As of September 1st 2007, the student directive of the EU (2004/114/EC) requires that all third-country nationals (non-EU/EEA nationals) who come to Finland to study or for a student exchange are required to have a health insurance if their studies or exchange period will last over three months.

Third-country national means a person who is not a citizen of either one of the EU countries, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland. Students from Quebec, Canada are also exempt from the health insurance requirement.

Health insurance is a requirement for obtaining a residence permit for studies. The health insurance must be valid upon entry to Finland. Students applying for an extension of to their residence permit must also have appropriate health insurance.

Health insurance must be obtained prior to applying for a residence permit. The insurance must be valid for the duration of studies. The length of the residence permit, if awarded, will be partly depending on the length of the insurance.

For information on insurance providers and the Finnish Migration Service’s requirements please see their pages.

Note that the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS/YTHS) doesn’t replace the health insurance. For more information on the Student health services and fees please see here.