Permit to persons living permanently outside the EEA

If you have no permanent place of residence within the European Economic Area (EEA), you need a permit from the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) to operate as a private trader in Finland. In practice, we have granted permits to persons who live permanently in Switzerland. This practice is based on the Lugano Convention. We will not assess or resolve any permit matter before processing it.

Your citizenship does not determine whether you need a permit or not.

Find out more about the following:

• how a permanent place of residence in Finland is determined: Ask Digital and population data service agency (DVV).Open link in a new tab
• whether you must apply for an entrepreneur’s or worker’s residence permit: Ask the Finnish Immigration Service.Open link in a new tab
• which countries belong to the European Economic Area: Read more about the EEA countries in FinnishOpen link in a new tab or in Swedish.
  

How to apply

You need to get a permit from the PRH before you can file a private trader’s start-up notification.

Apply for a permit in an informal letter to the PRH, written either in Finnish or in Swedish .

Provide the following information in your application:

• Your name, citizenship, place of residence, and country where your place of residence is located.
• Indicate that you are applying for a permit to operate as a private trader in Finland and explain why the PRH should grant it.
• Company name, and Finnish Business ID (if you already have one).

Also enter the name of any representative or other contact person. The contact details in the application are needed for mailing the decision and invoice. The decision and the invoice will be sent by post. Enter the contact details of the contact person using the personal data form. Open: Personal data form (pdf, 197.3 kt). The contact details of the contact person are not public in applications initiated on or after 1 January 2025.

Remember to date your application. The application must be signed by the person applying for a private trader’s permit, or by a person authorised by them.

If an authorised person signs the application, enclose the original general power of attorney or a certified copy of a special power of attorney.

Enclosures

If the applicant does not have a Finnish personal identity code, enclose a copy of their passport or other identification document with the application.

Send your application by post to:

Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH)
Trade Register
FI-00091 PRH, FINLAND

Application fee

The application fee is 50 euros. An invoicing charge of 6,5 euros will be added to the fee. We charge the fees afterwards.

Representative in Finland

The trader must have a representative who is entitled to receive summons and other notifications on behalf of the trader. If the PRH has granted you a permit to operate as a private trader in Finland, file a notification of your representative with the Trade Register. The representative must have a permanent place of residence in Finland.

No separate representative needs to be appointed and registered if the private trader is resident within the EEA.

What to do with the permit

Once you have the permit, enclose a certified copy of the PRH’s permit decision with your start-up notification.