Finland plans tighter rules for international students, including a one-year waiting period before their family members can apply for residence permits and a new language proficiency requirement. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government submitted the proposal to Parliament on Thursday, with the first changes scheduled to take effect on 5 April 2027.
The package is intended to address financial difficulties experienced by some students arriving from outside Finland. According to the government, most international students progress normally with their studies and are able to support themselves, but authorities have identified problems involving insufficient financial resources, language skills and misleading recruitment practices.
Finland would delay family reunification for international students
Under the proposal, family members of an international student would generally have to wait until the student has lived in Finland for one year before applying for their own residence permits.
At present, family members can apply at the same time as the student. The government argues that the waiting period would allow students to better understand the cost of living in Finland before bringing their families to the country.
The measure is part of a package the government began preparing earlier in 2026. During the consultation phase, the Finnish government said the changes were intended to prevent international students and their families from ending up in financially vulnerable situations.
According to the government, the one-year waiting period would apply from 5 April 2027.
Financial requirements would become clearer
The reform would also change how the financial resources required from international students are defined.
Specific income amounts would be established in legislation and by government decree, rather than relying on requirements that the government considers insufficiently clear to applicants. The amounts would then be reviewed every three years to account for inflation and changes in living costs.
The aim is to give prospective students a clearer indication of how much money they need before moving to Finland and to provide authorities with standardised criteria when assessing residence permit applications.
The government had already announced earlier in 2026 that it wanted to strengthen oversight of international students experiencing financial difficulties. A separate proposal submitted in April would make it easier in some circumstances to cancel a student’s residence permit if they become dependent on social assistance, although authorities would still have to consider the individual circumstances of each case.
Student permits would include a language requirement
Another part of Finland’s international student rules would introduce a language proficiency requirement for residence permits issued for studies.
Authorities could deny a permit when an applicant does not have sufficient proficiency in the language used in their degree programme. According to the government, the system is intended to avoid creating additional procedures for educational institutions or students who already satisfy the relevant language requirements.
Government reports have identified cases in which students arrived in Finland without sufficient proficiency in English or another language of instruction to successfully complete their studies.
Authorities have also raised concerns that some applicants may use study-based residence permits primarily as a route into the Finnish or wider EU labour market, rather than for genuine studies.
Recruitment agencies are also under scrutiny
The reforms follow concerns about some foreign education and recruitment agencies promoting studies in Finland.
A government assessment published before the latest proposal found that financial problems experienced by some students were connected to misleading information about employment opportunities in Finland. Some agencies were also found to charge substantial fees, leaving students in debt before arriving in the country and potentially increasing their vulnerability to labour exploitation.
Minister of Employment Matias Marttinen said students coming to Finland should have the genuine ability to study, support themselves financially and build a future in the country.
The broader policy marks a shift from reforms introduced in 2022, when Finland made residence rules more favourable for international students and graduates in an effort to attract and retain foreign expertise.
The new restrictions will be introduced in stages if Parliament approves the legislation. The family reunification waiting period is scheduled to apply from April 2027, while the other amendments, including the new language-related provisions, are expected to become applicable in October 2027.
