We are permit specialists working at the Finnish Immigration Service. Ask us anything about students’ permits in Finland!

29 comments

1. Hey, I have a few questions:

   * How would Migri be checking whether or not the students meet the “means of support” now that the permits are issued for the entire duration of the study?
   * If a student is studying a 3+2 program and has completed the 3 years bachelor, can they apply for residence permit for degree completed in finland provided that they have a job?
   * If someone is on a study residence permit, and now eligible for the “residence permit for studies completed in finland”, should they apply for it as an extended permit or first permit? what would be the length of that new permit?
   * How long before of graduation one should apply for the said residence permit?

2. I’m planning to apply for first residence permit I’ve received a study place and my spouse will apply for dependent permit with me at the same time .I’m confused about sufficient fund that we need to have so . In immigration site it’s written 6720 for me and 8400 for my husband which equals to total of roughly 22lakhs Nepalese rupees. Do I need to have fees for my 2nd year with me now ? Im asking about this because during last year my brother in law went to Finland to study and when filling residence permit application we had a bit of confusion about fund required.

3. [removed]

4. firstly thank you so much for doing this AMA, I really needed one since I got accepted at a university in Finland and am so excited for that, I have a couple of questions and I would really appreciate if you can answer them.

   1- In the enterfinland website when applying it asks for an address in Finland, what address am I supposed to put since I still haven’t moved there!

   2- about the Bank statement, should I upload an E-statement or get a paper statement from the bank and scan that?

   3 – Also I got a scholarship for the tuition fees and a small grant but I still have to show some income in my bank account, my uncle is covering that for me but there are no official ways to send money directly from the US to Somalia and he is using some third-party person to do that, does it still have to show the same transaction in his bank statement as mine?

   4- The application center to prove my identity is in another country so I still have to travel there but my main phone number will not be working there and before I start the process I want to know if there is any communication via texts or calls coming from Migri to the phone number I put in the application?
   I also have a US phone number from Google voice that can be used over the internet, can I use that instead if there are any important communications from migri?

   5- also do I need to show my uncle’s bank statement or is an employment certificate sufficient enough? Since I got a scholarship and the amount he is helping me with isnt that much.

   Sorry for asking too many questions but this is a huge opportunity for me and I want to do everything right from the first time.

5. Hey! I paid my tution fee from one of my cousin brother who is currently studying at finland and on enterfinland I have uploaded the recipet and the confirmation of payment which I get from university after paying the fees.
   So my question is do I have to upload any other additional documents for clarification of paid tution fee.

   Thank you in advance😊😊

6. It’s awesome to be here.

   Land and property sales are one of the requirements Migri requested as proof or source of funds for a student applicant. Can I ask why everyone who presented these documents is currently being refused a resident permit especially in Nigeria?

   Is there something you can please let us know in this regard?

7. Hi, I am starting my Bachelor’s in August in Lahti and I’m an EU citizen (Romania). I will still be a minor for the first 2 months of my studies. Do I need a parent to stay with me the enitre time until I turn 18 or is it fine if they leave after signing the required documents for housing and all.

   Also, can I wait until I turn 18 (less than 3 months) to register for residency or should I apply right away?

8. Hi i am here on A type visa on family basis. My visa is about to expire by September also my husbands project is having uncertainty so employer is not willing to extend his visa but i am doing my vocational studies for caregiver and willing to extend my course for practical nurse. I started my studies on April and will end by next year February. Can i extend my visa based these studies and for my husband and child too.

9. Will the authorities issue the study permit if the study right is for 4 years eventhough the study programme is limited to 2 years?please clarify

10. Why is study permit not prioritised considering the resumption date of the academic session? Most courses are also research or practical based which are carried out in laboratories.

11. Good afternoon!

    I have a quick question about health insurance requirements for international students in Finland.

    I currently hold a type A residence permit that is valid until 2027. A few weeks ago I applied for a Kela card, and now I am wondering if I will need to continue purchasing private health insurance every year if I am granted the Kela card. From what I was able to find, public health coverage for international students is rather limited, but it would be awesome to save ~€200 a year by avoiding private insurance companies. Thank you!

12. My sponsor is salaried, but his payments aren’t done via bank transactions. Will the salary slips and taxation certificate be enough to validate this in my RP application?

13. hei, it’s been 3.5 months already and my application is still in waiting process. Can you please tell us that at the moment which duration’s application are being processed?

    kiitos.

14. Kindly clarify after studies (I’m applying for a master programme) for how long can we request for extention for work or further research
    Thank you

15. I would like to make sure that we have enough fund so that it won’t be the reason for our permit to be rejected. Since it’s a lot of money I’m going to take loan from different source such like friends or family and bank and so on. Is that going to effect my permit to get rejected ?

16. Hey, why are you taking too much time to give decision? It has been more than 3 months and still I didn’t get decision. I even talk to many friends, they are also waiting for months. I really don’t understand , why are you wasting the time of students? How can you play with student’s emotions? Some of the student for jan intake are still waiting for decision. Please be responsible.

17. Secondly, I will like to ask why an application that has stayed for 6 months on Enterfinland then later set to ‘in progress’ is yet to be decided on, while the ‘in progress’ has again longed for another 3 weeks.

    Why are decisions with Finland student applications of such taking time to decide?

    Again, someone who has sufficient proof of funds in his account for over 5-7 months, is this not an indicator that such a person is indeed a serious and dedicated student who is determined to study in Finland but in the end, it’s a sponsor’s document that will put the application in jeopardy.

    Should a sponsor document always affect the applicant in decision-making when it’s obvious that the student (applicant) has the funds in his possession?

18. Hello.
    If a person would come to Finland on A-Type (Researcher) Visa and will change its job from Academic to Industry with A-Type (Specialist) Visa. In addition, not having any degree from Finland.
    If due to some unpleasant circumstances, he will leave the job with A-Type (Specialist) Visa. Does he have to go back to his country, in case if he won’t find another job after leaving the previous job?

    In addition, the person will be giving the Taxes of Unemployment, Pensions et. al.

    If in case, he have to go back then why the Finnish government is taking these aforementioned taxes from the respective person? OR if a person won’t find the job and planning to go back, is the finnish government will return those forcible taxes which they have taken from him, if he can’t use those at all for his own purposes.

19. If there are two applications of a person in enter finland due to incomplete application submission in the first attempt how are they choosing the correct application in the enter finland system. Thank you

20. At the moment I am an asylum seeker in Finland (but I do not have refugee status), I am also looking for a place of study. In the announcement of the vocational school it says: for those already in Finland. Am I entitled to study in such a program?

21. If an international passport is to expire in a year and the student is going for 3 years of study, does it mean the years of his residence permit would be 1 year?

22. I intend applying together with my family. While applying for my dependants (children below 18 years), how do I link their application to mine?

23. I am student already studying and living in Finland. My spouse and kids will be applying for Residence permit to move to Finland on basis of family ties. Since I will be sponsoring them, is it acceptable by migri to show the proof of Funds in my name for the dependents application (spouse & kids) or do my spouse need to have the funds separately in her bank account.

24. Can you please tell me how I can clarify on how I will secure my income in Finland during my studies. What statement from my bank account do I need because during my first year I will use funds I have saved from a long time so I will not have any income during that time.

25. Hi Dear Immigration

    I got to know that migri is doing university favorable when giving decisions. They give priority to Haga Helia Helsinki and Porvo students and grant their visas very soon without considering other students with same applied sciences.

    Also I heard in some student groups migri is holding students with sales agreements in other universities and asking them to complete the agreement. but for Haga Helia students migri grant their RPs very soon.

    Also heard that the students from other universities they were kept hold at migri without decisions until they will complete it . thats what I got to know

    So based on the above factors which universities I choose in order to get RP easily.

26. I’m a temporary protection status in Finland, coming from Ukraine. Ukraine is not a European Union county, thus Ukrainians are obligated to pay for tuition (in English) in universities. But some universities (for example Metropolia in Helsinki) proposed grants for Ukrainians with temporary protection to fully cover tuition fees.

    Question: if I enroll, can/should or shouldn’t I change my residence status to a student one? If that will strip me of temporary protection that will mean that I will need to pay full price of the tuition?

27. Hi, I have a question about the applying to the EnterFinland. There is a question as follow:

    Q: I want the residence permit to be valid from

    : I want the residence permit to be valid to

    My concern is can I select a date after end my studies as the expirey date of my Residence permit?

    I highly appreciate your response to this.

    Thank you.

    https://preview.redd.it/6qxgsp7hu70b1.png?width=1335&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=bab73e2fdf959c857b098470e6e735cdfd31dfaa

28. Thank you for you great questions! We will end the AMA session for now. We will continue doing new AMA sessions when possible.

29. Hello Migri!
    I am graduating soon from the university and want to stay in Finland, but my permit (which is based on my studies) is ending soon. I am unemployed. Are there any residence permit type for job seekers?