Honkasalo expressed her concern over the foreign students who now cannot leave the country due to border restrictions, and who are not entitled to Finnish social security. She submitted a petitionary motion forward to the Government regarding the issue.
– International students are now facing even more severe challenges than Finnish students. Due to the epidemic many of them cannot work to make a living, and international students in Finland may also lack the social safety networks they would normally have at home, Honkasalo says.
The degree students from outside the EU and EEA region are in a particularly difficult situation, as apart from living expenses, they have tuition fees to settle. In addition, applying for an extended residence permit may cause a problem, if the student cannot meet the monthly 560-euro income requirement due to having lost employment.
– It is vital for the student, the higher education institutions as well as the state of Finland that the students who have commenced their education here are granted residence permits to finish their studies, too, Honkasalo says.
Honkasalo proposes concrete actions to alleviate the trouble. International students residing in Finland could be given temporary access to Finnish social security, or a specific scholarship for living expenses could be introduced. Tuition fees could be temporarily abandoned. The income requirements and the application deadlines for residence permits need to be relaxed. Digital learning needs to be enabled also in the coming autumn so that those who need to return to their home country would still be able to graduate.
– International cooperation is in somewhat low spirits at the moment. The least we can do to promote it is to show our international students that Finland cares for them.
Contact:
Veronika Honkasalo
veronika.honkasalo@eduskunta.fi
Tel. +358 40 555 9409