Students may now apply for a residence permit for Finland online

A student granted a place of study in a Finnish educational institute may now submit an application for a residence permit electronically online. During January 2012, the Finnish Immigration Service will open an e-service which enables customers to submit an application and to follow the progress of its processing.

When a customer registers into the e-service of the Finnish Immigration Service, a personal user account will be created for him or her. It is available for use with a combination of a personal user ID and password. The customer’s e-mail address functions as the user ID. The electronic account of the Finnish Immigration Service allows customers to:

• fill in an application form and submit it electronically to the closest Finnish embassy
• add appendices to the application
• pay the application fee online
• view their application after it has been completed and submitted
• supplement information on their own initiative or when requested by the authorities
• follow the progress of their application
• receive notification by e-mail or SMS of any messages received on their personal user account, such as requests for clarification or notices of decisions; for the time being, SMS messages can only be sent to Finnish mobile numbers.
• receive notification when a decision is made on their application

A visit to the embassy still required

Even when customers submit their application online, they will need to visit a Finnish embassy closest to their place of residence in person to verify their identity and show the original copies of any appendices to their application. In addition, the applicant must submit the embassy a photograph to be attached to the application. The application fee will also be paid to the embassy if the applicant does not have an opportunity to pay it online via the e-service using a credit card or online user authentication from his or her bank.

From the beginning of 2012, all applicants for a residence permit over the age of 6 will be fingerprinted, and the fingerprints will be recorded on a biometric residence permit card to be introduced at that time.

The e-service will speed up the processing of application matters. Via the e-service account, the customer may follow the progress of the processing of his or her permit application.

Further information: Finnish Immigration Service at www.migri.fi