Student: How to speed up the processing of your application

Hundreds of international students who are due to begin their studies in Finland in January 2017 will be applying for residence permits during the end of the year. This will cause delays in the processing of residence permit applications submitted by students.

How to speed up the processing of your application:

1. Apply for a residence permit as soon as your study place at a Finnish educational institution is confirmed. This is the best way to ensure that you receive a decision before the beginning of your studies.
2. Submit your application in our e-service Enter Finland. Applications submitted through the e-service are transferred to the Finnish Immigration Service directly in electronic form once the applicant has visited a Finnish embassy or consulate abroad in person. In Enter Finland, you can also see the status of your application and be notified of requests for additional information, if need be.
3. Fill out the application form carefully. We will contact you if we need any additional information for your application. In cases where we need to request further information, the processing time is longer.
4. The Finnish Immigration Service processes all residence permit applications for studies as urgent without any separate requests. Applications are processed in the order they arrive, and emailing or calling the Finnish Immigration Service will not speed up the processing of your application.

The Finnish Immigration Service makes a decision on each application within about one month. Processing times vary depending on the case.

Do not buy flight tickets in advance. The fact that you have already purchased a flight ticket will not fast-track the processing of your application.

Further information

Checklist for students applying for a residence permit

Applying for a residence permit for studies