Student’s family members

If you are a student’s family member, you can apply for a residence permit for Finland. 

The following people, among others, are considered family members of a Finnish citizen and a foreign national who is not an EU citizen:

• a spouse
• a registered partner
• a child under 18 years of age. 

You can find family members’ applications on the page Moving to Finland to be with a family member.

We prioritise the processing of students’ residence permit applications so that students could begin their studies in Finland as planned. For this reason, family members of students may not receive their decisions at the same time as the student.

Your family must have enough money for living in Finland

When you apply for a residence permit on the basis of family ties, you must have sufficient financial resources. You must prove in your application that you and your family have enough money for living in Finland for the first year. Family includes you, your sponsor (the student) and your children.

When proving your financial resources with money that is in your bank account or in your family member’s bank account, attach to your application bank statements for the accounts that you and your family member are using. A balance statement alone is not enough.

Make sure that the bank statements show:

• the name of the account holder
• the account number
• the balance of the account
• the currency
• all account transactions from the past 6 months.

The amount of money that is required depends on where in Finland your family lives and on the size of the family. 

Example

For a family that lives in the Helsinki metropolitan area and consists of one adult student, another adult and 2 children under the age of 18, the required income is EUR 2,500 per month in total (EUR 800 + EUR 610 + EUR 610 + EUR 480).

The table below contains the required sums for a family living in the Helsinki metropolitan area. 

Elsewhere in Finland, the required income for family members is 10–15% lower because of the lower housing costs. See the municipality-specific sums on the page Income requirement for family members of a person who has been granted a residence permit in Finland.

Income requirement for a family in the Helsinki metropolitan area

Read more about the income requirement for family members, about the income thresholds for families and about how your place of residence affects the required sums on the page Income requirement for family members of a person who has been granted a residence permit in Finland.

You have an unrestricted right to work and study

If you have been issued with a residence permit on the grounds of family ties, you have an unrestricted right to work, to pursue a trade and to study in Finland. If you have been issued with a residence permit on the basis of an intimate relationship, you can work under certain conditions. 

The residence permit of a student’s family member may be an A permit or a B permit

 

The family members of higher education students who carry out studies leading to a degree are issued with an A permit, or a continuous residence permit

The duration of a first A permit for a student’s family member may be one year at maximum. You can then get an extended permit for a maximum of 4 years. Please note that the end date of a family member’s permit cannot be later than the end date of the sponsor’s own permit.

If you have an A permit:

• You can get a municipality of residence if you apply for it at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Read more about the prerequisites for getting a municipality of residence (dvv.fi)Link to an external website, Opens in a new tab.
• If you have a municipality of residence, you can also use public healthcare services.
• You can apply for a permanent residence permit when you have lived in Finland for four years with an A permit. 

 

The family members of students other than higher education students who carry out studies leading to a degree are issued with a temporary residence permit, or a B permit

If you have a B permit:

• You can get a municipality of residence but it is subject to more prerequisites than with an A permit. You can apply for a municipality of residence at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Read more about the prerequisites for getting a municipality of residence (dvv.fi)Link to an external website, Opens in a new tab.
  • if you have a municipality of residence, you can also use public healthcare services.
• The duration of a first B permit for a student’s family member may be one year at maximum. An extended permit can then be issued for up to 4 years. Please note that the end date of a family member’s permit cannot be later than the end date of the sponsor’s own permit.