Finland has announced a move to revoke residence permits of foreign students on social assistance under a new draft proposal released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
The measure, currently open for public consultation since January 16, 2026, would allow authorities to cancel residence permits for non-EU/EEA foreign students who receive even a single payment of basic social assistance from Kela, the national social insurance institution.
The proposal aims to enforce the core requirement that international students must financially support themselves throughout their studies in Finland.
Currently, while students must prove sufficient funds when applying for a residence permit, one-time or occasional receipts of basic social assistance—a last-resort benefit for covering essentials like rent and food—have not automatically led to permit revocation.
The new rules would change this, introducing automated data sharing between Kela and the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) to flag and act on such cases promptly.
It was gathered that Finland is set to revoke permits of foreign students on social assistance as part of the centre-right government’s broader efforts to control education-based immigration and prevent perceived misuse of the system.
Officials highlight that between September 2023 and December 2025, Migri reviewed over 37,000 student residence permits and identified 333 instances where students had received basic social assistance.
The government emphasized that the policy targets non-EU students specifically, as they hold education-based residence permits and are expected to rely on personal funds, scholarships, or part-time work (up to an average of 30 hours per week) rather than public benefits. With approximately 76,000 international students in Finland last year, the change could affect a lot of people.
“Automated post-decision monitoring would be carried out regularly to determine whether a student is receiving social assistance,” the ministry said.
The proposal is rooted in Petteri Orpo’s, the prime minister of Finland’s government programme, which includes commitments to tighten controls on education-based immigration. The draft regulation seeks to address what authorities describe as a gap in the current system, where students may receive social assistance without any impact on their residence permit status.
What the new policy means for Nigerian students in Finland
As of 2024, approximately 5,959 Nigerians are living in Finland, making them the second-largest African immigrant group in the country. Nigerians in Finland are primarily concentrated in urban centers such as Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa. According to recent statistics, there were 5,959 people born in Nigeria residing in Finland, with 5,371 holding Nigerian citizenship.
For Nigerian students studying in Finland, the proposed changes signal a much tougher approach to enforcing financial self-sufficiency rules tied to student residence permits.
Under the draft amendment, Nigerian students, classified as non-EU and non-EEA nationals, would be directly affected. If the proposal is approved, receiving social assistance from Finland’s social insurance agency (Kela), even once, could lead to the withdrawal of a residence permit. This represents a clear shift from the current system, where one-off payments have not been considered grounds for cancellation.
In practical terms, this means Nigerian students must be especially cautious about their finances. While social assistance in Finland is designed as a last-resort safety net for essentials such as rent and food, accessing it would increasingly be treated as evidence that a student no longer meets the core condition of their permit: the ability to support themselves independently throughout their stay.
