Living in Finland
Registration of Stay in Finland for non-EU/ETA Students
Are you coming to Finland because of your studies and are you a non-EU/ETA citizen?
You have to apply for a residence permit for studies at Migri = Finnish Immigration Service.
Once you are granted the permit and you move to Finland, you have to register your stay at Maistraatti = Digital and Population Data services Agency.
Please follow the instructions down below what you need to do. Read more….
Student housing
Are you coming to Helsinki region because of your studies and you are looking for cheap housing?
HOAS = Homes for students, is the foundation for student housing in the Helsinki region, which rents out, builds and maintains housing for students in the capital region. Read more….
Opening a bank account in Finland
Opening a bank account in Finland is a necessary step to do once you move to Finland. Online banking and identity verification will go hand-in-hand while you stay in Finland. The four leading banks in Finland are Nordea, the OP Group, Danske Bank and S-Pankki, representing more than 80% of Finland’s banking services. Read more….
Kela - non EU/ETA citizens
If you come to Finland from some other country than an EU or EEA country or Switzerland in order to study here for at least 2 years, you can usually receive the Kela card and for instance reimbursements from Kela for medicine costs. You are not entitled to all Kela benefits, however. If you are not a Finnish citizen and have come to Finland for study purposes, the general rule is that you cannot get financial aid from Finland.
However, you may qualify for financial aid if. Read more…
Find your phone operator
Pre-paid sim card: You can easily get a pre-paid sim card in for example any R-kioski or the operators’ stores. You can then top up your SIM card online or again in any R-kioski.
To be able to get a phone contract, you will need a passport, Finnish social security number and a clear credit record. You also need to have lived in Finland for at least two years
The links above are for three main phone operators in Finland – DNA, Telia and Elisa. Go check out their website for different phone plans or visit their stores. Most of the shop assistant speak English and will be happy to help you.
In order to get a phone contract you may need to pay a deposit which is up to 500€ euros if you have been in Finland for less than 2 years