Business in Finland

foreigner serve as a partner in a general partnership or limited partnership?

At least one of the partners in a general partnership or of general partners in a limited partnership has to have a place of residence or, if the partner is a legal person, the registered office in the EEA. Otherwise, you must apply for a permit from the PRH for all partners that are not from the EEA.

The silent partners of a limited partnership are not required to have a place of residence or a registered office in the EEA. Citizenship is in other words not a decisive factor.

Representative in Finland
A partnership must have a representative who is entitled to receive summons and other notifications on behalf of the partnership. The representative must have a place of residence in Finland and is entered in the Trade Register. If the partnership has a partner (in a limited partnership a general partner), a managing director, or a holder of procuration resident in the EEA, no separate representative is needed. The Finnish Act on the Right to Carry on a Trade sets out the provisions on the notification of representatives to the Trade Register.

PERMITS:

Apply for a permit using a written free-form application either in Finnish or in Swedish. You can apply for a permit for the members of the board of directors and the managing director in the same application. An organisation must always apply for a permit using a written free-form application either in Finnish or in Swedish.

The application must include the following:

The name, citizenship and place of residence of the applicant and the country in which the place of residence is located. If the applicant is an organisation, its name and registered office and the country in which the registered office is located.
The company name and the business ID must also be indicated if the company already has one.
The permit(s) applied for (for example a permit to act as a founder or a member of the board of directors of a limited liability company).
The postal address for sending the decision and other contact details, such as the phone number, of the applicant or his or her representative. We will send you the decision and the invoice by mail.

The application fee is 120 euros for each permit. The fee must be paid after the PRH's decision and even if the permit has been denied. If the PRH sends both the decision and the invoice to you by mail, there will be an additional charge of 6.50 euros for invoicing.

Please submit a certified copy of the PRH's decision to grant the permit together with your notification.

Enclosures

Permit for a member of the board of directors or for a managing director in a limited liability company

Required enclosures when you establish a company:

Certified copies of the memorandum of association and the articles of association of the company that is being formed.
If a permit is applied for the managing director, a copy of the minutes of the board of directors must be enclosed.
If the applicant does not have a Finnish personal identity code, submit a photocopy of his or her passport.
If a document in a foreign language is enclosed, a translation into Finnish or Swedish is required.

Required enclosures when changes have taken place in an existing company (board of directors or managing director)

A certified copy of the minutes of the meeting in which the election was made. Decisions regarding the election of the board of directors are usually taken by the general meeting, whereas the managing director is in regular companies elected by the board of directors.
If the applicant does not have a Finnish personal identity code, submit a photocopy of his or her passport.
If a document in a foreign language is enclosed, a translation into Finnish or Swedish is required.

Permit for a partner in a general or limited partnership

When establishing a partnership, a certified copy of the partnership agreement.
If you apply for a permit when a partner has changed, an agreement concerning the change of the partnership agreement.
If the applicant does not have a Finnish personal identity code, submit a photocopy of his or her passport
If the applicant is an organisation, submit an extract from the register in which the organisation has been entered and a copy of the articles of association or rules of the organisation
If a document in a foreign language is enclosed, a translation into Finnish or Swedish is required.

Permit for a private trader
If the applicant does not have a Finnish personal identity code, submit a certified copy of his or her passport together with the application.

Permit for a branch

See further instructions

Permit procedure

The following examples give a general idea of the permit procedure. Please remember however that an application will not be assessed and decided until during the actual processing.

The PRH has granted a permit to a branch of a foreign trader if the parent body is duly registered in its home country. For other company forms, the granting procedure has, on the other hand, been quite strict.

Private traders: The PRH has granted a permit to persons who live permanently in a country that has acceded to the Lugano Convention. In practice, this means persons who live permanently in Switzerland.
Partners of general partnerships and general partners of limited partnerships: The PRH has granted a permit to persons who live permanently in a country that has acceded to the Lugano Convention. In practice, this means persons who live permanently in Switzerland. When you apply for a permit for a legal person to be a partner, it is relevant in which country the legal person has its registered office (the municipality where the operations are managed).
Ordinary members of the board of directors of a limited liability company: The PRH has granted a permit to persons who live permanently in a country that has acceded to the Lugano Convention. In practice, this means persons who live permanently in Switzerland. The PRH has also granted a permit to US citizens who live permanently in the United States. This is based on a Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Consular Rights between Finland and the United States.
Managing director of a limited liability company: The PRH has granted a permit if at least one person who lives permanently in the European Economic Area is an ordinary member of the board of directors. The PRH has also granted a permit to US citizens who live permanently in the United States.