Finland has proposed changes to its immigration rules that would allow authorities to cancel the residence permits of non-EU and non-EEA students who receive basic social assistance, as part of broader efforts to tighten education-based immigration.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment opened a public consultation on the draft law on January 16, outlining plans for automated monitoring that would enable the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) to receive data directly from Kela, the national social insurance agency, on whether foreign students have applied for or received last-resort welfare support.
The ministry said the measure is intended to enforce the existing requirement that students must be able to financially support themselves throughout their stay. “Automated post-decision monitoring would be used regularly to determine whether a student receives social assistance,” the ministry stated.
Between September 2023 and December 2025, Migri reviewed more than 37,000 residence permits and identified 333 cases in which students had received assistance, though no permits were revoked under current rules.
If adopted, the new law would allow even a single instance of benefit receipt to trigger permit withdrawal, affecting a portion of Finland’s estimated 76,000 international students. Public feedback will be accepted until February 27, with the government aiming to present the bill during the spring parliamentary session.