News from Finland

From 1 August 2026, Finland will introduce new tuition fee rules for some international high school students. Students from countries outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland who study in a Finnish upper secondary school with a study-based residence permit must pay a tuition fee. Some students do not have to pay, including exchange students, students with a permanent residence permit, and students who are still covered by Finland's compulsory education rules. In 2026, the minimum tuition fee is €8,953.47 per year. Schools may charge more if the fee includes services such as learning materials or accommodation.

Finland has changed the rules for getting a Permanent Residence Permit. For most people, the waiting time is now 6 years. You also need 2 years of work experience in Finland and Finnish language skills at B1 level. There is good news for people who graduate from a Finnish university (Master's degrees, PhDs, University Bachelors, and Masters from Universities of Applied Sciences). They can still apply after 4 years. They only need A2-level Finnish or 15 ECTS credits of Finnish language studies completed at their university. These new rules apply to applications submitted in 2026.

Finland experienced an unusually early heatwave in May 2026. On 20 May, the temperature reached 30.2°C in Ilomantsi, eastern Finland. This happened at the Mekrijärvi weather station. According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, this is only the third time in recorded history that Finland has reached 30°C so early in May. It also led to the earliest official heat warning since the warning system started in 2011. The hottest weather was in eastern Finland. At the same time, Helsinki was much cooler, with a temperature of about 15°C. The hot weather lasted only a short time before cooler air returned and temperatures went back to normal.