I'm currently a British citizen, and wish to move to Finland to live with my girlfriend. She is a Finnish citizen, but spends a lot of her time in England as her sister lives here. Our plan is for me to move there after my school. (This June/July) And then I would work in Finland for her to finish school (Two years) Then once she has finished high school, she would take a gap year, and we would use the money I have made to travel around the world. On our return we hope to return to Finland and go to Helsinki University together. After which we would move back to England(She wants to live here) We would love to both go to Uni here, however, the costs are too high without getting loans. Which she doesn't want, and knowing her she would insist I went, and stay at home herself =( (Don't worry, I wouldn't let her) It does sound like I'm trying to cheat the system to get free education, and I'm sure lots of people try it. However this is for genuine reasons. I assume I would need to be a Finnish citizen to qualify for entry to the Uni. And although my Finnish isn't amazing (yet) She is a very good teacher. So does anyone know the route I would have to take? Pauper Prince: I don't want to cheat the system or get paid, or get given any grant or fee. I just want to know if I'm allowed to study there without citizenship, or if I need citizenship, how long/are there permits/visas. Oh, and I don't want any study grants, living costs, loads, or travel expenses. I'm willing to pay 100% from my own pocket if need be.
Immigration - 3 Answers
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1 :
You would need to be legally resident in Finland for a minimum of 6 years & have a knowledge of either Finnish, Swedish or Finnish Sign Language If you are married to a Finnish citizen or in registered partnerhip for 3 years, the residency requirement drops to 4 years http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_nationality_law#Naturalisation_as_a_Finnish_citizen Have you asked your girlfriend to look into the requirements? You may not necessarily need citizenship, you might only have to be resident for a certain period to be eligible but it might still be a couple of years You do realise that in the UK there is a legal requirement that you be resident in the UK for a minimum of 3 years before the start of your University course to be eligible for home fees & for student loans - if you're out of the UK for 3 years or more you won't be eligible for student loans. Does the Finnish government not fund their students to study abroad? If one or both of you went to Universities which were part of the Erasmus programme or a similar exchange programme, one of you might be able to spend time in the other's country for a year
2 :
Bering British citizen means u can claim local student fee anywhere in EU, if u have spend last three years prior to joining Uni in EU. Nationality doesn't matter as far as its any EU nationality. No point for u to claim Finnish citizenship. Keep in mind u cannot cheat the system, once u try to commit anything against the system u feel smart, but system catches up with u & then penalty is much higher. Follow the book of rules & u will be fine. Good luck.
3 :
You don't need Finnish citizenship because Finnish universities offer free degrees from universities for students from EU countries. You just need to pay for your own living and that's about it. I don't think it's about cheating at all because many foreigners come to Finland to get a free degree and then leave because in real life it's really hard to get any kind of employment in here in their own field. I see that you'd be a good hardworking person if you see some unfairness in getting a free degree. However we Finns are so pampered in this so we take free education as granted so why not adapt to it. (heh heh) Well that's about it you have a plan!
