Permanent residence: choose YKI practice for your application path

Basic, intermediate and advanced YKI tests are different bookings. Start by identifying the language requirement for your application path, then choose a test and a realistic study plan. This article helps organise that decision; it does not determine eligibility.

Language levels are path-specific

In Migri’s guidance for permanent-residence applications submitted on or after 8 January 2026, the six-year path uses B1, the Finnish higher-education path uses A2 or specified language studies, and the particularly-good-language-skills path uses C1. The P-EU requirement is B2. Each path has other conditions and possible exceptions: consult the complete official instructions.

Map the required level to practice

YKI basic covers grades 1–2, intermediate 3–4 and advanced 5–6. These are test levels, not labels a practice website can award. The official requirement also concerns an accepted combination of skills; do not treat a single reading score as proof of oral and written proficiency.

Create a skill checklist before paying for a test: reading, writing, listening and speaking. For each skill, note one task you can complete independently and one that still requires help. A vocabulary quiz can reveal unfamiliar words, but it cannot establish whether you can write a coherent request or sustain a conversation.

Use an observable learning goal

Instead of writing “reach B1 this month”, choose a specific task: understand a housing notice and explain the required action in Finnish. Repeat with an unfamiliar notice, then check whether the same difficulty remains. Keep a short record of the error and the phrase that resolved it.

Review writing and speaking with suitable sample tasks or a teacher. Choose a booking only after checking the official path, evidence requirements and test availability. If your application circumstances are unclear, ask Migri; another learner’s situation may be different.

Official sources

Migri: language requirements by application path; OPH: YKI levels and test days.