Exchange student: apply for a residence permit online
If you are coming to Finland to study as an exchange student for a period of more than three months, you will need a residence permit. Citizens of the EU countries, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland are the only ones who do not need a residence permit.
Apply for a permit immediately when you receive a letter of acceptance from the educational institute where you will be studying.
Apply online – receive a decision faster
Fill in the residence permit application online, as this is the fastest way to receive a decision. At best, handling of the application will take no more than a few days. With e-services, you can also follow the progress of your electronic application online.
Online applications are transferred globally from the work queue of one authority to another, so there is no need to send papers through the mail. Applications filled in on paper in the traditional way will be sent to Finland by courier, which may take up to several weeks.
Visit a Finnish embassy to verify your identity
Finland began using biometric residence permit cards in early 2012. This is why an application filled in via e-services will be transferred to the Finnish Immigration Service only after you have visited a Finnish embassy, where you have verified your identity, left your fingerprints and passport photograph, and presented the originals of the attachments required for the application.
If the permit is granted, you will receive the residence permit card within 1 to 2 weeks.
Please also read the checklist for students applying for a residence permit
