How to? Read other's experiences. Find useful advice on shipping, immigration, residence permits, visas and more.
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jbraendl
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2020 1:52 pm
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by jbraendl » Wed Dec 30, 2020 11:43 pm
Hi all,
question is whether I am best off getting a permit from PRH to start a Ltd without having EEA residence status or having my limited share business partner be a co-founder and either start the company and apply for an entrepreneur visa or the company employs me and thus simply apply for a work visa.
What would you all recommend? I see that roughly 2/3 of all entrepreneur permits are rejected. Work permits contrarily seem quite easy with a significantly greater success rate and faster processing time.
Any advice would be appreciated!

Last edited by
jbraendl on Wed Dec 29, 2021 6:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Starting a company options: Entrepreneur visa?
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betelgeuse
- Posts: 4558
- Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:24 am
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by betelgeuse » Thu Dec 31, 2020 1:17 pm
jbraendl wrote: ↑Wed Dec 30, 2020 11:43 pm
My main question is whether I am best off getting a permit from PRH to start a Ltd without having EEA residence status or having my limited share business partner be a co-founder and either start the company and apply for an entrepreneur visa or the company employs me and thus simply apply for a work visa.
Visas and residence permits are different things. You need the latter.
You only need one person (presumably your business partner) to be EEA resident. This person doesn't need to have any ownership stake.
"If at least one Board member is a resident of the EEA, no permit is needed. In other cases a permit from the PRH is required."
https://www.prh.fi/en/kaupparekisteri/u ... luvat.html
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FinlandGirl
- Posts: 1421
- Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:43 am
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by FinlandGirl » Thu Dec 31, 2020 3:51 pm
jbraendl wrote: ↑Wed Dec 30, 2020 11:43 pm
My main question is whether I am best off getting a permit from PRH to start a Ltd without having EEA residence status or having my limited share business partner be a co-founder and either start the company and apply for an entrepreneur visa or the company employs me and thus simply apply for a work visa.
Migri wrote:
You are an entrepreneur if you ... personally have at least 30 per cent of the number of votes produced by the company’s shares
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betelgeuse
- Posts: 4558
- Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:24 am
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by betelgeuse » Thu Dec 31, 2020 7:31 pm
FinlandGirl wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 3:51 pm
Migri wrote:
You are an entrepreneur if you ... personally have at least 30 per cent of the number of votes produced by the company’s shares
You left out the bit about also having to be in a managerial position.
” 9) entrepreneur means a person who is in a managerial position and engages in business activities; (121/2018)”
https://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokse ... 040301.pdf
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jbraendl
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2020 1:52 pm
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by jbraendl » Fri Jan 01, 2021 1:49 pm
Thanks all,
Does anyone have any experience having applied for the entrepreneur visa? Are they typically granted for only a single year at first? I would also hope that the subsequent extended permit criteria is reasonable in terms of initial profitability.
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FinlandGirl
- Posts: 1421
- Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:43 am
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by FinlandGirl » Fri Jan 01, 2021 5:38 pm
jbraendl wrote: ↑Fri Jan 01, 2021 1:49 pm
Does anyone have any experience having applied for the entrepreneur visa? Are they typically granted for only a single year at first?
The law says that first fixed-term residence permits are issued for one year, and none of the exceptions applies to normal entrepreneur or employee residence permits (except that it cannot be longer than the validity of your passport).
jbraendl wrote: ↑Fri Jan 01, 2021 1:49 pm
I would also hope that the subsequent extended permit criteria is reasonable in terms of initial profitability.
The main assessment is before the first permit, it is you who defines the expected initial profitability of your business.
With employment Migri checks whether the actual income matched the information in the first application when deciding on residence permit extensions, I do not know what they check for entrepreneurs.
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celavi
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2020 1:00 pm
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by celavi » Wed Jan 06, 2021 12:28 pm
I see that roughly 2/3 of all entrepreneur permits are rejected.
Hi, where did you see the stats? Thanks!
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celavi
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2020 1:00 pm
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by celavi » Thu Jan 07, 2021 4:35 am
Thank you!

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Ctvartain
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2021 7:45 am
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by Ctvartain » Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:42 am
What is the difference between Permits requiring a partial decision and self employment permits? Don’t most self employment applications require a partial decision anyways?
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FinlandGirl
- Posts: 1421
- Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:43 am
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by FinlandGirl » Wed Apr 14, 2021 9:54 am
Ctvartain wrote: ↑Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:42 am
What is the difference between Permits requiring a partial decision and self employment permits? Don’t most self employment applications require a partial decision anyways?
Different permits, and different agencies giving this permission based on different rules.