Students at the University of Helsinki Library. LEHTIKUVA
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Foreign students are increasingly relying on food aid in Finland, with hundreds now lining up weekly at church-run distributions in Helsinki, according to the Evangelical Free Church.
Volunteers at the independent church prepare bags of food including bread, meat and vegetables for distribution. Between 600 and 700 people attend each week. Lead pastor Markus Österlund said international students began appearing in larger numbers in autumn 2024.
“It’s a sign that many international students are struggling financially. Here, it’s hundreds of students. Many other organisations are noticing the same phenomenon,” Österlund told Yle.
Most of the students are from outside the EU and pay annual tuition fees of €10,000–15,000. Many arrived with expectations of easy access to part-time work, but are finding the Finnish job market difficult to enter.
“They came here thinking it would be easy to find a job in Finland — that they could work while studying to support themselves. But today’s reality is different. Now, many of them are desperate,” Österlund said.
Students must show proof of €9,600 in funds to obtain a residence permit. But with the high cost of living in Finland, this is often not enough to cover ongoing expenses. Some students, despite having savings, have been unable to find any work despite applying for hundreds of positions.
One Sri Lankan student told Yle he had applied for nearly 300 jobs. “I know people who have dropped out of their studies and left Finland,” he said, adding he will likely return home after graduation.
Österlund criticised the way universities of applied sciences market themselves abroad. He cited promotional materials shared with him by students that suggest monthly earnings of €2,000 during studies.
“I’d like to see Finland’s education authorities investigate how these students are recruited and what they’re being promised,” he said.
Arcada University of Applied Sciences is one of the institutions attracting fee-paying international students. They account for about 15 percent of Arcada’s student body. Around one third are recruited via agents, including a partner agency in India. Promotional material from that agency claims students can earn €1,750–2,000 per month in Finland and advertises programmes for nurses not qualified to work in the EU.
Arcada President Mona Forsskåhl said the figures were unrealistic. “It’s definitely an overly optimistic view of reality. I’m grateful that you raised this issue so we can address it and sort it out with the agent,” she said.
Forsskåhl added that attracting more international students has been a national goal, supported by both current and previous governments. Tuition fees for some continuing education programmes at Arcada range from €13,000 to €15,000. Arcada receives state funding for each student who completes a degree, except for commissioned education programmes.
She acknowledged that food bank use among foreign students is not surprising, given the sharp increase in international enrolment alongside a rise in unemployment.
“It is of course a very tragic situation that things are this way,” Forsskåhl said. “It means that we need to be even more vigilant about our marketing and our interactions with students. We haven’t managed this too well so far.”
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
