, market strategy, and potential for rapid international growth. You can send the information regarding your business plan and the requisite documents to Business Finland electronically. After the favorable assessment, you will receive an Eligibility Statement to be attached to the Startup Residence Permit application. Business Finland’s statement will be valid for 2 months.

Please note that the application process, the general requirements, and the attachments for this program are the same as the entrepreneur program.

Who Can Apply

You should have:

• a startup team – at least 2 founders – with versatile expertise
• an intention of founding a fast-growth business in Finland
• an innovative business plan
• commitment to the business idea and eventually building the company
• significant holding in the company (For example, the team applying for the permit, has a holding of not less than 60% of the company)
• access to sufficient resources and funding for the company’s early-stage development
• secure financial means for support

Two Main Stages of Application Process

1. An eligibility statement for your start-up business from Business Finland;
2. An application for a start-up residence permit and visiting a Finnish diplomatic mission or a Finnish Immigration Service office to establish your identity

Requirements

You must also meet the following requirements:

1. Be a start-up entrepreneur;
2. Have a positive eligibility statement from Business Finland;
3. Have secure means of support

You must have adequate financial resources for your living costs in Finland (at least €1,000 per month).

How to Show You Have Secure Means of Support

• With the funds that you have at your disposal (money in your bank account)
• With a signed employment contract with a company that has sufficient funds to pay your wages or the company that has been granted some form of funding to secure the payment of your wages
• With documentation of other sources of income, such as regular rental income from your owned flat or some other regular income that you will receive during your stay in Finland

You will have to present documentation of your secure means of support for a minimum of one year so that your residence permit can be granted for one year. If your means of support is sufficient, the residence permit can be granted directly for two years.

The permit can be renewed after two years and it does not include financial support or investments.

Right to Work

• You can work for another employer with a Finnish Startup Permit and without a separate residence permit for an employed person.

The main purpose of your stay in the country must be entrepreneurship.

•  If you apply for an extended permit, you should check if you have the right to work while your application is being processed.

Application-specific Attachments

• Eligibility Statement from Business Finland (no more than two months old) (if you are applying for your first Finnish Startup Permit)
• Statement on income (e.g. bank statement or statement on other assets that can be transferred to Finland)
• The most recent financial statements and the latest updated accounts (income statement and balance sheet) from the beginning of the accounting period (if you are applying for an extended permit as a start-up entrepreneur)