Finland Cracks Down on Foreign Students Exploiting Education and Residency Rules

Finland is considering a major change to its student residence permit rules for non-EU and non-EEA students. Under a new proposal, international students who receive basic social assistance from Finland’s social insurance agency, Kela, could have their residence permits canceled.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment launched a public consultation on the draft legislation on January 16, 2026. The proposed law seeks to ensure that international students comply with the existing requirement to financially support themselves while studying in Finland.

A key feature of the plan is an automated monitoring system that will track whether students receive benefits from Kela. Data from this system would be shared directly with the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), allowing authorities to efficiently review cases and enforce compliance. Currently, the rules do not allow residence permits to be canceled for one-time social assistance payments, which has created a loophole.

Between September 2023 and December 2025, Migri reviewed over 37,000 residence permits. During this period, 333 students received basic social assistance, but none had their permits revoked under existing laws. If the new legislation is approved, even a single instance of receiving social assistance could lead to withdrawal of a student’s residence permit.

The proposed changes specifically target non-EU and non-EEA students, leaving EU/EEA students unaffected. Finland hosted approximately 76,000 international students last year.

The ministry is accepting public feedback on the draft until February 27, 2026, via the Lausuntopalvelu.fi portal. The government aims to present the bill in parliament during the spring session, with implementation of the automated system to follow soon after.

This move is part of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government program to tighten education-based immigration rules and reduce reliance on public benefits among international students.