Higher education on the Faroe Islands

It is a requirement that you have been admitted to a higher educational programme at a publicly accredited educational institution in the Faroe Islands.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.