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Only a third of the West-Africans selected to study in Finland were granted a residence permit

From January to October 2009 favourable decisions were granted to 92 per cent of the applicants for a student's residence permit. During this time, Finland granted residence permits to 3,397 students hailing from outside EU borders.

On the other hand, as much as 70 per cent of the Cameroonians and Ghanaians and 60 per cent of the Nigerians gaining selection to Finnish educational institutions were denied a residence permit. Most commonly, the failure to secure a residence permit was caused by forged documents or insufficient income.

Forgeries have been encountered in personal IDs, study and work certificates, as well as bank statements and health insurance documents. The prerequisites for a student’s residence permit include having valid health insurance coverage and a minimum of EUR 500 per month, or EUR 6,000 per year, available for the duration of the student’s residence in Finland.

Language achievement test eliminated selected students

One of the largest groups applying for a student’s residence permit is people studying on the international courses of vocational schools. This year marked the first time that vocational schools obligated their students to pass an international language achievement test. This has played a part in reducing the number of people selected to study in Finnish schools, and thus the number of people applying for residence permits. By the end of October, 3,898 individuals had applied for a student’s residence permit, representing a drop of approximately 6 per cent compared to the same period last year.

From year to year, the most applications for a student’s residence permit are submitted by Russian and Chinese people. Almost all of them are granted a residence permit: in January to October 2009, only around 1.5 per cent of these applicants were denied a permit.

More efficient vetting of Africans

This year, immigration authorities have substantially increased their efforts in investigating the residence permit applications of African students. For instance, additional staff was sent to the Finnish embassy in Nigeria to interview applicants and review the authenticity of their documents, since forgeries are easier to detect when viewing the original documents, rather than copies. In Finland, decision-making is usually on the basis of document copies.

When forged documents are presented with an application, the authorities cannot ascertain the applicant’s real motives for moving to Finland. Presentation of forgeries is considered a circumvention of immigration regulations, and thus an attempt at illegal entry. As a Schengen country, Finland is committed to curbing illegal immigration, and Finnish authorities will also try to focus resources next year on the investigation of African students’ applications.

Further information for the media: Pauliina Helminen, Head of Section, Immigration Unit, tel. +358 71 873 0431, e-mail: firstname.lastname@migri.fi

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