Tervetuloa Suomeen
You have accessed these pages because you are contemplating immigration to Finland or because you are already resident in Finland.
Info Bank contains basic information about Finnish society and culture (Tervetuloa Suomeen), permits needed by those settling in Finland (Lupa-asiat), housing (Asuminen), studying Finnish (suomen kieli), finding employment and starting a business (työ), education (koulutus), health care (terveys), social services (sosiaalipalvelut), getting help in a crisis (kriisitilanteet), cultural and leisure services (kulttuuri ja vapaa-aika), and NGOs and associations (yhdistykset), as well as links to websites where you will find additional information.
Welcome!
These Welcome to Finland pages provide basic information on what you will need before moving to Finland. They also contain basic information on Finland; Finnish society, history, politics, transport, religion, customs and important public authorities.
What type of information do you require?
Are you coming/Have you come to Finland as a student?
Are you coming/Have you come to Finland to find employment?
Are you moving/Have you moved to Finland from another EU country?
Have you come to Finland as a Refugee or an Asylum Seeker?
Are you a Finnish citizen who has lived abroad for a long time and is now planning to return to Finland? Suomi-Seura is a good source of information.
On arrival in Finland, this is what you’ll need first
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Residence Permit. If you intend to work in Finland you also need a work permit. More information can be found on the Permits page of the Info Bank.
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Accommodation. More information is available on the Accommodation page.
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Personal Identity Number is organised by the Administrative Council. You should contact your local Administrative Council to register and you will be given a residency status and a personal identity number. You need to take along your passport and your residence permit when going to register. If you are married, you must also take your marriage certificate with you. If you have children, you need to present their birth certificates.
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Tax Card from the tax office. When you apply for a tax card, you must have a personal identity number or a temporary identity number from the Administrative Council. The Tax page of the Info Bank contains more information on the taxation system in Finland.
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Bank Account. Wages are normally paid into a bank account. Investigate the services offered by different banks to find the one that suits you best. There are various ways of paying bills (self-service payment machines, the Internet, the telephone etc.) You will need to present your passport or other official proof of identity when you are opening a bank account. A foreign passport is an acceptable proof of identity. More information in English
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Telephone Number should be organised as soon as possible. In Finland telephones are very important as means of communication. Find out about the services of different phone companies. Prices of phone calls may vary considerably.
- Opportunity to learn either Finnish or Swedish. Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. More information can be found on the Finnish Language page of the Info Bank.
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Driving Licence, which is valid in Finland. Different rules apply for driving licences obtained from different countries. Usually, foreign driving licences must be replaced by a Finnish one within one year of arrival inFinland. More information on driving licences can be found on the website of the Police. Information on other services of the Finnish Police can be found on the Police page of the Info Bank.
- Information on where the nearest Health Centre is located. The health centre is the first place to contact if you fall ill. More information on Finnish healthcare is available on the Health page of the Info Bank.
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Contacts with Your Home Country. Stamps are available at post offices, newsagents and some shops. Telephone cards are available e.g. at newsagents. Telegrams and faxes can be sent at the post office for a fee. Municipal Libraries offer free Internet use for people in possession of a library card. Many cafésalso allow you to use the Internet.
If you want to find a relative you have lost touch with, contact the Person Tracking Service of the Finnish Red Cross. The network of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent collects and delivers messages and information between people in over 170 countries.
- Many want to know where to practise their own religion. More information is available on the Religions in Finland page.
- It isn’t easy to move to a new country and find that everything is different. Learning the language is an important step towards integration (kotoutuminen). Learning the language will help you to understand a new society and adapt to it. Finland offers a wealth of opportunities for study. When you’re looking for work, a good grasp of the language and a completed professional qualification will prove invaluable.
Expat Finland is a helpful source for those who are looking for information in English on immigrating to Finland.
Support for individual integration of immigrants
An Act on the Integration of Immigrants and Reception of Asylum Seekers has been passed in Finland. Under the Act, each immigrant is entitled to an individual integration plan.
This plan will be implemented for the first three years after first arriving in Finland. The objective of the integration plan is to help people to adapt to life in Finland. The plan may include e.g. Finnish language courses.
The integration plan is usually drafted in cooperation with the Labour Counsellor in the Employment Agency or with the Social Worker in the Social Welfare Office. The website of the Ministry of the Interior Information on the Act on the Integration of Immigrants and Reception of Asylum Seekersas well as links. More information on the subject can also be found on the Opintoluotsi website.
The website of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy has information on the drafting of an integration plan in the following languages:
English
Finnish
French
Russian
Serbo-Croat
Somali
Farsi
Kurdish
Arabic
Albanian
Additional information about immigrating to Finland
The website of the Ministry of the Interior contains a ‘Home in Finland’ guide, which has information on housing, education and social security for immigrants in the following languages:
English
Finnish
Swedish
French
Russian
Serbo-Croat
Somali
Farsi
Kurdish
Arabic
Albanian
Vietnamese
Dari
Estonian
Plain Language
