24.04.2013

Income level for livelihood required for residence permit is to be increased 1.3.2013

The granting of a residence permit requires that applicants have sufficient income to fund their stay in Finland, and that of their family, if any.

The required income level for livelihood is defined in approximate euro amounts. These amounts will increase from March 1st 2013. These amounts will be applied to applications submitted on March 1st 2013 or thereafter. The monthly amounts will increase by one hundred euros at most. An updated guide of the required amounts is available on the Income requirement page.

At the same time, a scale has been set for the amount of money an applicant is required to have available for each child in the family. Previously it was necessary to make an equal amount of money available for each child. When a family has several children there will now be a stepped decrease in the amount.

The funds available are calculated from the income remaining after tax and employee’s pension and insurance contributions. Examples of sources of income include employment, private enterprise, personal capital, and pensions.

Some social benefits are counted as income.

Increases based on cost of living in Finland

The income level for livelihood required for the granting of a residence permit has been based on the basic amount of income support granted in Finland. The calculation of the basic amount takes into account the cost of living in Finland.

Flexibility in amounts for families with children

Flexibility can be introduced for families with several children so that the required amount of income does not become unreasonably high.

The need for flexibility is always assessed on a case-by-case basis, and will depend, for example, on whether both parents work.