Arrival in Finland

The following information is aimed at helping you to get through the formalities before entering Finland. Please notice that all of the information on these pages is subject to change and that the latest information about the arrival procedures is always available from the officials.

Before entering Finland, please remember to leave enough time to complete all the necessary formalities such as obtaining a passport, arranging visas, other permits and insurance! Please check the following sections to see which ones apply to you.

Information on Internet:

Directorate of Immigration (UVI) 
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland 
Diplomatic Missions

Passport or official identity card

International students coming to Finland need a valid passport, except citizens of the Nordic and the European Economic Area (EEA) countries who need either a valid passport or an official identity card (travel document) to prove the identity. During your study period in Finland there will be opportunities to travel to Finland’s neighbouring countries. For travel outside Finland a passport is often required, especially to Russia. Passport might also be required when travelling to new EU-countries.

Residence permits (Students from countries outside the European Union (EU) / European Economic Area (EEA)

Citizens of the Nordic countries may arrive, reside, study and work in Finland without residence permits.

Citizens of the European Union (EU) / European Economic Area (EEA) countries do not need Residence permit but must register after arrival at the local police authorities in Finland (please see next section).

Citizens from countries outside the European Union (EU) / European Economic Area (EEA) who intend to stay in Finland for more than 90 days must obtain a residence permit from the Finnish diplomatic mission in their home country before entering Finland. If they live abroad, the application should be addressed to the Finnish diplomatic mission in their country of residence. A residence permit can also be granted in any other country where they are staying legitimately, if this is considered reasonable.

Non-EU students need to apply for the residence permit before their arrival in Finland. Please check your local Finnish Embassy for further details. Please check also if you need a visa for the study period.

Visa

The Schengen area countries have uniform visa regulations and foreigners must fulfil the entry conditions. The countries have agreed on which countries are free of and which countries are under visa obligations.

Who needs a visa?

• The citizens of the Nordic countries may arrive, reside, study and work in Finland without visas.
• The citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA) countries (EEA includes all the EU countries and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) need not to apply for a visa.
• Citizens of other countries are required to have a visa or a residence permit, depending on the citizenship and the length of the stay, already before coming to Finland.
• Students (non-citizens of Nordic or EEA countries) who have been accepted to participate in entrance examinations of Finnish institutions of higher education, must apply for a visa for the period of the examinations.

When arriving in Finland you may also be expected to show, in addition to your visa and a valid travel document, an insurance document for the duration of you stay and other documents related to your stay in Finland. You must prove that you have sufficient funds (EUR 30 per day or scholarship) for your stay and for your return journey or further travel.

If you would ordinarily need a visa but have a residence permit valid in one of the Schengen countries, you do not need a visa to enter another Schengen country if the intended duration of your stay is no more than 90 days.

Where and how to apply for a visa?

Apply for Visa either at a Finnish embassy or consulate or at a mission of a Schengen missions that represents Finland (see more at the website of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.formin.fi ).

You need the following documents when applying for a visa:

• A completed and signed visa application together with a passport sized colour photo
• A passport should be valid for at least three (3) months following your journey.
• Travel insurance for the visa period
• Invitation letter from EVTEK
• You may need to supply further details in addition to those mentioned above
• Sufficient funds to cover your stay - at least EUR 30 a day.
• The embassy or consulate may also want to interview about the study period.

Please check all the necessary documents at the embassy or consulate in question as there might be some changes.

Registrations after arrival (Students from the European Union (EU) / European Economic Area (EEA) countries)

Students from Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland) should register at a Register Office under an Inter-Nordic Migration Form.

Students from the European Union (EU) / European Economic Area (EEA) countries must register after arrival at the local police authorities in Finland should their stay lasts for longer than three months. Foreign students from the EU/EEA countries must meet the following conditions in order to obtain the right to reside in Finland:

• the main reason for the stay is to study at a Finnish educational institution
• sufficient means to support the stay in Finland during the studies
• a valid health insurance covering all the health risks during the stay in Finland

As an EVTEK student, depending on where you live the contact information of the local police is as follows:

HELSINKI
Police Aliens Office
Viljatie 2 B
00770 Helsinki
Tel: +358 9 189 3220 (Mon - Fri 9-11)
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 08:00 - 16:15

VANTAA
Police Aliens Office
Kielotie 21
01300 Vantaa
Tel: +358 9 87 301
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 08:00 - 16:15

ESPOO
Police Aliens Office
Nihtisillankuja 4
02630 Espoo
Tel: +358 9 52 542
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 08:00 - 14:00

Documents needed:

• Passport or identity card
• Student certificate from EVTEK.
• Two (2) photographs and 40 euro for the permit.
• Socrates ERASMUS certificate from student’s home institution.
• If you are not a Socrates student; settlement of accounts, scholarships and possible parents’ aid (the minimum amount required by the authorities is 600 euro/month.
• Proof of valid health insurance

Work Permit

International students usually need a work permit if they intend to engage in paid employment while in Finland. However, there are some exceptions for students and trainees.

Work permits for students

Students who are citizens of the Nordic or EEA countries or who participate in EU education and training programmes do not need work permits and they are allowed to work without restrictions (they will need an employer’s certificate, however).

Other international students can work without a work permit within certain limits. Students are permitted to do a limited amount of paid work under a residence permit issued for studies if the work in question is practical training included in the studies or final project work. Part-time employment is also possible, if the working time comes to an average of 25 hours per week at most. There are no limitations on working hours in full-time employment during holidays, specifically the summer and Christmas holidays.

You must obtain a work permit if you intend to work more than 25 hours in a week during the academic term. The work permit is subject to a charge and the application should be submitted to the local police in Finland.

Work permits for trainees

Trainees coming to Finland through CIMO’s programmes do not need work permits and they only need residence permits if their stay in Finland lasts longer than 90 days.

Insurance

Before leaving your home country, please check your travel and health insurance. The insurance is compulsory for all students and it must cover expenses and transportation to the home country in case of an emergency and/or repatriation. The insurance must cover you during your stay in Finland and also during your travel to and from Finland. EVTEK does not cover for eventual accidents and illnesses that happen during your stay and without a valid insurance the medical payments may rise high..

Students from the EU / EEA countries are entitled to public health services in Finland if they are covered by health insurance in their own country. An official document/European health insurance card (E111 or E128) is needed for all health services in Finland. Note that the European Health Insurance Card is not valid during your travels to and from Finland and during the excursions to the third country. The institutions of higher education do not cover for the eventual accidents taken place during your stay, and without a valid insurance the medical payments may rise high. Please remember that though citizens of the EU and EEA countries are entitled to all health services in Finland if they are covered by health insurance in their own country (you should ask the social security authorities in your country for the document needed for social security in Finland) they too must have an insurance.

Students from outside the EU / EEA must have private insurance to cover the duration of the visa and the Schengen area. The insurance must cover in case of illness or accident and include travel costs to home country.

For travel outside Finland, make sure the insurance is valid in these countries as well.

Remember to bring the valid insurance policy with you!

Civil registration

If your study period in Finland is at least one year, you must register at a local register office of the Population Information System. Registration information is needed for purposes of elections, taxation, health care, juridical administration and statistic. After registration you will be given a Finnish personal identity number, which is used for identification purposes. Students staying in Finland less than a year can apply for a Finnish personal identity number, however, it does not give any rights to social services or benefits in Finland.

Register offices in the greater Helsinki area:

Helsinki; Albertinkatu 25, 00181 Helsinki, Tel. +358 71 87 30191

Espoo; Itätuulentie 2 A, 02101 Espoo, Tel. +358 71 87 30201

Vantaa; Kielotie 15, 01301 Vantaa, Tel.+358 71 87 30231

Documents needed:

• passport
• valid residence permit or registration certificate from Police office, and other official documents (for example, certificate of marriage, birth certificates of children).

You will also need to fill in and sign the form “The Registration Information on a Foreigner”. Reliable proof should be submitted in support of the information to be registered. The submission of false information is a punishable offence under the Finnish Penal Code. Please submit an official notification of move at the register office at the same time.

Notification of move

When moving you must notify the local register office of your change of address. A notification of move must be submitted within a week after arrival in Finland. A notification must be given every time you move within the country and also when moving abroad from Finland. When moving to or from Finland, a notification must be given in writing. A person moving to Finland from another Nordic country must submit an Internordic Moving Paper.

Forms and additional information available in local register office as well as on the Internet www.maistraatti.fi .

Legal Rights

In general, the Finnish legal system applies to foreigners and Finnish nationals alike. The rights of foreigners are safeguarded both by Finnish law and by the international treaties that Finland adheres to. The Joint Nordic Agreement provides citizens of other Nordic countries with certain benefits, such as the right to vote in municipal elections.

A more detailed account of the legal issues applicable to non-Finns concerning matters of immigration and residence is to be found in the Act on Aliens and the Decree on Aliens. EU regulations concerning the position of foreigners are applied to Finnish legislation.

Assistance in legal matters

In legal matters, assistance is provided by local legal advice offices (Yleinen oikeusaputoimisto). Charges are based on the client’s income. Appointments must be made in advance. Other sources of legal advice are the Ombudsman for Minorities, student unions and law students’ associations at universities.

More information

• At www.mol.fi/vahemmistovaltuutettu (Ombudsman for Minorities)
• At the municipal local legal advice offices and Directorate of Immigration at www.uvi.fi/English (Aliens Act).

Travel Card

The Travel Card can be used on all buses, trams, local trains and underground in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen as well as on the Suomenlinna ferry. The card can be loaded with a travel period (time) or value (money), or a combination of the two. The travel period can be either regional or internal. The loaded value can be used for paying both regional and internal value tickets, which is cheaper than buying a single ticket from the driver.

There are different ways of using the travel card, please read more about the card and decide which type suits you best. First you should choose the travel card type: Personal or Multi-user.

Depending on how much you travel, you should choose either (or both) “travel period” or value (money) for the card. Please note that exchange students do not get a student discount on the Travel Card fees.

Multi-user Travel Card

Multi-user travel card can be bought by anyone irrespective of the place of residence. Multi-user travel cards can be used also by travellers other than the card owner. Multi-user travel cards can be purchased at all R-kiosks and other sales points in the capital area which bear the Travel Card logo. The card payment is 8 euros. This card is excellent for joint use by a family or company. Period tickets loaded onto multi-user cards are more expensive than on personal cards.

Personal Travel Card

All Helsinki region residents and temporary residents are eligible to purchase a personal travel card. Those who live outside the Helsinki region can also purchase a travel card at a Travel Card Service Point. Non-residents can load a personal general period ticket on the card.

Temporary residency must be registered by means of notification of move at the local Register Office where you will receive a residency certificate. This will enable you to buy a personal travel card. The cardholder will need a normal ID to prove his/her identity.

Both travel time (i.e. any period of 14-366 days), and value (i.e. 5-400 euros), can be loaded onto the card. Period tickets loaded onto personal cards are cheaper than on multi-user travel cards.

A personal travel card can be purchased directly at any of the public transportation service points. The card payment is 8 euros.

Travel fares

You may load time (i.e. a travel period of 14-366 days) onto the travel card. The longer the travel period you load onto your card, the cheaper the price of travel will be per day.

The period loaded on the multi-user travel card is more expensive than a period loaded on the personal travel card, because the municipalities in the capital region only support their own residents’ public transport use.

OR, you can

Load value (money) from 5 to 400 euros onto the travel card. With the travel card value ticket you can transfer to another public transport vehicle within 80 minutes of validating the ticket i.e. when you have shown your card to the card reader device. Inside Helsinki, the transfer time is 60 minutes and for a regional ticket the transfer time is 80 minutes.

Ticket inspections

Ticket inspections take place regularly. The inspectors have a portable machine that can read the data in the card and use it to check whether the period or transfer of the card user is valid, whether the trip has been paid for, whether the Travel Card is valid or whether the card has been put on a revocation list. The inspectors can also use the machine to check whose Travel Card the cardholder is using. In unclear cases they can ask the traveller for proof of identity. The fine for having an invalid ticket is 80 euros.

Read more about the Travel Card at  http://www.ytv.fi/ENG/transport/guide/travel_card/frontpage.htm

Arrival in Helsinki, customs, bringing a car, etc.

Arrival

Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is an international airport with good connections to all the European capitals, to the United States and Asia. There are good domestic connections to other Finnish towns, some of which also cater to international flights.

From all Finnish airports there is an airport bus service or local bus to the centre of the local town, and sometimes to nearby towns, too. There are also taxis available, including some special Airport Taxis or Yellow Taxis which have cheaper rates for groups going in the same direction.

You can also arrive by sea, from Sweden, Germany, or Estonia. The main harbour towns are Helsinki, Turku and Maarianhamina. There are international train links from Moscow and St. Petersburg, and from Sweden to northern Finland.

Within Finland, there are good rail, bus and air networks, especially in the north-south direction. There are also ferries and boat connections where necessary. Timetables are reliable, and train and coaches do leave on time. Timetables vary slightly on public holidays, weekends and during the summer.

At the customs

The customs procedure in Finland is quite standard, with the usual international restrictions on certain goods. If you need to bring particularly valuable goods or equipment with you, or for instance, special medicines, it is worth finding out beforehand whether you will need special documents for them.

Only alcohol that is meant for consumption can be imported. Alcohol for medical purposes is not allowed into the country. Strong alcoholic beverages may be imported by a traveller aged 20 or over, and mild alcoholic beverages (strength not more than 23% vol.) may be imported by a traveller aged 18 or over.

The import of weapons, narcotic drugs or medications without a special permit are forbidden. For personal use, a traveller may bring in medications prescribed by a doctor up to an amount sufficient for three months.

A person staying in Finland temporarily may import a vehicle tax-free (max. 6 months), but will be given special instructions about the importation procedure. If you are staying for a longer period, check what documents you will need for this. There are also certain regulations concerning departure. The exportation of articles over 50 years old that are of cultural and historical value is prohibited unless the National Board of Antiquities has granted a permit.

References
CIMO Publications: ’Living in Finland’, 2005

Dahlgren, Maija and Marja Nurmelin: “A Survival Guide to Finnish Sauna, Sisu & Sibelius for Businesspeople”. Yrityskirjat Oy, 1999.

Snyder, Russell and Pertti Anikari: “ The Lighter Side of Finland for Businesspeople”. Yrityskirjat Oy, 1999.

Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland: “Virtual Finland – Your Window on Finland”. http://virtual.finland.fi .

Oy Yleisradio Ab: “Find Finland: How to become a Finn”. Opetusjulkaisut, 1992.

Lonely Planet: “Scandinavian Europe”. Victoria: Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd, 2003.