Residence Permit Cancelled and Deportation Ordered — Appeal and Graduation Leads to a Positive Decision

A student residence permit case can change significantly while an appeal is still pending.

In this case, the Finnish Immigration Service cancelled our client’s student residence permit and decided to deport him to Bangladesh.

Migri considered that the client was no longer staying in Finland for the purpose for which the residence permit had been granted. His right to study had been made inactive in January 2025 and later reactivated in August 2025. Migri also considered that his studies had not progressed sufficiently.

According to the decision, the client had completed only 28 ECTS credits, and his most recent recorded study performance was from December 2024. He had also registered as absent for the spring semester of 2026.

Based on these circumstances, Migri cancelled the residence permit and issued a deportation decision.

We appealed the decision to the Helsinki Administrative Court.

In the appeal, we argued that the situation had to be assessed as a whole. The client had reactivated his study right, paid the required tuition fee and intended to continue and complete his studies. We also argued that the individual circumstances of the case and the principle of proportionality had not been sufficiently taken into account.

But during the appeal proceedings, the case developed in a way that became decisive.

The client completed his entire degree.

On 29 May 2026, he graduated from the University of Eastern Finland with a Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration.

This new evidence was submitted to the Administrative Court.

Interestingly, the Administrative Court did not find that Migri’s original concerns had been completely unfounded. The Court stated that, based on the circumstances existing when Migri made its decision, there had been grounds to consider both the purpose of the client’s stay and the insufficient progress of his studies.

However, an appeal is not always limited to looking only at the situation that existed when the original decision was made.

The Court also considered what had happened afterwards.

And the most important fact was clear:

The client had successfully completed the degree for which the student residence permit had originally been granted.

The Administrative Court therefore found that his studies could no longer be considered to have progressed insufficiently. Nor could it be considered that he had been staying in Finland for a purpose other than studying.

The Court also concluded that, in these circumstances, cancelling the residence permit would have been contrary to the principle of proportionality.

On 17 September 2026, the Helsinki Administrative Court therefore:

Cancelled Migri’s decision.

The cancellation of the residence permit was overturned.

The deportation decision was overturned.

This case demonstrates something important about immigration appeals:

What happens after a negative decision can matter.z

An appeal should not necessarily consist only of arguments about what Migri got wrong. New documents, changes in circumstances and concrete progress during the appeal process can also become highly relevant to the final outcome.

In this case, the strongest evidence was ultimately the result itself:

The client completed the studies that Migri had doubted he would complete.

From a cancelled student residence permit and deportation decision to a completed Master’s degree and a successful appeal.