How to open a toiminimi in Finland as a foreigner: step by step

Steps to your own toiminimi

1. 1Migri

   Check what your residence permit allows

   You do not need a separate permit for a toiminimi. Migri says it plainly: with a valid residence permit you can work as an entrepreneur, a freelancer or a light entrepreneur (kevytyrittäjä), whatever grounds the permit was granted on. There is no separate residence permit for freelancers or light entrepreneurs at all.

   If you want the business itself to be your grounds for living in Finland, that is what the residence permit for an entrepreneur is for.

   • Employment or specialist permit: stay employed and keep doing the work the permit was issued for
   • Studies or research: your studies or research must progress
   • Family: the family relationship the permit is based on must continue
   • International or temporary protection: you may start a business
   • Apply for an extension before your permit expires: if you apply late, your right to run the business may be interrupted
   migri.fi – business activities of residence permit holders →
2. 2Työllisyysalue

   Want the start-up grant? Apply before you register

   The start-up grant (starttiraha) is EUR 37.21 a day in 2026, around EUR 800 a month before tax. The first period is six months, with up to six more as an extension. Your municipal employment area (työllisyysalue) decides out of its own budget, and there is no right to the grant even if you meet every condition.

   The grant is refused if your main business activity began before the application reached the employment authority. Suomi.fi advises even more caution: do not register the business until you have the decision. So the order is application, decision, then the toiminimi.

   • Call your employment area first and ask whether there is budget right now
   • The application needs a business plan, a profitability calculation and a financing plan; Uusyrityskeskus helps with them free of charge
   • The grant is taxable and counts towards your advance tax
   • Not applying for the grant? Go straight to the next step
   Työmarkkinatori – starttiraha →
3. 3DVV / Suomi.fi

   Get your identity code and sign-in credentials ready

   To apply online you need a Finnish personal identity code (henkilötunnus) and a Suomi.fi identification method: online banking credentials (pankkitunnukset) or a mobile certificate (mobiilivarmenne). Most people receive the identity code with a positive residence permit decision. If you do not have one, you can ask DVV to register you after you arrive.

   You can also sign in to OmaVero with an electronic identity from another EU country (eIDAS). If online filing is out of reach altogether, there is the paper form Y3: it has to be filled in in Finnish or Swedish, and the Business ID appears in the YTJ search within three days.

   • Only a Finnish bank issues online banking credentials, and only to a customer with an identity code
   • A mobile certificate comes from your phone operator, but activating it often requires banking credentials
   • The YTJ online service is in Finnish and Swedish only
   • You will need the same credentials for a Holvi account and for OmaVero, so get them early
   migri.fi – personal identity code with a residence permit →
4. 4Vero / PRH

   Register your toiminimi in OmaVero

   A toiminimi is opened directly in OmaVero, the Tax Administration’s e-service. You give the line of business, the bookkeeping method, the financial year and the start date, and when you file electronically the Business ID arrives at once. In the same application you can join the prepayment register, the VAT register and the employer register. Those registrations take about three weeks.

   For a toiminimi the PRH trade register is optional. An entry costs EUR 75 and protects the business name. It is filed in YTJ, and you can add it later with a separate notification. It is mandatory if you live permanently outside the EEA, and then you also need a permit from PRH.

   • Prepayment register: without it, clients must withhold tax from your invoices, so for work with businesses you practically need it
   • VAT: registration is mandatory once turnover exceeds EUR 20,000 in a calendar year; below that it is voluntary
   • The employer register is only needed if you pay wages regularly
   • Banks usually ask for a recent trade register extract. If you registered in OmaVero only, ask the bank in advance whether your YTJ details will do
   • When registering you can choose whether your address is published on ytj.fi
   vero.fi – start-up notification →
5. 5Bank or payment institution

   Open an account for the business, and allow time for it

   The law does not require a separate account for a toiminimi, but Suomi.fi recommends one: it makes it easier to tell private payments from business ones. Since October 2025 online banks also check the payee’s name against the account holder. If your invoice carries the business name but the account is in your own name, the payer sees a warning.

   A bank in Finland is not obliged to open an account for a business: basic banking services are guaranteed only to private individuals. Banks usually ask for a trade register extract, a description of the business, an estimate of payment volumes and an identity document. The online alternative is Holvi, a Finnish payment institution (maksulaitos). It opens accounts only for businesses that are already registered, and you identify yourself with Finnish banking credentials or a mobile certificate.

   • Apply as soon as you are registered: this is the least predictable step
   • A toiminimi has no separate account for tax refunds: the Tax Administration holds one account number for you
   • The business account comparison calculator shows what the banks and Holvi cost for your number of payments
   suomi.fi – opening a bank account for a company →
7. 6Työeläkeyhtiö

   Take out YEL once your income reaches the threshold

   The self-employed pension insurance YEL is mandatory when the activity lasts at least four continuous months and your work income (työtulo) is at least EUR 9,423.09 a year. It must be taken out within six months of starting. The 2026 contribution is 24.40 per cent of työtulo, and a first-time entrepreneur gets a 22 per cent discount for 48 months.

   Työtulo is neither turnover nor profit but the value of your work. Not only your pension but also sickness, parental and unemployment benefits are calculated from it, so a work income set too low cuts all of that protection at once.

   • At the minimum työtulo with the discount, the contribution is about EUR 149 a month
   • The unemployment fund for the self-employed requires a työtulo of at least EUR 15,481 a year
   • The pension company recommends a työtulo with a range of plus or minus 30 per cent
   tyoelake.fi – when do I need YEL insurance →
8. 7Vero

   Estimate your profit for the advance tax

   A toiminimi pays its tax in advance. You give the estimate of the year’s profit yourself in OmaVero, because a new business has no income history. The advance tax decision is based on it, and the payments fall due on the 23rd of the month. The calculation includes all your income for the year, wages from employment and the start-up grant included.

   You can change the estimate as often as you like, in either direction. If the advance turns out too small, pay the difference as an additional prepayment (lisäennakko) rather than waiting for the final tax.

   • Revise the estimate as soon as reality diverges from the plan
   • The minimum additional prepayment for an individual is EUR 170
   vero.fi – tax prepayment →
9. 8Vero

   Watch the VAT threshold: EUR 20,000 a year

   Registering for VAT is mandatory once turnover in a calendar year exceeds EUR 20,000. Both the current and the previous year count, and the obligation starts on the date the threshold is crossed, not retroactively from the start of the year. Below the threshold, registration is voluntary.

   The 2026 rates are 25.5 per cent in general and 13.5 and 10 per cent reduced. A VAT-registered business gives the buyer a receipt or an invoice with the VAT shown separately.

   • The small-business relief (alarajahuojennus) was abolished on 1 January 2025: do not count on it
   • The threshold is about turnover, not profit
   vero.fi – how to register for VAT →
10. 9Vero

    Keep the books from day one

    The duty to keep accounts applies to every business, a toiminimi included. Keep receipts and invoices, and keep business income and costs apart from your private money: this is where a separate account pays off.

    An accounting firm is not mandatory. A small toiminimi can keep its books in software if there are few documents and the transactions are simple.

    • You state the bookkeeping method and the financial year already in the OmaVero application
    • Taxes, returns and deadlines are the entrepreneur’s own responsibility
    vero.fi – checklist for new entrepreneurs (in Finnish) →

While the Finnish account is pending: a European option

A Finnish bank is slow to open a business account and may refuse, while you already have first payments to make and receive.

A European fintech account opens online, gives you a European IBAN and a card, and covers the first months.

Related calculators

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner open a toiminimi in Finland?

Yes. If you live in Finland on a residence permit, you need no separate permit: Migri allows you to run a business on a permit granted on any grounds, as long as you keep meeting its conditions. A permit from PRH is needed only by someone living permanently outside the EEA.

Can I open a toiminimi on a work-based residence permit?

Yes, but the employment condition stays: you must remain employed and keep doing the work the permit was issued for. The business runs alongside the job, not instead of it.

Can a student open a toiminimi?

Yes. Migri sets one condition: your studies must progress. The other steps are the same as for everyone: OmaVero, YEL once your income reaches the threshold, and taxes.

How much does it cost to open a toiminimi?

The only fee is for the PRH trade register: EUR 75 in 2026. For most sole traders the register is optional, and registering in OmaVero only involves no such fee. After that, the costs depend on the business: YEL once your työtulo reaches the threshold, accounting and the account.

Does a toiminimi have to be registered in the trade register?

As a rule, no: since 1 June 2023 it is optional for a sole trader. An entry is required if you live permanently outside the EEA, or if the business is so large that it must file financial statements with the register. It costs EUR 75 and protects the business name, and banks usually ask for a register extract when you open an account.

Can I open a toiminimi without Finnish online banking credentials?

Online you need a Finnish personal identity code and Suomi.fi identification: banking credentials or a mobile certificate. With an electronic identity from another EU country you can sign in to OmaVero. Without these, there is the paper form Y3 in Finnish or Swedish. For a Holvi account, though, you will need the credentials anyway.

Does a toiminimi need a separate bank account?

The law does not require one, but it is worth opening: bookkeeping is easier. Some banks’ terms also forbid using a personal account for business, and the payee check warns the payer when the invoice carries the business name but the account is in your own name.

When does a toiminimi have to pay YEL?

When the activity lasts at least four continuous months and your työtulo is at least EUR 9,423.09 a year. The insurance must be taken out within six months of starting. The 2026 contribution is 24.40 per cent, with a 22 per cent discount for 48 months for a first-time entrepreneur.

How is a toiminimi different from light entrepreneurship (kevytyrittäjä)?

A light entrepreneur does not set up a business of their own: an invoicing service (laskutuspalvelu) bills the clients and handles the money. A toiminimi has its own Business ID, and you do the accounting, taxes and invoicing yourself. There is no separate residence permit for either.

At what turnover does a toiminimi pay VAT?

From EUR 20,000 in a calendar year. The obligation starts on the date the threshold is crossed, not retroactively. Below the threshold, registration is voluntary.