Residence Permit Renewal Is No Longer Routine

Our office handled this extended residence permit application from beginning to end because the consequences of even a minor mistake have changed considerably. What was once treated as a relatively normal renewal process has become a legal risk assessment in which an incomplete document, an unanswered request or an employer’s failure to provide the required employment information can lead to refusal and a deportation decision. The Aliens Act requires both the applicant and the employer to fulfil their statutory duty to provide information, and the Finnish Immigration Service may refuse an employment-based application when those obligations are not met.

The situation became even more serious after the amendments concerning removal from Finland entered into force on 12 June 2026. Appealing a deportation decision no longer automatically prevents its enforcement. Once the appeal period has expired, removal may proceed before the Administrative Court has decided whether the original decision was lawful, unless the court separately prohibits enforcement. The right to work may also end when the deportation decision becomes enforceable.

This creates a dangerous legal trap. A person may receive a negative decision because an employer failed to submit one document or because the Finnish Immigration Service considered the evidence insufficient. Once the earlier residence right has ended, a new application submitted in Finland may itself become vulnerable under section 36b of the Aliens Act because the applicant is considered to be staying in Finland without a valid right of residence. The Finnish Immigration Service’s own guidance confirms that section 36b applies broadly in residence permit matters and that section 36e must then be considered as the possible safeguard against an unreasonable refusal.

The Administrative Court’s interim decision procedure is supposed to protect applicants from being removed before their appeals are properly examined. In practice, we have seen interim protection refused even where a person has lived, worked and built their entire adult life in Finland for five, seven or ten years. A negative interim decision can allow the Police to execute the deportation order immediately. A system that removes a person before deciding whether the original decision was lawful cannot always be described as effective legal protection.

Even a positive interim decision does not completely resolve the problem. It may prevent removal temporarily, but it does not automatically guarantee that a new residence permit application will succeed. The applicant may still be left depending on section 36e and on whether the decision-maker considers refusal unreasonable in that particular case.

Section 36e is intended to prevent disproportionate outcomes, but a protection drafted in such broad terms creates room for inconsistent decisions. Two applicants in similar situations should not receive different outcomes because one decision-maker considers refusal unreasonable and another does not. Nationality, background or personal assumptions must never become invisible criteria. The law cannot become a switch through which individual attitudes determine who is allowed to remain in Finland.

This is why we took full responsibility for the present application before the situation had the opportunity to develop into a refusal, an appeal and an enforceable deportation order. We reviewed the residence permit ground, the supporting documents and the possible risks in advance, rather than attempting to repair the case after the damage had already been done.

The result was positive. On 15 October 2026, our client received a continuous A residence permit based on scientific research, valid until 31 October 2029, with unrestricted right to work.

Residence permit renewal is no longer merely an online application followed by a few uploaded documents. Under the current system, one preventable error can affect the right to stay, the right to work and the possibility of submitting another application from Finland.

Unfortunately, renewal applications have become matters for professionals. Do not wait for a refusal before seeking assistance. Contact us before submitting the application, and we will assess the case, identify the risks and handle the process with the seriousness the present law now demands.