How To Apply For A Finland Student Visa From Nigeria

Finland is a wonderful European study destination for Nigerian international students interested in sciences, technology, engineering, and management. The country has a very high educational standard and excellence with no tuition fees required. 

Finland is a beautiful country with great city skylines in Helsinki, Turku, Oulu, Tampere, and Jyväskylä. The living standards and quality of life in Finland are quite high, so you’ll require a tangible sum of supporting funds of at least €6,720/year to cover living expenses, you are allowed to work for 25 hours/week on your student residence permit.

If you are very much interested in studying in Finland, you can check out our article on the best ten schools in Finland. 

If you’re reading this article, it means you do have an interest to study in Finland, therefore you will need a student residence permit B or visa. A Finnish visa is issued for student stays of up to 90 days (3 months), but if your study duration is above 90 days, you must apply for a student residence permit. The student residence permit to Finland is granted under the precondition that the student will return to his/her country of legal permanent residence upon completion of his/her studies.

Finland Visa

In order to apply for a Finland visa or residence permit, you must register with the Finnish Immigration Service to begin your student residence permits application. 

Note that this visa can be applied for as early as three months before the planned travel date and the visa application is valid for three months from the application date, so immediately you receive your Finland higher institution admission letter, you’re advised to begin your application.

The visa application processing fee must be paid to the Embassy bank account, and supporting documents submitted 2 weeks prior to scheduling your compulsory visa appointment date.

Documents of Nigerian origin such as marriage certificates, birth certificates, school certificates, etc will require legalization from the Nigerian ministry of foreign affairs. Further legalization will be done at the Embassy of Finland. An independent document verification consultant; Rayfield Consult will investigate the origin of the document and return it back to the embassy, who returns it back to the visa applicant. The total fees for this process are €40.50 for the embassy and N120,000 for Rayfield Consults.

Finland visa Appointment

Click here to schedule your Finland visa appointment; this process will require your visa fee payment receipt and certificate of admission acceptance from a Finnish university.  

You must submit your application to the Finland Embassy in Abuja. All visa applicants will be interviewed, and biometric data such as fingerprints will be collected.

The visa fee can be paid either in cash to any Standard Chartered bank in Nigeria or via international money transfer to the Embassy bank account. The receipt of payment should be scanned and attached to the e-mail with which an appointment date is requested.

What are the Documents needed to apply for Finland Student Residence Permit?

When you apply for a student residence permit you must submit the following documents in original and two sets of clear photocopies two weeks before your personal interview at the Finnish embassy:

• Registration with the Finnish Immigration service portal, fill, submit, and print your online form
• Finland visa application form, this could be done online or on paper via this link
• A Nigeria international passport that is valid for at least 3 months after your intended stay in the country, it must have at least two blank pages. You can also submit previous passports with visas and stamps; this can help assess your travel history. 
• A copy of your international passport bio-data page.
• Recent passport photograph in dimensions of 35 – 40 mm, full face capture. Note that you must NOT staple the passport photo; passport photos with staple marks on them will not be accepted.
• A certificate of acceptance from a Finnish educational institution must contain the following information:

1. The applicant’s full name
2. The name of the institution
3. What course/programme the applicant has been admitted to
4. The duration of the course/programme

• A clarification on tuition fee If you plan to attend an institution/programme/course that has tuition fees, you must also document that you are able to finance this extra cost
• Travel medical insurance certificate. It is required that the insurance covers all days you are planning to stay in the Schengen area. The insurance has to be valid in all Schengen countries for the whole duration of stay inside the Schengen area and has to cover expenses caused by illness, accident, medical care, and possible repatriation up to the amount of €30,000.
• Documentation/clarification of financial income: This document is proof of your financial capability; it is required in order to ensure that you can afford €6,720 (N2,343,976). This can be done via your bank account’s financial statement or present a certificate showing that you have received a scholarship or grant from an official body, such as a state, an educational institution, or an organization. Sponsorship guarantees or account statements from private persons, such as relatives, friends, or employers, will not be accepted.
• Students’ bio information like birth and marriage certificates.
• School certificates.
• A scanned copy of the receipt of visa payment.

Visa Application Fees

The approved standard visa application fee for the Finland student residence permit is €330 (N162,000), payment is made either in cash to any Standard Chartered bank in Nigeria or via international money transfer using a credit/debit card (MasterCard or Visa) or money transfer networks to the Embassy bank account. Make sure that you carry your international Passport bio-data page photocopy while paying the service fee at the bank.

Visa Application Process

The visa application submission and interview are done at the Finland embassy in Abuja. Finland visa application submission times are between 09:00 AM to 14:00 PM on Mondays – Thursdays except on Nigerian and Finland public holidays. After the appointment, you must wait for the Finnish Immigration Service to process your application. You will be informed once a decision has been made, if the decision is positive, the Embassy will contact you by e-mail regarding collecting your residence permit card and vice versa.

You may ask to be registered in the Finnish Population Information System after your student residence permit has been approved; this is so that you can receive a Finnish personal identity code. The secret identity code is a unique number sequence with 11 characters, formed on the basis of your date of birth and gender. Public authorities, banks, and employers, for example, often need to know your personal identity code.

Covid 19 Requirement to Enter Finland

Finland has lifted entry restrictions related to COVID-19. Travelers should check with the Finnish embassy or consulate in their home country for the latest information on entry requirements and restrictions before planning their trip. 

What is Finland Visa Processing Time?  

The processing time for a visa is a minimum of 14 days and the average processing time is 30 days. During the holiday seasons, the time of processing depends on the number of applications received and it is wise to book the interview appointment as early as possible bearing in mind that a visa can be applied earliest 3 months before the planned travel.

Address of Finland Embassy in Nigeria

Embassy of Finland,

9, Iro Dan Musa Street,

Asokoro,

Abuja, Nigeria.

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