- Salary floor
- EUR 3,937 a month (2026 figure)Migri's own specialist page states this as the required monthly salary for 2026. Migri revises the figure periodically without publishing the formula behind it; confirm the amount in force on the date you apply rather than relying on this one.
- Qualification
- Coming to Finland for expert duties that require special expertise, with a higher education degree — or, failing that, the special expertise your work requires acquired through work experience or other education. You must have confirmed employment before you apply.
- Fast-track decision
- Two weeks, stated directly on Migri's specialist and fast-track pages — for a first permit only, and conditional on the steps above
- Standard decision, outside fast track
- Not published as a single stable figure — Migri runs an interactive Processing Time Checker for this permit, updated every 2 months, instead of stating one number on the page
- Electronic application, first permit
- €530
- Electronic application, extended permit
- €230
- Paper application, first permit
- €630
Everything about Residence permit for a specialist →The procedure, step by step5 steps · 2 possible outcomes
- Secure confirmed employment in expert duties that require special expertise, before you apply — Migri will not accept an application without it.
- Gather your passport, a passport photo taken within the last 6 months, colour copies of your passport's data page and any pages carrying notes, and proof that you are legally staying in the country where you submit the application.A degree certificate is not on Migri's own list of required attachments for this permit — see the note above on why no degree-recognition step follows.
- Apply online in Enter Finland, pay the application fee, and have your employer separately supplement the application in Enter Finland for Employers with the terms of employment.Applying through the fast-track service adds two conditions that the standard route does not carry: you must prove your identity within 5 working days of submitting the application, and your employer must add the terms of employment within 2 working days of your submission.
- Prove your identity at the service point or Finnish mission you booked, then wait for the decision — Migri will contact you if it needs anything further.
- If you also applied for a D visa, you can travel to Finland as soon as the residence permit decision is positive and a D-visa sticker has been attached to your passport at the mission, instead of waiting abroad for the permit card to be posted to you.The D visa does not shorten the decision itself — Migri states this directly — and it is only worth applying for if you can reach Finland within 2 weeks of the decision, to collect the card from a domestic pickup point.
Possible outcomes
- A residence permit for a specialist, granted for up to 2 years — or for the length of the employment relationship where that is shorter.
- Refusal, where the salary floor, the special-expertise requirement or the other conditions for this permit are not met.
- Salary floor
- EUR 3,937 a month (2026 figure)Migri's EU Blue Card page states the same monthly floor as the specialist permit for 2026. Migri lowered the Blue Card floor to match the specialist floor with effect from 13 May 2024 and has stated the two together on its pages since; confirm the figure in force on the date you apply, since Migri revises it periodically without publishing a formula.
- Qualification
- Coming to Finland for highly qualified employment, with either a higher education degree that took at least 3 years to complete, or — where you do not hold one — at least 5 years of professional experience, acquired through the actual pursuit of your profession, at a level comparable to a higher education qualification. You must have confirmed employment lasting at least 6 months before you apply.
- Fast-track decision
- Two weeks, stated directly on Migri's EU Blue Card and fast-track pages — for a first permit only, and conditional on the steps above
- Standard decision, outside fast track
- Not published as a single stable figure — Migri runs an interactive Processing Time Checker for this permit, updated every 2 months, instead of stating one number on the page
- Electronic application, first permit
- €530
- Electronic application, extended permit
- €230
- Paper application, first permit
- €630
Everything about EU Blue Card →The procedure, step by step5 steps · 4 possible outcomes
- Secure confirmed employment lasting at least 6 months, in highly qualified work, before you apply.Migri's own page adds a caveat without detailing it: "Under the EU Blue Card Directive, there are certain situations in which an EU Blue Card cannot be issued" — check with Migri whether one applies to your case before relying on this route.
- Gather your passport, a passport photo taken within the last 6 months, colour copies of your passport's data page and any pages carrying notes, proof that you are legally staying in the country where you submit the application, and — if you already hold a Blue Card issued by another EU member state — a copy of that card.As with the specialist permit, a degree certificate or a decision from the Finnish National Agency for Education is not on Migri's own list of required attachments for this permit.
- Apply online in Enter Finland, pay the application fee, and have your employer separately supplement the application in Enter Finland for Employers with the terms of employment.Fast-tracking adds the same two conditions as the specialist permit: proving your identity within 5 working days of submission, and your employer adding the terms of employment within 2 working days of it.
- Prove your identity at the service point or Finnish mission you booked, then wait for the decision — Migri will contact you if it needs anything further.
- If you also applied for a D visa, you can travel to Finland as soon as the residence permit decision is positive and a D-visa sticker has been attached to your passport at the mission, instead of waiting abroad for the permit card to be posted to you.The D visa does not shorten the decision itself, and Migri states plainly that it is only worth applying for if you can reach Finland within 2 weeks of the decision.
Possible outcomes
- An EU Blue Card, granted for up to 2 years — or, where the underlying employment lasts less than 2 years, for the length of that employment plus 3 further months.
- The right to work in employment that requires high-level competence, not bound to a single employer.
- The right to move to a second EU member state as an EU Blue Card holder and, if that state does not grant its own Blue Card, to return to Finland — including within 3 months of your Finnish Blue Card's expiry.
- Refusal — including in the specific situations the EU Blue Card Directive itself sets out — where the salary floor, the qualification requirement or the other conditions are not met.
