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Temporary protection

Other residence permits 

All residence permits issued on the basis of temporary protection are valid until 4 March 2026. 

If you hold a residence permit issued on the basis of temporary protection and wish to stay in Finland permanently, it is advisable to apply for an extended permit. Grounds for an extended permit may be, for example, a job, a family member or studies in Finland. Applications for an extended permit are subject to a fee.

See the Application Finder to find out which residence permit application is best suited to your situation. Please remember that you need to meet the requirements for the residence permit in question to obtain a positive decision on your application. 

Advantages of an extended permit

Residence permit on the basis of temporary protection Extended permit
  • A residence permit on the basis of temporary protection is granted for one year at a time. The Council of the European Union decides separately each year whether to extend the validity of residence permits issued on the basis of temporary protection. Your individual situation does not have any effect on whether or not your temporary protection residence permit is extended. 
  • The validity of an extended permit depends on your individual situation and it is granted for a maximum of four years at a time. With an extended permit, your residence in Finland is more established than before.
  • Temporary protection is intended for temporarily moving to Finland. As a permit type, it is a temporary B permit. If you live in Finland only under a temporary protection residence permit, you cannot, for example, apply for a permanent residence permit or for Finnish citizenship, because one of their requirements is that you have lived in Finland under a continuous A permit.
  • When you have a continuous A permit, you can begin to accumulate residence time for a permanent residence permit or a citizenship application.
    • Continuous A permits include, for example, residence permits granted on the basis of family ties and some residence permits granted on the basis of work.
    • Read more about the differences between A and B permits on the page Residence permit types.

 

You can be issued with an extended permit even if your residence permit for temporary protection is valid

You do not need to cancel your temporary protection residence permit in order to be eligible for an extended permit. You may hold a valid temporary protection residence permit and an extended permit at the same time. 

The permit type of your extended permit may be a continuous residence permit (A permit) or a temporary residence permit (B permit).

The grounds for your residence permit will determine what type of right to work you will have

You have an unrestricted right to work in Finland if you hold a residence permit on the basis of temporary protection. It means that you can work without restrictions in any field. If you also hold a valid extended permit, it does not affect your right to work on the basis of temporary protection. 

However, please note that the Finnish Immigration Service may withdraw your extended permit if: 

  • it is a work-based residence permit restricted to a certain field or employer, and   
  • the field in which or the employer for whom you are working is not covered by the permit you hold. 

You can, however, continue in your job with your temporary protection residence permit.

Note the following if you are considering applying for asylum

  1. You can apply for asylum in a situation where you have a fear of being subjected to personal persecution in Ukraine and the Ukrainian authorities are unable or unwilling to protect you.
    • Personal persecution refers to a situation where you are subjected to a serious threat or harm because of, for instance, your origin, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.
    • Protection provided by the Ukrainian authorities means that they can intervene in the event of persecution or a serious threat and you can rely on them. For example, if you travel to Ukraine or acquire a passport issued by Ukraine, you may be considered to rely on protection provided by the Ukrainian authorities. 
  2. If you apply for asylum, the Finnish Immigration Service will also assess whether you would be eligible for subsidiary protection.
    • Subsidiary protection may be granted, for example, when your home region is dangerous and you cannot reasonably move within Ukraine to a safer area.
  3. Ukrainian citizens are rarely granted asylum or subsidiary protection. For more information, see the statistics produced by the Finnish Immigration Service.
  4. You may not be able to get a residence permit in Finland on the basis of work or studies if you have applied for asylum or have received a negative decision on your asylum application.

If you intend to stay in Finland permanently, it is advisable to apply for an extended permit.

More information

For more information about the different residence permit grounds based on which you can live in Finland, see the multilingual InfoFinland website: Moving to Finland (infofinland.fi). The website has been translated into Ukrainian.