Non-EU and non-EEA buyers need permission to buy real estate as of 2020

A comprehensive package of legislation will enter into force at the beginning of 2020, the key element of which is that buyers outside the EU and EEA need a permission to buy real estate in Finland. While the aim of the permission process is not to slow down or hinder foreign real estate transactions in Finland it allows the State to intervene, if necessary, in the procurement of real estate when this is considered to be a threat to national security.

With the new legislation, the Ministry of Defence will become the permission authority; it will process permission applications and make decisions on permissions in entire Finland, with the exception of the Åland Islands. Buyers from outside the EU and EEA must apply for a permission either before a real estate transaction or within two months after it. In the initial phase, a permission is applied for by using a form and later in an electronic service system.

The Ministry of Defence has compiled the key information on the reform on its website www.defmin.fi. The web pages will be complemented during this autumn as the different stages of the process become more detailed.

Inquiries: Senior Environmental Adviser Matias Warsta, Community and Environment Unit, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 450, Ministerial Adviser Anu Sallinen, tel. +358 295 140 335 and Senior Officer Perttu Wasenius, Legal Affairs, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 603.