Checklist for student residence permit applicants
Apply for your permit as soon as you have received confirmation that you have been accepted as a student at a Finnish educational institution:
- gather the necessary attachments according to the instructions
- apply for a permit electronically or submit your application with the attachments to the Finnish embassy or consulate in your home country or in the country you are legally residing in.
Electronic application
Register at https://e-services.migri.fi and fill in the application form OLE_OPI.
- Remember to include all the necessary attachments.
- Contact a Finnish embassy or consulate and arrange a meeting to have your fingerprints taken.
- Remember to bring the original attachments and your passport with you to the embassy or consulate.
- Remember to indicate the day you are planning to arrive in Finland on your application form.
Application in paper format
Carefully fill in the application form OLE_OPI.
- Gather the necessary attachments.
- Arrange a meeting with the Finnish embassy or consulate to hand in the application and have your fingerprints taken.
Before you submit the application:
- Make sure you have all the necessary attachments.
- Do not add any attachments to the application other than those requested. The Finnish Immigration Service will request additional information if necessary.
- Remember to bring the original attachments and your passport with you to the embassy or consulate.
- Remember to indicate the day you are planning to arrive in Finland on your application form.
Have your fingerprints taken at the embassy or consulate
All residence permit applicants must have their fingerprints taken at a Finnish embassy or consulate. Electronic applications must also include the applicant’s fingerprints. The application cannot be processed until you have visited the embassy or consulate and had your fingerprints taken. The fingerprints must be taken at a Finnish embassy or consulate, not that of another country.
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. You can find more information about insurance in the notice to exchange students
You must have a secure means of support
For a year-long residence permit, you must have at least EUR 6,720 available for use. For studies lasting less than one year, you need at least EUR 560 per month. You must have either the required sum in your own bank account or a certificate from an official party showing that you have received a scholarship or grant. These include scholarships from the state, an educational institution or an organisation. Sponsorship guarantees or account statements from private persons, such as relatives, friends or employers, will not be accepted.
Processing the application
It is not possible to speed up the processing or your application. If you have submitted your application in paper format to an embassy or consulate, it may take several weeks for it to arrive at the Finnish Immigration Service.
You may track the progress of the queue for student residence permits at the Finnish Immigration Service at www.migri.fi/processingtimes.
If you have applied using the electronic service, you can track the status of your application in the service.
We will provide information on our website about exceptional situations or any changes in processing times.
If the decision is positive, you will receive a residence permit card. Notification of a positive residence permit decision cannot be given immediately after the decision has been made, because it takes a few weeks to manufacture and post the residence permit card to the embassy.
More information available on the Finnish Immigration Service website
If you have any questions, please check the list offrequently asked questionson our website.
