Finland needs international researchers, but recent tightening of immigration policy has made settling in the country increasingly uncertain. The fragmented nature of research work fits poorly with stricter employment history and income requirements. In particular, lengthy citizenship application processing times undermine trust in the future.
The latest amendments to the Citizenship Act entered into force on 17 December 2025 and the changes to the permanent residence permit as part of the amendment of the Aliens Act on 8 January 2026. Regarding these updates, the most common questions asked in advance by our membership concerned the stricter income and work history requirements. The work of researchers is often regrettably fragmented and uncertain, so it is no surprise that stricter legislative entries on unemployment and the challenges it poses when applying for naturalisation or permanent residence raise concerns.
When it comes to a permanent residence permit, the essential factor is that there are now multiple paths for applying in different situations and under different conditions.
In general, residence permits are only necessary for immigrants arriving from outside EU and EEA countries. EU citizens do not need a residence permit in Finland. However, if the conditions are met, both EU citizens and those arriving from outside the EU/EEA can apply for naturalisation in Finland.
According to the new legislation, the basic requirements for a permanent residence permit is a six-year residence period with a continuous residence permit (A), two years of work history in Finland, and at least satisfactory language skills in Finnish or Swedish. This work history requirement includes a condition that, when applying for the residence permit, the applicant must have worked for two years prior to submitting the application and, during that period, may have only received a maximum of three months in unemployment benefits or social assistance. Temporary absences from working life due to, for example, a parental leave or illness, are allowed and are included in the work history.
Next, I will discuss the application conditions for a permanent residence permit that can be assumed to be the most typical for international research professionals.
It should be noted that the work history or language requirement is not relevant for all paths to apply for a permanent residence permit. Thus, for example, if a researcher has been unemployed in Finland at some point, this does not automatically prevent or slow the application process for a permanent residence permit if the terms and conditions of other exceptional application paths are met.
Annual income affects eligibility for a permanent residence permit.
The first exceptional path is an application for a continuous residence permit after four years of residence (with an A permit) as long as the applicant has a total annual income of at least EUR 40,000 at the 2026 level. In this case, no two-year work history or language skills are required. For example, if a researcher has resided in Finland for at least 4 years under a residence permit for a researcher and makes a minimum annual income of EUR 40,000, this is sufficient to apply for a permanent residence permit without any other conditions. In this scenario, the only change compared to the previous legislation is the annual income requirement.
Other paths to apply for the permanent residence permit after four years of residence include if the applicant has a Master’s degree, a licentiate, or a doctoral degree that is recognised in Finland and at least 2 years of work history in Finland (without language requirements); or if the applicant has a work history of at least three years in Finland and the level of their Finnish or Swedish language skills is particularly good.
Another application path for a permanent residence permit that is particularly suitable for international research professionals or students, at least, is the possibility to apply without a residence period requirement defined in the years if the applicant has completed a Master’s degree at a university or university of applied sciences in Finland, or a licentiate, doctoral, or bachelor’s degree from a university in Finland.
In the case of a degree holder, there is no work history requirement, but the level of the Finnish or Swedish language skills must be developing. Developing language skills can be demonstrated, for example, by 15 credits of Finnish or Swedish studies completed at a higher education institution.
Language studies in Finnish or Swedish should be part of work time or doctoral degree
Concerns were raised in advance among both international researchers and the personnel responsible for organising doctoral education that doctoral studies and dissertation work do not include the possibility or sufficient time to complete 15 credits of language studies. Research Professionals hopes that this way of thinking will change in higher education institutions. In our opinion, it is important for those who plan to stay in Finland and want to learn our official languages to have the opportunity to take language studies as part of their work time or doctoral degree.
The overall burden on the individual, however, must not become excessive, so it is worth asking whether, now or in the future, it is realistic to complete a dissertation and a doctoral degree in, for example, three years if and when there is a need to include other elements that support employment, such as language studies.
The income requirement, which entered into force in December 2025 as part of the amended Citizenship Act, is even stricter because it applies to almost all citizenship applications when the applicant is an adult. When submitting an application, the applicant must have accrued two years of work history during which they can have received a maximum of three months of unemployment benefits or social assistance. This condition must also be met throughout the processing period of a citizenship application. This is particularly problematic due to the fact that it currently takes up to 34 months to process citizenship applications for adults, i.e. nearly three years.
The processing time for citizenship applications is unacceptably long.
During the consultation round for the law, we already criticised (link in Finnish) the fact that it is completely unreasonable to expect the applicant, when submitting their application, to know whether they will continue to fulfil the conditions for naturalisation throughout the processing of the application, two to three years after submission.
It should be noted that the conditions for naturalisation will be tightened in three different projects implemented during the current Government term. In the first project in 2024, the required residence period in Finland was extended from six years to eight years. The stricter amendments that entered into force in December 2025 concern applicants’ work history as well as other aspects, such as integrity. In the third project, a citizenship test will be added as a new condition for naturalisation. The consultation round for the Government’s proposal on this is currently underway (link in Finnish).
Changes in the permanent residence permits, as they concern international research professionals, are not as radical as earlier feared. The work history or language skill requirement is not compulsory in all cases, especially if the applicant’s annual income exceeds the limit of EUR 40,000. A doctoral researcher would not yet reach that income limit, but those with a doctorate who are working in an employment relationship should fulfil that condition. On the other hand, working on grant funding might pose a problem; grants can be considered part of the income requirement, but very few foundations award grants of up to EUR 40,000 per year.
The practical implementation will show how the amended legislation on permanent residence permits, which has become quite complex as a whole, will prove to be.
The tightening of the Citizenship Act, on the other hand, impacts all applicants regardless of their level of education and profession. Especially in the current employment situation, the stricter work history requirement and the shockingly lengthy processing times for citizenship applications do not strengthen the future prospects for international experts in Finland. Citizenship is not a small thing and has never been handed out like gifts at grand openings (link to YLE article in Finnish).
The majority of international experts who have settled here want to build their lives in Finland: to work, pay their taxes, and participate in society. It is unreasonable for an individual and harmful for society to make the path to naturalisation in Finland so uncertain. We need international talent in our country, but are we only accepting them as productive goods without actually providing any real opportunity or prospect to become an equal citizen?
Miia Ijäs-Idrobo
Senior Adviser at Research Professionals
- Amendments to Aliens Act regarding permanent residence permits (effective from 8 January 2026)
- Amendments to the Citizenship Act (effective from 17 December 2025)