Residence Permit and Right of Residence
Students from the EU member states, Nordic Countries, Liechtenstein and Switzerland don’t need to have a visa nor residence permit. They do need to register with the local police to have the right of residence if their stay in Finland lasts longer than 3 months. Students coming from Nordic countries register at a Register Office (Yliopistonkatu 28) and present the Inter-Nordic Migration Form.
Students from other countries than the ones mentioned above must acquire a residence permit from the nearest Finnish consulate or embassy before leaving for Finland if their studies in Finland last for more than three months.
Students from non-EU/EEA countries: Health Insurance required as a prerequisite for residence permit
Starting from 1.9.2007, a residence permit for Finland can be granted to a student only if he/she has a comprehensive health insurance from a reliable and solvent company or institution. Residence permit and health insurance are required for those students who are not citizens of an EU country or citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.
Comprehensive insurance cover means insurance which includes the types of treatment and costs that are covered by municipal health care services and the health insurance system in Finland. If that type of insurance is not available in your home country, you can use the services of an international insurance company. Details of the insurance must be attached to the application for residence permit.
The insurance must cover the whole period of validity of the residence permit. For studies of less than two years in duration, a student must have private insurance which primarily covers the costs of medical treatment up to 100,000 euros (cost level in 2007). Where the duration of the studies is two years or more, a student will usually have a home municipality in Finland and is therefore entitled to municipal health care services. In such cases, it is sufficient for the insurance to primarily cover the cost of medicines (in practice the cover extends to doctor’s fees and costs of treatment and examination), up to 30,000 euros (cost level in 2007).
Further Information
Finnish Immigration Service
Finnish Police