Finnish authorities are investigating an agency that had offered to help some 350 Burmese students enrol in vocational schools across Finland. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
Ma Naw Phaw, 19, who had been living as a refugee in Mae Sot, a Thai border town, after fleeing the war in Myanmar, jumped at the chance to study in Finland. "It didn't matter what I studied," she says. "I just knew I needed a degree to find a good job and earn a decent salary to support my family." The 2021 military coup disrupted her education, and she refused to attend junta-controlled schools. In Mae Sot, she heard about an agency offering study opportunities in Finland and enrolled in Finnish classes.
But her dream shattered in April 2026. She had paid about €10,000 ($11,500; £8,600) to an agency called Brighter Future Way (BFW) for Finnish classes, a nursing programme application, and a residence permit. Her family took nearly a year to raise the money. However, Finland rejected her residence permit application, which BFW had said she could easily secure. She wanted a refund but could not reach the agency. Weeks later, she learned that founder Min Min Soe Shwe had been arrested in Finland.
BFW co-founder Phitak Pakay, based in Thailand, told the BBC the company has "lost contact" with Min Min Soe Shwe and will soon cease operations. Finland's Border Guard has launched a "large-scale investigation" into an education agency that offered to help some 350 Burmese students enrol in vocational schools between 2022 and 2025. Lead investigator Juho Sillanpää told the BBC the case could amount to "aggravated extortion." The BBC, after interviewing six affected students, a Finnish vocational school, and a BFW co-founder, understands that BFW is the agency under investigation.
According to its website, BFW "specialises in language training and student recruitment services for individuals from Myanmar who are preparing to live, study, or work abroad." The company has registered offices in Myanmar, Thailand, and Finland. Agencies like BFW have sprung up because students outside the EU can enrol in Finnish institutions through third-party "commissioners." It is unclear how many students signed up with BFW and how many made it to Finland. Ko Myo, 26, who completed a vocational course and works in a nursing home, said the agency allowed him to defer payments, but other students were not given that option. EduSavo Oy, a vocational college in Iisalmi, was due to receive its first batch of students through a BFW programme in the autumn.