STUDY IN FINLAND : New Law makes work and stay easier for international students

Good news for international students planning to study in Finland. The Finnish Governement has just passed a new law on April 15, 2022, allowing international students residence permits for the entire duration of their studies. The number of hours students can work while studying moves from 25 to 30 hours per week. International students can now look for jobs in Finland for 2 years after graduation. Finland is attracting a mix of students from different nations to its universities.?

Road to permanent residency will be easier

International students and their families will now receive “continuous” permits valid for the duration of programs. Before the amendment, the “temporary” permits were granted for only 2 years. This will mean that international students will not need to apply for extensions for permits during their studies. It will also make it easier for them to obtain a permanent residence permit after completing their graduate degree.?

The importance of family ties

The decision to include students’ families in the new permit allowance is important.? It is found with research that students are more likely to choose to immigrate if they have family in Finland. Under a new law, students and their family members arriving in Finland will obtain a residence permit for the whole duration of their studies.

More work hours during studies

Finnish? government also announced that it is extending the number of hours international students can work while studying. It has extended to 30 per week up from 25). It has extended the duration of the “jobseeker’s permit” for international graduates and researchers from 1 year to 2 years. Students can apply for the permit up to 5 years after graduation, and they can even apply from outside of Finland.

Visa processing and approval rates competitive advantages

Finland is processing students’ visa applications more rapidly than many countries. In the January–August 2021 period, the processing time for a first residence permit was 12 days or less. Research has shown that students consider visa processing delays or difficulties to be a major barrier to studying abroad. So quick processing of permits for Finland is likely to help educators there to recruit students who might be considering more than 1 destination.

Fast visa processing, high visa approval rates, and Finland’s consistently high rankings on the quality-of-life scale are other reasons that international students are drawn to this happiest study destination.