A permit to non-EU and non-EEA buyers to buy real estate
Buyers from outside the EU and EEA will need a permit to buy property in Finland.
A permit must be acquired when one of the following parties buys a real estate:
- A private individual who is not a national of a state belonging to the European Union or the European Economic Area (EEA). Note! People with dual nationality do not need to obtain a permit if one of the nationalities is in an EU or EEA country.
- A company or other entity domiciled outside the EU and the EEA.
- A company or other entity domiciled in the EU or the EEA, but in which a private individual or entity referred to in paragraph 1 or 2 has ownership of at least 10% or equivalent effective influence in the entity.
When assessing ownership or influence, separate owners are not counted together. Therefore, the fact that a total of at least 10% of an entity's ownership is outside the EU and the EEA does not necessarily result in an obligation to apply for a permit. The decisive factor is whether one of the individual parties has a shareholding or an equivalent de facto influence.
More detailed provisions on the calculation of influence are laid down Act on Transfers of Real Estate Requiring Special Permission.
Note! The nationality or domicile of the seller or other supplier of the real estate does not affect the need for a permit.
Exceptions to permit requirements:
- spouses or cohabiting partners purchase a property together, one of whom has the citizenship of another EU Member State or EEA country
- the property is located on leased plot or a part of a housing company is being traded
- the seller/party handing over the property is a relative (own parents, child, or spouse or cohabiting partner).
How is a permit to buy real estate acquired?
(1) Filling in the permit application form
The permit application shall indicate for example the parties of the transaction and the intended use of the real estate. Among the application, a copy of the passport and a sales agreement, draft of the sales agreement or an accepted offer for purchase, must be submitted.
The permit is applied for by the buyer of the real estate or an agent authorized by the buyer. If the applicant is a company or other equivalent legal entity, information on the applicants ownership structure and beneficial owners must be submitted.
Applications can be submitted in Finnish, Swedish or English.
The permit application forms are available on the Application Forms page.
(2) Sending the permit application
The permit applications are sent either by e-mail to kirjaamo.plm@gov.fi or by post to address
Ministry of Defence, PO BOX 31, 00131 Helsinki, Finland
Applications cannot be brought in person to the Ministry.
The Ministry of Defence is also entitled, if necessary, to request further information from the permit applicant.
(3) Processing of the application and processing fee
A permit application is subject to a processing fee of 170 €, which shall be paid in advance of the processing. The fee is charged irrespective of the outcome of the application process and will not be refunded even if a permit is refused. The invoice is sent to the applicant’s e-mail, once the application has been received in the Ministry of Defence.
The applications are processed on a case-by-case basis. The processing time varies from a few weeks to a few months.
The decision shall be issued in the official languages; Finnish or Swedish.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The need to apply for the permit is based on applicant’s nationality. Persons without the nationality of an EU/EEA-country must apply for the permit, even if they have a permanent residence permit in Finland or in any other EU/EEA-country.
Permit requirements apply throughout Finland, with the exception of the Åland Islands. Åland is governed by the Åland Islands' own land acquisition legislation.
The permit is real estate-specific, i.e. a separate permit must be applied for each real estate that is bought.
A refusal to grant a permit is also real estate-specific and does not necessarily prevent the same person or entity from buying another real estate in Finland.
If the real estate transaction has been confirmed despite a refusal of a permit or before the application was turned down, the buyer shall sell or otherwise dispose of the real estate within six months. The deadline will be calculated from the date on which the refusal of authorisation entered into force. If the buyer does not relinquish the real estate within six months, the authorities shall sell the real estate by means of an expropriation or other similar method.
An appeal against a decision may be made to an administrative court.
The Ministry of Defence processes permit applications submitted by private individuals, companies and organisations confidentially. However, documents submitted to an authority for processing of a matter are, as a rule, public unless they contain information that must be kept secret under the Act on the Openness of Government activities (621/1999), such as trade secrets.
Upon the requests for information from the media, the Ministry of Defence presents the decision, the application form and the contract of sale (or a draft of it) of the companies transactions that have materialised. Unrealised transactions are kept completely secret due to a trade intent, and application documents of these will not be presented to the party submitting the request for information.
If the processing of a company’s matter requires information that contains trade secrets (such as a precise use of the real estate or the ownership structure), a separate, clear mention of this is requested. In addition, please submit this information in a separate attachment. Please also define and explain which information in the application documents contains trade secrets even after the completion of the transaction.
https://tem.fi/en/acquisitions
- The buyer is a Finnish private individual. A permit is not required.
- The buyer is a Norwegian private individual. A permit is not required.
- The buyer is an Indian private individual. A permit is required.
- If the property is bought together with a person who holds EU/ EEA nationality and the person is a common-law spouse, husband or wife or registered partner, no permit is needed.
- The buyer is a Finnish limited liability company wholly owned in the EEA. A permit is not required.
- The buyer is a German limited liability company, 15% of whose shares are controlled by one Canadian limited liability company and 85% are owned by a German party. A permit is required.
- The buyer is a German limited liability company, 8% of whose shares are controlled by one Canadian limited liability company, 7% controlled by a Chinese limited liability company and the remaining 85% owned by a German party. Foreign holdings are not counted together and no individual entity outside the EU or the EEA has at least 10% ownership of the company within the meaning of the Act. A permit is not required.
Note! However, group structures and artificial arrangements are taken into account, and the obligation to apply for a permit cannot therefore be circumvented by cutting ownership to several formally separate owners or by chaining ownership. A permit is always required if an individual entity outside the EU and the EEA has an effective influence of 10% ownership or equivalent to it in the entity buying the real estate.
The Ministry of Defence may also require that a permit is applied for if it is evident that the real estate has been bought on behalf of another person in order to circumvent the obligation to apply for a licence.
- Act on Transfers of Real Estate Requiring Special Permission
- Government Decree on the duty to approve certain property acquisitions
- Act on the Redemption of Immovable Property and Special Rights to Ensure National Security
- Act amending the Land Use and Building Act
- Act on amending Chapter 12, section 2 of the land code
- Act on amending section 6 of the Act on Cooperation with Notaries.
- Act amending section 6 of the Act on the Land Information System and Related Information Service
- Act amending the Act on the Official Purchase Price Register