Permits

A Residence Permit for Non-EU Citizens

A non-EU citizen, who is granted admission to study for more than three months, needs to apply for their first residence permit before arriving in Finland at the Finnish diplomatic mission in their country of origin or another country where the applicant is legally resident. You should submit the residence permit application as soon as you have received confirmation of your place of study.

Students’ Income

The Finnish government does not usually fund the stay of international students in Finland. Hence, the applicant must show that his or her income is secured either with a scholarship, a grant or other funds with which the student can support him or herself during the academic year. Students must be able to prove that they have at their disposal at least EUR 560 per month or EUR 6 720 per year.

Students’ Health Insurance

Any student who submits a residence permit application must attach details of their comprehensive health insurance cover to their application. Comprehensive insurance cover means insurance which includes the types of treatment and costs that are covered by municipal health care services and the health insurance system. A student must have insurance cover when applying for a residence permit as without it, a residence permit cannot be granted.

• For studies of less than two years in duration, a student must have private insurance which primarily covers the costs of medical treatment up to 100,000 Euros.
• Where the duration of the studies is two years or more, a student will usually have a home municipality in Finland and is therefore entitled to municipal health care services. In such cases, it is sufficient for the insurance to primarily cover the cost of medicines (in practice the cover extends to doctor’s fees and costs of treatment and examination), up to 30,000 Euros.

Further information on how to apply for a residence permit and on the information you are required to submit is available on the website of the Finnish Immigration Service.

EU citizens’ right to reside in Finland as a student

EU citizens and citizens of Liechtenstein and Switzerland must register their right to reside in Finland at a police department, if their stay lasts for longer than three months. Citizens of the Nordic countries are registered at a Register Office (Maistraatti).

The requirements for a student’s right to reside in Finland are as follows:

• the main reason for the stay in Finland is to study at a Finnish educational institution,
• the student has sufficient means to support his or her stay in Finland during the studies.

Please, notice that the Finnish government does not provide funding for an EU citizen to stay in Finland, nor does it cover expenses for medical care for such a person. The student must self-finance his or her stay in Finland during the study period. The student may provide proof of funding in any way he or she chooses. Students from Nordic countries do not need to provide proof of funding.

Further information on EU citizen’s right to reside in Finland and contact information of Register Office and police department is available on the website of the Finnish Immigration Service.