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INFO

Students
This information package contains information on residence permits for students
from outside the European Union (EU). This information package is useful if your work
includes providing advice on topics related to immigration and residence permits.
For the most up-to-date version of this information package, please see our website.

Students from outside the EU must apply for a residence permit if their studies
take longer than 90 days. If the student is an EU citizen, they must apply for the
registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence.
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For which residence permit should students apply? 3

Contents
For which studies can international students be
granted a residence permit? 4
First Finnish residence permit for an international student 5
What are the requirements? 6
Attachments required for the application 8
Extended permit for an international student 9
Role of the educational institution in applying
for a residence permit 10
Working and internships during studies 11
Waiting for a residence permit decision 12
Residence permit card 13
Mobility notification for international students to Finland 14
After graduation 15
Residence permit to look for work or to start a business 16
Residence permit application for person
with a degree completed in Finland 17
Additional information 18

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For which residence permit should students apply?

Residence permit for an Registering an EU citizen’s Mobility notification

international student right of residence to Finland

A student must apply for a residence permit A student must apply for a registration of A student can submit a mobility notificati-
to Finland if they: their right of right of residence if they: on if they have a valid residence permit for
• are originally from outside the EU; and • are a citizen of the European Union, Nor- studies issued by another EU Member State
• are arriving in Finland to study for longer way, Liechtenstein or Switzerland; and and:
than 90 days. • will be staying in Finland for over three • their studies are covered by a Union or
months. multilateral programme that comprises
The residence permit is granted for the full mobility measures; or
duration of the studies if the requirements Citizens of Nordic countries register their stay • their studies are covered by an
are met. with the Digital and Population Data Services agreement between two or more
Agency. higher education institutions.
Students can study in Finland for less than 90
days without a residence permit. However, With a mobility notification, students can
they may need a visa for a stay of under 90 study in Finland for a period up to 360 days.
days.

A residence permit for a researcher is

required for postgraduate studies in a
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higher education institution.
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For which studies can international students be granted a residence permit?

Students may be granted a residence permit for exchange studies or if their studies lead to a
degree or a vocational qualification. Accepted educational institutions include universities,
universities of applied sciences, upper secondary schools and vocational institutes. If the
studies do not require the student to stay in Finland and are mainly completed online through
a remote connection, the student will not be granted a residence permit for studies.

If the studies do not lead to a degree or a Apprenticeship training

vocational qualification, the student may
only be granted a residence permit for Apprenticeship training refers to education
studies for a justified reason. that mainly takes place at a workplace, in
genuine work situations. The employer and
Acceptable reasons are: the student sign a written apprenticeship
• further studies to supplement vocational agreement, which is a fixed-term employ-
skills or degrees; ment contract. on the basis of the student’s personal com-
• further training related to work done in petence development plan (PCDP), which is
the country or departure; or For apprenticeship training, a student may created with the educational institution.
• special training available in Finland (e.g. be granted a residence permit for studies if
training provided within the framework of half or less than half of the duration of their Learn more about apprenticeship training
education export). studies consist of apprenticeship training. If on the website of the Finnish National
more than half of the duration of the studies Agency for Education (in Finnish).
will consist of apprenticeship training, the
student will need a residence permit for an
employed person. The duration is calculated

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First Finnish residence permit for an international student

Prepare
1. Check if you need a 2. Check if the residence 3. Learn about the 4. Prepare the attachments
residence permit: permit application for requirements for entry you will need for your
You are coming from studies is the correct into Finland and for a residence permit
outside the EU – Yes. application for you residence permit application
You are coming from
the EU – Register your
residence
Apply

Prove your identity 5. Apply for a residence

permit in Enter Finland
7. Book an appointment 6. Pay for the application and add the attachments
for proving your identity to the application

Follow the processing of the application

8. Follow the processing 9. If necessary, add more Receive the decision
of the application in Enter information to your 10. Receive the decision 11. Receive your residence
Finland and by using the application in Enter Finland in Enter Finland permit card
Kamu chatbot

Prepare to live in Finland

14. Apply for an extended permit 13. Check how much 12. If necessary, book an
before your first permit expires you can work during appointment at the Digital
+ Any family member moving to your studies and Population Data Services
Finland with you should apply for Agency and apply for a
a residence permit personal identity code as
well as for registration of
5 your address and family ties
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What are the requirements?

Students can be granted a residence permit if the fulfil the requirements listed in this
section. The residence permit can be granted for the full duration of the studies.

1. The student must have a study 2. The student must have

place and they must have paid sufficient financial resources
any tuition fees for living in Finland

A student may be granted a residence The student needs to have EUR 800 per their bank account when they submit the
permit in Finland if: month at their disposal for living in Finland. application.
• they have been accepted to study at • If the student is applying for a permit for a
a higher education institution or other year or longer, they need to have at least If the educational institution supports the
educational institution located in Finland EUR 9,600 in their bank account when student’s residence in Finland, they may not
and their studies will lead to a degree they submit the application. Example: A need EUR 560 per month
or a vocational qualification; student is arriving in Finland for five years • If the educational institution provides free
• they participate in an exchange to study for a degree. For the application, accommodation for the student, the stu-
programme between educational it is sufficient if the student has EUR 9,600 dent needs to have EUR 400 per month at
institutions or some other exchange in their bank account. their disposal.
programme. • If the student is applying for a permit for • If the educational institution provides free
• the fees charged by the higher educa- less than a year, they need to have EUR accommodation and free meals for the
tion institution have been paid. 800 per month in their bank account. Ex- student, the student needs to have EUR
. ample: A student is arriving in Finland for 270 per month at their disposal.
Learn more about study places five months to study for a degree. In this
case, the student must have EUR 4,000 in Learn more about the income requirement

Learn more about tuition fees

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3. The student must have • If the student’s studies in Finland take at

health insurance least two years, their insurance must
cover pharmaceutical expenses up to
In order to get a residence permit, the stu- EUR 40,000.
dent must take out private insurance that
will cover their medical and pharmaceutical The insurance must be valid when the
expenses. The insurance excess may not be student arrives in Finland.
more than EUR 300.
If the student has a Kela card, a European
There cannot be any restrictions on the Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or a UK Global
validity of the insurance. It must be valid Health Insurance Card (GHIC), they do not
throughout the student’s entire stay in Fin- need to take out insurance. The card must Learn more about insurance
land. This means that the insurance cannot be valid throughout their entire stay in
be a regular travel insurance that is only valid Finland.
during trips that last a maximum of 90 days.
• If the student’s studies in Finland take
longer than a year, their insurance must
be valid without a break for at least one
year. The insurance must cover medical
expenses up to EUR 120,000.

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Attachments required for the application

In the application, the student must add some of the following attachments, depending
on their situation. The purpose of the attachments is to prove that the student meets the
requirements set out in the application. The purpose of the general attachments is to
prove that the student meets the general requirements for entry into the country.

General attachments: Application-specific attachments If the student is a minor, they must also add
• a valid passport (presented by the • certificate of acceptance or attendance to the application:
student when they submit the application) from a Finnish educational institution • a birth certificate
• Passport photo complying with the • documentation of income. For example, • a guardian’s consent for moving to
photo guidelines issued by the police, bank statements covering the past three Finland
or a photograph retrieval code received months.
from a photo shop • certificate of insurance
• a colour copy of the information page • documentation on paid tuition fee
of the passport and any other pages or scholarship
containing markings • previous degree certificates (not required
• an account of legal residence in the from degree students and exchange
country where the student submits the students)
application • potential certificates of employment
• form MP_1 (if the student is already in (not required from degree students and
Finland and applies for their first residence exchange students)
permit)

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Extended permit for an international student

If the student does not graduate in the

expected time, they may be granted an
extended permit to finish their studies. The
student must provide documentation of the
duration of the remaining studies so that they
can be granted an extended permit for the
duration of the remaining right to study. The
student may also apply for a shorter permit.

The student must attach to their application Requirements Right to work

documentation of the reasons why they The requirements for being granted the If the student submits their application late,
have not made enough progress in their permit are otherwise the same as for the first they may not work until a new residence
studies. If the student is writing a thesis, for residence permit for studies, but the student permit is granted.
example, they can attach a statement from may use their earned income for meeting
their supervisor. the income requirement. They can prove
that they meet the income requirement by
attaching an employment agreement and
a pay statement from the past three months
to their application.

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Role of the educational institution in applying for a residence permit

If a student arrives in Finland for an educa- The Finnish Immigration Service uses the Inquiries about processing times
tional programme including mobility mea- information in the Koski data resource when
sures in line with the act applicable to the checking the progress of the studies, for ex- Information on residence permit applica-
student (719/2018), such as a double degree ample. tions is mostly provided exclusively to the
programme, we recommend including a applicant. The easiest way for the applicant
mention of such a programme in the ac- to monitor the status of their application is
ceptance letter. In that case, the name of Information on students in in the Enter Finland service. The applicant
the programme is marked on the student’s educational institutions reported may also receive automated messages on
residence permit card. to the Finnish Immigration Service the status of their application. The educa-
tional institution may receive information on
We also recommend including our customer We recommend delivering to the Finnish a residence permit application in writing by
instructions in the acceptance letter. Immigration Service lists of the students who sending e-mail to opiskelijat.luka@migri.fi.
have not started their studies.
If a student from outside the EU and the EEA
has a residence permit in another Member The notifications can be sent to:
State, they may travel to Finland if they are migri@migri.fi.
studying in an educational programme
including mobility measures. For more infor-
mation, see the instructions for submitting
a mobility notification.

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Working and internships during studies

30
in average
A student who has been granted a resi-
dence permit for studies is allowed to work
in paid employment for a maximum of 30
hours per week. The weekly working hours
may be exceeded in some weeks as long
as the average by the end of the year is h / week
30 hours per week. Students cannot work
without restrictions during holidays or at the
times when the educational institution offers
no instruction. The 30-hour weekly limit
applies to the entire year.

A student is allowed to engage in employ-

ment without restrictions if the employment
consists of practical training or diploma work
as part of a degree. In other words, practi-
cal training or diploma work is not included
in the 30-hour weekly limit.

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Waiting for a residence permit decision

See the application pages for the average When there are changes in the Learn more on the website of the
processing times of different application processing of the application, Finnish Immigration Service:
types. The processing time varies based the Finnish Immigration Service
on the amount of additional information sends automated messages to
required for the application. The processing When do we start counting
the applicant the processing time?
time may be longer if:
• we need to ask the employed person for See the website of the Finnish Immigration
further information; or Service for information on when messages
• the employed person has not filled in the are sent to the applicant. What affects the processing time?
application sufficiently.

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Residence permit card

If a student is granted a residence permit, they will receive a residence permit card.
Where the student’s residence permit card is sent depends on where they submitted
their residence permit application.

If they submitted their application in Finland: If they submitted their application outside Finland:
Once a decision has been issued, the card will be sent to The card will be delivered via the Finnish embassy
their nearest DB Schenker service point within two weeks. DB
Schenker will send a notification on how and where the card Learn more on the Residence permit card page
can be collected.

Renewal of residence permit card If a student renews their card in Enter Please note! It is important that the student
Finland, they may not need to visit a updates the login method of their existing ac-
A residence permit card is valid for up to five service point and can save time count where they applied for their previous
years. This is due to the fact that the card’s If a student renews their card in Enter Fin- permit instead of creating a new account.
chip contains biometric identifiers that ex- land, they may not need to visit a service After submitting the application, Enter Fin-
pire in five years. You can only renew your point. To avoid a visit, the student must log land will tell the student whether they need
residence permit card in Finland. on to their existing Enter Finland account to visit a service point. Learn more about the
using Finnish online banking credentials, for options of renewing the card on the Renewal
example, add an electronic passport photo of residence permit card page. Learn more
retrieval code to the application and pay about using online banking credentials to log
for the application before submitting it. in to Enter Finland on the Identification page.

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Mobility notification for international students to Finland

360
If a student has a valid residence permit for
studies issued by another EU Member State
and if their studies are covered by

days
• a Union programme that comprises
mobility measures or
• multilateral programme that
comprises mobility measures or
• an agreement between two or more
higher education institutions,
they have the right to carry out part of their
studies in Finland.

With a mobility notification, students can

study in Finland for a period up to 360 days.

If the student’s studies are not covered by

a programme or an agreement mentioned
above or if they want to study in Finland for
more than 360 days, they must apply for a
residence permit in Finland.

Learn more about a mobility notification

to Finland.
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 After graduation
A residence permit to look for work or to start a business and
a residence permit for person with a degree completed in Finland

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After graduation

2
max.
If a student has completed a degree in
Finland, they can apply for:
• a residence permit to look for work or to
start a business, if they are not yet
employed
• a residence permit for person with a
years
degree completed in Finland if they
are employed.

Requirements
Residence permit to look for work
1. The student must have or have had a residence permit for studies or
or to start a business
a residence permit for a researcher.
2. They must have studied and completed a degree in Finland.
After graduation, students may apply for
3. They must not have found a job.
a residence permit for work or to start a
4. The student has sufficient financial resources for living in Finland
business if they are not yet employed. The
• The student needs to have at least EUR 800 per month at their disposal to pay for
permit can be applied for within five years
housing, meals and other expenses. They must have sufficient funds for the period of
of the expiration of the student permit. The
time for which they are applying for a permit. For example, if the student is applying
permit can be granted for up to two years.
for a permit for two years, they must have EUR 19,200 at their disposal.

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Residence permit application for person with a degree completed in Finland

After graduation, a student can apply for a Requirements

residence permit for person with a degree 1. They must have studied and completed
completed in Finland if they already have a degree in Finland.
a job. Even if the student has left Finland 2. They must have a signed employment
after graduation and has graduated several contract or a binding job offer.
years ago, the degree makes them eligible 3. They must receive a sufficient salary for
for a work-based residence permit. There their work: Check the sum on our website.
are no time limitations between graduating
and applying for a work-based permit.

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Additional information

Residence permit for international students Role of the educational institution in applying for a residence permit

EU registration of students Residence permit for a researcher Student’s family members

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