Fingerprints part of residence permits from new year

Finland is introducing biometric residence permit cards at the beginning of 2012. At the same time residence permit stickers for travel documents will be discontinued.

Changes to the Aliens Act enter force on 1 January 2012, from which date the granting of biometric residence permit cards will begin. Technical delays in the introduction of fingerprint scanning mean that in the beginning fingerprints will only be added to card chips by degrees.

If technical problems prevent the scanning of a residence permit applicant’s fingerprints, a remark to this effect will be added to the residence permit card chip.
Notwithstanding this deficiency, the card remains a fully authoritative proof of the right of residence for the duration of its validity.
Fingerprints taken from all persons over 6 years of age

In practice the reform means that all residence permit applicants and asylum seekers over 6 years of age will have prints taken of each of their fingers and thumbs. These will be recorded in the Register of Aliens. Fingerprints will be retaken when applying for permit extensions and permanent residence permits, and a new card issued each time.

Biometric identifiers recorded on the residence permit card chip will include a facial image and two fingerprints. The residence permit card is not an official identity card.

Incorporating biometric identifiers in the residence permit will help to prevent malpractice by creating a more reliable connection between the residence permit holder and the permit itself. The changes are based on an EU Regulation issued in 2008.

Application must be submitted in person

Changes to the Aliens Act mean that from the beginning of 2012 residence permit applications must be submitted in person. A family member resident in Finland (sponsor) or an employer will no longer be able to submit an application on behalf of the applicant.

In addition, the work permit unit of the Employment and Economic Development Office will be removed from the list of offices where residence permit applications can be submitted, although the unit will continue to make part decisions on residence permit applications for employed persons.

As before, the first residence permit should primarily be collected from the Finnish embassy abroad. A residence permit card should be collected from the same place the application was submitted.

All applications for new permits to the Finnish police

From the New Year, applications for residence permit extensions and permanent residence permits can only be submitted at a Finnish police station. Similarly, an application for a new residence permit card if a current card has been mislaid or stolen must be submitted to the Finnish police. The police will also make decisions on all permit extensions and re-applications.

Persons with a valid residence permit sticker affixed to their passports will not need to change the sticker for a card. A residence permit card must nevertheless be applied for without delay once the passport has expired.
Pending applications in Finland also to be complemented after New Year

Persons who have submitted their residence permit applications in Finland before 1 January 2012, but by the end of 2011 have yet to receive a decision, must return to the police station to allow fingerprints to be taken to complement the application.

When the matter is taken up for processing the Finnish Immigration Service and the police will send their customers a letter requesting supplementation. The letter gives instructions on when and to which police station applicants should go to supplement their applications.

Applications submitted to Finnish embassies abroad not supplemented

Applications submitted to Finnish embassies abroad before 1 December 2012 will not need to be supplemented even in the absence of a decision before the New Year. Fingerprints will only be taken at embassies for applications submitted from the beginning of 2012. Persons applying for a residence permit while abroad may be granted a residence permit card without fingerprints until the end of the transition period, 20 May 2012.

However, a residence permit application submitted abroad may be supplemented by the applicant on a subsequent visit to the embassy, for the purpose of an interview, for example.