From Deportation to Stability

Our client contacted us after receiving a negative decision from the Finnish Immigration Service. The application for a residence permit based on family ties had been refused, and at the same time, a deportation decision had been issued. The decision required our client to leave Finland within thirty days. The reasoning followed a strict formal line. Because the sponsor no longer held a valid residence permit, the Finnish Immigration Service concluded that the conditions for a family-based permit were no longer met and that there were no grounds for our client to remain in the country.

This kind of situation creates immediate pressure. A deportation decision affects everything at once, legal status, employment, family life, and the ability to stay in Finland while the matter is being challenged. We therefore acted quickly and on more than one front. The deportation decision was addressed through legal remedies, and at the same time we prepared and submitted a new residence permit application based on employment grounds. The goal was straightforward. While the earlier decision was being contested, our client needed a lawful and stable basis to regulate his stay in Finland.

The new application was examined independently from the family-based refusal. The Finnish Immigration Service assessed the employment situation on its own merits, reviewing the work contract, working hours, and income level in line with the requirements of the Aliens Act. This time, the outcome was different. On 20 January 2026, the Finnish Immigration Service granted our client a continuous residence permit based on employment, valid until January 2030. The permit includes the right to work in the restaurant sector and in labour shortage fields.

That decision immediately changed the situation. The risk created by the deportation order was removed, and our client’s right to live and work in Finland was restored. What had been a case about removal became, in practice, a case about continuity and stability. It also shows something that is often misunderstood. A negative decision on one residence permit ground does not automatically close all options. When the facts support it, a new application on different grounds can offer a lawful solution, even in a very difficult situation.

For our client, this meant being able to stay in Finland, continue working, and move forward without constant fear of removal. For us, it confirms once again how important timing and a clear legal strategy are. Even when a deportation decision has already been issued, there may still be a way to protect a person’s right to remain.