Immigrate to Finland from New Zealand

If you have decided to immigrate to Finland from New Zealand, you have several options. However, the choice should be based on the duration of stay and purpose of relocation. The main aspect to consider is that you must apply for your residence permit for Finland before actually travelling there.

Below, our Finnish lawyers explain the main ways under which you can move here as a citizen of New Zealand.

Common ways for New Zealanders to relocate to Finland

It is useful to know that any stay above 3 months requires a temporary residence permit, no matter if you immigrate to Finland from New Zealand or non-EU/EEA country. Such a visa is issued for:

• employment, case in which it is accompanied by a work permit;
• study;
• family reunion;
• business setup.

You can reach out to our law firm in Finland before starting the relocation process, so that you are not taken by surprise when starting the procedure.

Steps to obtain a residence permit as a citizen of New Zealand

Here is the procedure you should be aware of if you plan to relocate to Finland from New Zealand:

• you need to file the application in person with the Finnish Immigration Services;
• you can do that online or in paper format;
• apply for a residency permit at Finland’s Embassy in Australian capital Canberra, as there is no embassy or consulate offices in New Zealand.

You can rely on our lawyers in Finland for support in preparing the necessary documents needed to obtain residency.

How to move to Finland from New Zealand based on employment

There are several ways through which you can immigrate to Finland as a New Zealander professional. They imply:

• moving here as an employed person (this means you entered a labor agreement before relocating here);
• relocating as a person who has finished his/her studies in Finland;
• immigrating as an EU Blue Card holder;
• moving to Finland as a seasonal worker.

Apart from these, you can also relocate to Finland under the Working Holiday program.

An employment-related residence permit is issued for the professional field in which you are hired.  A worker’s residence visa may be subject to labor market testing, which requires the employer to determine if there is a labor force available in Finland or the EU/EEA in a reasonable period of time for the job in question.

Because of the lengthy process, many foreigners choose to immigrate to Finland as entrepreneurs. From this point of view, the options are the entrepreneur visa and the startup entrepreneur visa.

Immigrate to Finland from New Zealand as a businessperson

In order to obtain Finnish residency as an entrepreneur you must meet the following requirements:

• you are a sole trader;
• you are a general partner in a limited partnership;
• you are a cooperative member with unrestricted refinancing liability;
• you hold a managerial position in a company that you also own at least 30% of the shares in.

In order to qualify for a startup business permit as a New Zealander, you must meet the following requirements:

• you must be at least 2 skilled professionals to set up the company (the other partner can also be a foreign citizen);
• between the 2 of you, the minimum shareholding in the company must be 60%;
• you must be working in the company full-time, which in Finland means 40 hours per week.

Additionally, you must have access to capital and resources for the business’ initial growth as well as safe financial means for individual assistance.

With respect to Finnish citizenship, the required residence period is generally 8 years (5 years if you prove Finnish or Swedish language skills). So, you may want to take that under consideration if you move to Finland from New Zealand.

Contact our Finnish law firm for assistance in moving here under the desired conditions.