Checklist for students applying for their first residence permit

Apply for a residence permit online as soon as you have received confirmation that you have been accepted as a student at a Finnish educational institution. You must to have a study place in order to apply for a residence permit for studying.

• If you need to pay a tuition fee before arriving in Finland, pay the fee and attach documentation of the paid fee to your residence permit application.
• Before filling in the application form, make sure that you have all the attachments mentioned in the instructions.
• After sending the application, visit a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) in your home country or in a country where you are legally residing.
• Bring a passport photo with you to the embassy or consulate. At the embassy or consulate you will also have to give your fingerprints and prove your identity.

Filling in the application form online

Create a user account in the e-service and fill out the application form for a residence permit for studies.

• Enter your name and your date and place of birth in the application form exactly as they are in your passport.
• Remember to include all the necessary attachments.
• Contact a Finnish mission (embassy or consulate) for an appointment to have your fingerprints taken.
• Remember to bring a passport photo and your passport with you to the embassy or consulate.
• Remember to indicate in the application form the day you are planning to arrive in Finland.

You can also submit your application on paper if necessary

To submit a paper application, fill out the form OLE_OPI.

• Make sure that you have all the necessary attachments.
• Do not add any attachments to the application other than those requested.
• Remember to indicate in the application form the day you are planning to arrive in Finland.
• Contact a Finnish embassy or consulate for an appointment to hand in the application and have your fingerprints taken.
• Remember to bring a passport photo, the original attachments and your passport with you to the embassy.

All applicants must give their fingerprints at an embassy

All residence permit applicants must have their fingerprints taken at a Finnish embassy or consulate, also when the application has been submitted online.

The application cannot be processed until you have visited the embassy and had your fingerprints taken. Your fingerprints must be taken at a Finnish embassy or consulate. Embassies or consulates of other countries cannot take your fingerprints.

Your health insurance and passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Finland

If your studies last one year or more, both your insurance and your passport must be valid for at least one year from the date you arrive in Finland. If your studies last less than one year, your insurance and passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Finland.

More information on insurance.

You must have secure means of support

For a one-year residence permit, you must have at least 6,720 euros available for your use. For studies lasting less than one year, you need at least 560 euros per month.

You must either have the required sum in your own bank account or present a certificate showing that you have received a scholarship or grant from an official body, such as a state, an educational institution or an organisation. Sponsorship guarantees or bank statements from private persons, such as relatives, friends or employers, will not be accepted.

Processing the application

You can follow the status of your online application in the e-service Enter Finland.

All applications are processed in the order they are submitted. Contacting the Finnish Immigration Service by e-mail or telephone will not speed up the processing. Please note that if you have submitted your application in paper format to an embassy or consulate, it may take several weeks for the application to reach the Finnish Immigration Service.

Information on the processing queue for residence permit applications by students can be found on the website of the Finnish Immigration Service. You can also follow our updates on Twitter.

If you are granted a residence permit, you will receive a residence permit card. It takes a few weeks to manufacture and post the card. The Finnish Immigration Service or the Finnish missions cannot speed up the delivery of the residence permit card.