A student who wants to stay and study in Finland, but is not a citizen of Finland, will require either a student visa or a student residence permit to fulfil this objective. However, the Finland student visa and the residence permit do not refer to the same document.
Finland student visa is a temporary short term permit that is issued to a foreign student who wants to stay and study in Finland for a maximum of 90 days.
Finland student residence permit is issued to a foreign student to wants to stay and study in Finland for duration of more than 90 days (3 months).