A Permanent Residence Permit Granted After a Thorough and Demanding Process

This case began in mid 2023, when our client applied for a permanent residence permit. The legal framework for permanent residence was clear at the time of the application. If a person has lived in Finland on a continuous residence permit for the required period, has complied with the conditions of stay, and there are no obstacles such as serious criminality or misuse of residence grounds, the permit should be granted. In practice, however, permanent residence applications, especially those involving entrepreneurship, are often assessed with exceptional strictness. That is what happened here.

The first major complication arose when the ELY-Keskus issued a negative statement after evaluating our client’s business. In these cases, a negative statement does not automatically mean rejection, but it has serious weight. It shifts the burden onto the applicant to prove, in detail, that the business is genuine, that income is real and sustainable, and that the person’s means of support is secured in the way required by the Aliens Act. We responded immediately to the first additional information request and requested a re-evaluation, supported by documentation that addressed not only the direct questions but also the reasoning behind the negative statement.

After a long pause, the authority issued a further and final additional information request. This request focused on detailed accounting issues and required explanations for differences between VAT returns and bank statement payments received from Wolt. It also required final and consistent financial statements for the accounting years under review, documentation relating to vehicle ownership, and clarification regarding payments and withdrawals from the company. The message behind the request was clear. The authority would not grant permanent residence unless every detail of the enterprise was fully transparent and consistently documented.

In cases like this, precision is not optional. If the file contains any open questions, the authority will treat them as reasons to refuse. Our response removed that risk.

The decision was issued on 8 January 2026. The Finnish Immigration Service granted our client a permanent residence permit! The decision confirms that the requirements were fulfilled and that there were no obstacles to granting permanent residence following the required period of continuous residence.

For our client, this decision ends a process that had been ongoing since mid 2023. It removes the uncertainty that comes with repeated permit renewals and gives legal stability that is essential for anyone who has built a business and a life in Finland. It also confirms a basic principle of immigration law that is sometimes forgotten in practice. A person who has complied with the rules, supported themselves through lawful activity, and demonstrated long-term commitment to Finland is entitled to legal certainty. Permanent residence is meant to provide exactly that, and in this case, after a demanding process, that outcome was achieved.