EU and EEA buyers
If you are a citizen of the EU or the EEA (including Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein), you buy a lakeside cottage on the same terms as a Finn. No Ministry of Defence permit. Dual nationality counts: one EU or EEA passport is enough.
Non-EU buyers and the defence permit
If you are outside the EU and EEA, a cottage sold with its own plot is real estate (kiinteistö). You need a permit from the Finnish Ministry of Defence. The fee is €210 online per property identifier (€280 if invoiced). It is not refunded if you cancel or if the permit is refused.
Apply as early as you have the property identified — and no later than two months after the deed. Typical time is one to three months. The law is national security, not a tourist tax. Ordinary recreational cottages are still often approved; they are not automatic. Purchases by nationals of states waging a war of aggression can be blocked (applied to Russia and Belarus).
The permit does not apply to housing-company shares (osake) — most city flats, many terraced houses, some cottage compounds. If the listing is shares, a non-EU buyer can usually proceed without Defence.
Source: Ministry of Defence, Finland.
Kiinteistö or osake
Kiinteistö — you own the land. Classic mökki on a lake or in the archipelago. Transfer tax 3%. Defence permit may apply.
Osake — you own shares in a company that owns the building. Transfer tax 1.5% of the debt-free price. No Defence permit for that share deal.
Oikotie and Etuovi write this in Finnish. If the advert does not make the split obvious, do not book a flight until it is written down.
What a Finnish cottage actually costs
Waterfront cottage prices vary hard by region. The national median for a waterfront mökki has sat near €90,000 in recent Land Survey figures; Uusimaa (near Helsinki) is far higher. Asking price is not year one.
- Transfer tax 3% (land) or 1.5% (shares)
- Legal / notary-style completion costs
- Defence permit €210 if you need it
- First-year heat, road, waste, insurance, property tax
The free calculator adds those lines for one asking price. It is indicative, not advice.
Ownership is not residency
A cottage does not give a residence permit, a henkilötunnus, or citizenship. You can own and visit as a tourist within the rules that apply to your passport. Do not buy as an immigration plan.
When you already have a listing
The guide ends where a URL begins. The Cottage File is a written English PDF for one Finnish listing: verdict, desk registers, the town, the shop, the ice, the path to keys. €490. No visit. No call. Walk away is a possible first page.
Not a licensed agency. Rules change — confirm current permit and tax figures with defmin.fi and vero.fi before you sign. Åland has separate acquisition rules.