Higher education on the Faroe Islands
You will be studying on the Faroe Islands in a higher educational programme.
Questions and Answers
Who can apply for a residence permit?
If you have been admitted to a higher educational programme in the Faroe Islands, you can be granted a permit to stay and study in the Faroe Islands.
You can either complete a full educational programme or do part of your education as a guest or exchange student.
You can also be granted a residence permit to complete a preparatory course for a higher educational programme.
Your application for a residence permit as a student are to be submittet to the Immigration Office.
Citizens of Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland) do not need visa or permit to reside and work in the Faroe Islands.
What are the conditions?
You must be admitted to a higher educational programme
It is a requirement that you have been admitted to a higher educational programme at a publicly accredited educational institution in the Faroe Islands.
Your place of education and the educational programme must be approved
The educational institution must be publically accredited.
The educational programme must be approved by a Faroese authority.
An educational programme is considered to be a higher educational programme if the admission requirement is to have completed a high school programme. However, this does not apply to programmes where admission is based on an entrance examination.
The educational programme has to be a full-time study.
You must be able to support yourself
You must have sufficient funds to be able to support yourself during your stay in the Faroe Islands.
You have sufficient funds, if your disposable amount is in accordance with the monthly grant amount awarded by Studni (The Faroese Student Grant Fund) for the number of months you plan to stay in the Faroe Islands.
Documentation of your ability to support yourself and any accompanying family members could for example be in the form of a bank statement (in your name).
If you have to pay a tuition fee for your educational programme, and if you have already paid tuition for the first semester, then these payments are considered to be documentation of sufficient funds - and you will not need to provide additional documentation.
You must have certain language abilities
You must be able to speak and understand the language of instruction. You must be able to understand either Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, English or German at reasonable level.
What rights do I have, if I am granted a permit?
What are you allowed to do with a residence permit as a student in the Faroe Islands? – and what are you not allowed to do?
Residence and study
A residence permit allows you to reside and study in the Faroe Islands for the period of time your permit is valid.
A residence permit does not grant you the right to reside in the Schengen area.
If you have been living legally in the Faroe Islands for less than two years, you can reside outside of the Faroe Islands for up to 6 months.
If you need to stay abroad for a longer period of time, you can apply for a dispensation to prevent your permit from lapsing.
Residence in Denmark or Greenland is considered to be abroad.
Work
In addition to your residence permit as a student, you will be granted a limited work permit.
You are allowed to work:
- for up to 15 hours per week during the normal period of study from September to May, and
- full-time through June, July and August.
If you work more than allowed it will be regarded as illegal work.
If you work illegally you can receive a warning, a fine or your residence permit as a student can be revoked.
Read more about illegal work here.
Internship
If you are doing an internship you must apply for a full-time work permit valid for the period of your internship. This is the case only if you will be working full-time during your internship. Application for residence permit based on internship is done with the the ST4 application form.
You must attach the following documents to the application:
- Your contract with the place of internship.
- Documentation from your educational institution stating that the internship is a mandatory part of your education.
An internship must be part of your education, and the place of internship has to be approved by your educational institution.
You cannot begin working full-time at your internship before you have been granted the internship work permit.
You can find the application form for an internship work permit here.
Public benefits
During your stay you must be able to support yourself and your family. Thus, you are not allowed to receive public benefits.
If you or your family member receive such benefits during your stay, your permit can be revoked – and you will lose the right to stay in the Faroe Islands.
How long can I stay in the Faroe Islands
Residence while you study
You can stay in the Faroe Islands for the standard (nominal) duration of your educational programme, but not more than 1 year from the date of permit. The permit can subsequently be extended for up to 1 year at a time.
If you do not finish your education within the nominal time, then it is important that you apply for an extension of your permit.
You must apply for an extension before your permit expires – however, not earlier than 3 months before the date of expiration.
If you change your educational programme, you must apply for a new residence permit based on the new programme. You are allowed to start your new programme while you wait for us to reach a decision regarding the new case.
Shorter validity because your passport expires
A residence permit can only be valid until 3 months before the expiry date of your passport.
If your passport has a shorter validity than the otherwise possible period of stay, your residence permit will be shortened. This means that the validity of your residence permit will be shorter than it could be. When you have renewed your passport, you can apply for an extension of your residence permit.
Can my family be granted a residence permit?
A residence and work permit based on studies in the Faroe Islands gives the possibility for your family to come with you to the Faroe Islands.
A permit can after application be granted to your spouse, registered or cohabiting partner as well as children under the age of 18 living at home.
Read more about bringing accompanying family members to the Faroe Islands here.
What more do I need to know before I apply?
An application for a residence permit on the basis of study is processed by the Faroese Immigration Office.
As a rule, a residence permit must have been obtained before entry to the Faroe Islands.
You can apply by going to the ’How to apply’. Here you also have access to the relevant application form, AR1.
Your education institution has to complete the second part of the application.
If the Immigration Office needs more information during the case process, we will contact you.
How to apply
It is important that you have carefully read the conditions for being granted a residence permit before you apply and it is vital to the processing of your application that you include the correct documents.
How to submit the application
You can submit your application to the Faroese Immigration Office by e-mail. Send a completed and signed application along with all relevant documents to the following address: info@utlendingastovan.fo.
Download the application form here:
You can also submit your application to the Faroese Immigration Office by letter. Send the completed application to the following address:
Útlendingastovan
Skálatrøð 20
Postrúm 264
FO-110 Tórshavn
Please ensure that all required documents are included.
The Immigration Office will contact you or your employer if further information is required in regards to the processing of the application