Finland's Immigration Service, Migri, has published five conditions that foreign children must satisfy before they can be granted a permanent residence permit in the country. The conditions, listed on Migri's official website, explain what is required of children and their parents for the permanent residency.
Age and Residency Requirements
The conditions apply to children under the age of 18 at the time of application. Importantly, if a child turns 18 after the application has already been submitted, this will not affect how the case is handled. The second condition concerns where the child actually lives. A child must be residing in Finland, though the period of residence requirement does not apply in every case. If a parent or guardian with custody of the child already holds a permanent residence permit, a P-EU permit, or Finnish citizenship and lives in Finland, a permanent residence permit can be applied for immediately after the child's birth, provided the child is also living in Finland. Where no such parent or guardian is present in Finland, or where the parent holds only a residence card as a family member of an EU citizen, the child must have lived in Finland for at least four years under a continuous residence permit or a Brexit permit before qualifying.
Financial Resources and Parental Consent
The third condition relates to finances. The child must have access to sufficient financial resources, which can come from a parent or guardian's employment or business income. Funds derived from social assistance, labour market subsidy, basic unemployment allowance, or general social security benefit do not count towards this requirement. Migri notes that from 1 May 2026, the general social security benefit paid by Kela replaced the labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance. Parental or guardian consent forms the fourth condition. Where two people share custody of a child, both must agree to the application being made. The parent or guardian who submits the application on the child's behalf does not need to provide a separate consent, but the other custodian must do so.
Clean Record and Application Advice
The fifth and final condition concerns the child's conduct. A child who has committed or is suspected of having committed offences that are considered serious enough to bar a permit may not be granted permanent residence, regardless of whether the other conditions are met. Migri advises that a valid national passport is generally required when applying for a residence permit on behalf of a child. Legit.ng has also published residency years for foreigners who want to become Qatari citizens. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Australia's Department of Home Affairs has outlined the residence requirement foreigners must meet before applying for citizenship. Applicants must have lived in Australia on a valid visa for a number of years before the date they apply for citizenship. The rules also specify how much time applicants are allowed to have spent outside Australia during that period.
