The Student Union of Haaga-Helia, Helga, thanks for the opportunity to comment on the Government’s proposal to the Parliament for an Act amending the Aliens Act and respectfully states the following:
The Government’s proposal to amend the Aliens Act includes significant changes that also affect international higher education students. Helga does not support the proposal that defines eligibility for a permanent residence permit as follows: “A permanent residence permit could also be obtained by completing a higher university degree, a postgraduate degree, or a lower university degree in Finland. In this case, the residence permit would not be tied to a requirement of a certain length of stay, but would depend on how quickly the foreigner had completed the degree in question. In addition, at least developing proficiency in Finnish or Swedish would be required.”
This provision excludes universities of applied sciences (UAS) degrees, even though they are also lower higher education degrees and a central pathway for international students to enter Finland. It places UAS students in an unequal position compared to university students and weakens the attractiveness of UAS education. UAS degrees are strongly work-oriented and include extensive internships, through which students aim to enter the labor market quickly. Many UAS degrees are in fields facing acute labor shortages in Finland.
The exclusion has been justified by stating that in Finland, a bachelor’s degree at a university is essentially an intermediate degree, after which students continue directly to a master’s degree rather than entering the labor market, whereas a large majority of UAS graduates move directly into working life. However, this proposal creates direct inequality between two equivalent degrees. It should also be noted that entry into a UAS master’s program requires two years of work experience, which excludes many from obtaining a permanent residence permit through this path – for example, in situations where employment has been difficult for an international recent graduate.
Another justification given is that a permanent residence permit and the security it provides would encourage bachelor’s graduates continuing to a master’s degree to seek employment, even if job placement is slower. If this reasoning is valid, it raises the question of why the same would not apply to UAS graduates, whose studies are characterized by work orientation and transition to the labor market, and who would benefit even more from this security.
We would like to point out that the proposal contradicts the goals of Finland’s Roadmap for Education- and Work-based Immigration 2035. According to the roadmap, the aim is to triple the number of international degree students by 2030 and to raise their employment and retention rate in Finland to 75 percent. The proposed exclusion makes it more difficult to achieve these objectives. In practice, it would mean that an international UAS graduate would have to apply for a permanent residence permit under much stricter conditions than a university graduate. Typically, this would require six years of continuous residence, satisfactory Finnish or Swedish language skills, and two years of employment history, or at least four years of continuous residence and additional conditions such as an annual income of €40,000. These requirements are unrealistic and unreasonable for a recent graduate just entering the labor market. It should also be noted that international students’ employment after graduation has been difficult even before the current labor market situation and rising unemployment.
The proposal states that a permanent residence permit would encourage individuals, due to the security it provides, to seek employment in Finland even if the process is slower and more challenging than in competing countries. However, if obtaining a permanent residence permit in Finland is more difficult than elsewhere, students are more likely to choose another country. This weakens Finland’s attractiveness as a destination for education- and work-based immigration and threatens to reduce the number of international students applying to UAS institutions. UAS studies are specifically designed to support integration into working life. UAS graduates enter the labor market quickly, build strong ties to Finnish employment, and remain in Finland. The current proposal, however, makes it harder for them to stay, even though their skills are in high demand.
Helga considers that permanent residence permits must also be available to those who graduate with a UAS degree, provided they meet the language requirements (sufficient proficiency in Finnish or Swedish). This would secure equal opportunities for all higher education graduates and support Finland’s goals of increasing education-based immigration and strengthening the labor market.
