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Residence permit for a self-employed non-EU citizen

Non-EU citizens need a residence permit for a self-employed person in order to engage in business activities in Finland. In order to be granted a permit, the applicant's business activity must be profitable. The profitability of the business activity is estimated on the basis of various reports that are obtained in advance, such as the business plan or binding preliminary contracts and funding agreements. The deliberation is conducted by the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY centres).

Granting a residence permit for a self-employed person requires that the individual's means of support be guaranteed. He or she must gain a regular income from the profits of the operations, salary received, personal funding withdrawals, or such items as sales profits, in an amount above the threshold for basic income support throughout the residence permit's period of validity. The sufficiency of the income is determined by the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY centre).

Additional information

Information on how to apply a residence permit is found under applying for a residence permit.

Police departments

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