Language studies matter: New rules on residence permits in Finland
The Finnish government has instituted a new Aliens Act on 1 December 2025, which involves a university degree based permanent residence permit in Finland. The new rules on residence permits will take effect in January. This will allow those who have completed a university degree in Finland to apply for permanent residence after completing 15 study credits of Finnish or Swedish language studies.
At the University of Oulu, all English-taught degree programmes already include 5 credits of Finnish, and in a couple of programmes, 10–15 credits. Almost all programmes offer 15 credits as optional studies. There is a clear Finnish language course pathway from beginner to advanced level.
Read more:
Centre for Language and Communication Studies Lingua at the University of Oulu.
Do you have questions?
If you have questions about language studies (for example, course content or registration), you can send a message to study.languages@oulu.fi
In all matters related to residence permits, please contact the Finnish Immigration Service directly.