English
Online service Book an appointment
Menu
Search from website Search
Search page »
Residence permit
Maahanmuuttovirasto › en ›
Permits and citizenship › Residence permit ›
First residence permit › Coming to Finland for work ›
Applications › Athlete, coach or trainer Listen
Residence permit for
athletes, coaches and
referees
Apply for a residence permit using this application if
you are coming to Finland as a professional athlete,
coach, or referee. You must have a job before you
apply for a residence permit.
To be considered a professional athlete, you need to
gain a sufficient amount of income from sports.
Whether or not you can be considered a
professional athlete will be assessed based on your
salary from sports. If you apply for a residence
permit as a coach or referee, you need to have
either relevant previous work experience or
education in your field of work. Your employer must
verify that you have the professional skills required
for the job.
If your employer has obtained employer
certification, you can apply for a D visa at the same
time as you apply for a residence permit. The D visa
allows you to travel to Finland immediately after you
have been issued with a residence permit and a D
visa sticker has been attached to your passport.
Read more about the D visa.
Your spouse and children can apply for a D visa if
they are applying for a residence permit on the
basis of family ties.
Expected processing time for electronic
application
First permit 2 months / extended permit
2 months
Expected processing time for paper application
First permit 2 months / extended permit
2 months
Electronic application fee
First permit 380 € / extended permit 160 €
Paper application fee
First permit 480 € / extended permit 430 €
This is what you should do
Prepare:
Make sure you meet the requirements
1 for the residence permit application
Make sure you have all the
2 attachments needed. This will speed
up the processing of your
application
Have the attachments translated and
legalised if needed.
General attachments
Valid passport accepted by Finland
(um.fi). Present your passport
when you submit your residence
permit application
Passport photo complying with
the photo guidelines (pdf,
poliisi.fi) issued by the police or a
photograph retrieval code you
received from a photo
shop, OLEL_PK (pdf)
Colour copies of the passport
page containing personal data
and of all passport pages that
contain notes
Document showing that you are
legally staying in the country
where you submit the application
Form MP_1 (pdf) (if you already
are in Finland and apply for your
first residence permit)
If you pursue a trade or business, attach
to your application
your contracts with clients, or
an explanation of how you will
engage in business activities if you
have not signed any contracts with
clients.
Fill in the application:
Fill in the application and add your
1 documents
2 Pay for your application
Your employer must supplement your
3 application
Visit an embassy, consulate or service
4 point to prove your identity
Wait for the decision, the Finnish
5 Immigration Service will contact you if
necessary
6 Follow the processing
Wait for the residence permit in the same
7 country or locality where you submitted
your application and proved your identity
Right to work
If you are in Finland when you are applying
for a residence permit, you have the right
to work as a coach, referee or player
already before you are granted a residence
permit. In this case, you must reside in
Finland legally (you have a valid visa or you
are allowed to stay in Finland without a
visa). However, your right to work will end
after three months at the latest, or even
earlier if your visa expires. Your right to
work only applies to playing, coaching and
working as a referee.
Your right to work gives you the right to
perform only the work for which you have
been granted a residence permit.
If you apply for an extended permit, check
if you have the right to work while your
application is being processed.
Residence permit application for
sports or coaching, OLE_TY4
Fill in an electronic
application
Fill in a paper application
Extended permit for an athlete or a
coach, OLE_TY4
Fill in an electronic
application
Fill in a paper application
Prepare for your life in Finland
When you arrive in Finland, the border
1 authorities may ask you to prove that
you still meet all the requirements for
the residence permit
Contact the Digital and Population
2 Data Services Agency to get a
municipality of residence and a
personal identity code
Apply for an extended permit before your
3 first permit expires if you decide to stay in
Finland
Did you find what you were looking for
on this page?
Yes
Only somewhat
No
Permits and Services Finnish
citizenship Immigration
E-service Service
Residence
Book an
permit Newsroom
appointment at
Registration of a service point Statistics
the right of
Processing timesGlossary
residence of an
EU citizen or a Processing fees About the
family member Finnish
Requests and
Immigration
Finnish certificates
Service
citizenship
Frequently
Data protection
Asylum asked questions
Vacancies
Travel Instructions
documents Contact
information
About Send Sitemap
this feedback
site
© Maahanmuuttovirasto 2023
Hi! How can I help
you?
