Checklist for students applying for a residence permit
Apply for a residence permit at https://e-asiointi.migri.fi as soon as you have received confirmation that you have been accepted as a student at a Finnish educational institution.
- Before you start filling in the application form, gather all the necessary attachments according to the instructions.
- After filling in the application form, visit a Finnish embassy or a consulate in your home country or in a country where you are legally residing in.
- Bring the original documents that you attached to your e-application with you to the embassy.
- At the embassy, you will also need to give your fingerprints and verify your identity.
Filling in the application form
Register at https://e-asiointi.migri.fi and fill in the application form OLE_OPI.
- 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 embassy or a consulate and arrange a meeting to have your fingerprints taken.
- Remember to bring the original attachments and your passport with you to the embassy.
- Remember to indicate the day you are planning to arrive in Finland on your application form.
You can also submit your application on paper when needed. In this case, fill in the application form OLE_OPI.
- Gather all the necessary attachments.
- Do not add any attachments to the application other than those requested.
- Remember to indicate the day you are planning to arrive in Finland on your application form.
- Arrange a meeting with the Finnish embassy or a consulate to hand in the application and have your fingerprints taken.
- Remember to bring the original attachments and your passport with you to the embassy.
All applicants need to 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 electronically. 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. 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.
You can find more information about insurance in the notice to exchange students
You must have secure means of support
For a year-long 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 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 a 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
If you have submitted your application online, you can follow the status of your application in the e-service.
It is not possible to speed up the processing of your application. All applications are processed in the order in which they arrive, and contacting the Finnish Immigration Service by e-mail or telephone will not speed up the processing. 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.
Information on the processing queues of student applications at the Finnish Immigration Service can be found on our website.
We will provide information on our website about exceptional situations or any changes in the 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. The Finnish Immigration Service cannot speed up the delivery of the residence permit card.
More information available on the Finnish Immigration Service website
If you have any questions, please check the list of frequently asked questionson our website.
See also the diagram of applying for a residence permit for studies.
