The Republic of Finland
The Republic of Finland is situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki.
Finland has good results in many international comparisons of national performance such as the share of high-technology manufacturing, public education, health care, the rate of gross domestic product growth, and the protection of civil liberties.
Climate
Finland has a humid and cool semi continental climate. The climate type in southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. Winters of southern Finland (average temperature of day is below 0) are usually 4–5 months long, and the snow covers the land about 4 months of every year, and in the southern coast, it can melt many times during winter, and then come again. The coldest winter days of southern Finland are usually -20 C, and the warmest days of July and early August can be 25-30 C. Summers in the southern Finland last 4 months (from the mid of May to mid of September). In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterized by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. Winters in north Finland are nearly 7 months long, and snow covers the land almost 6–7 months every year. Summers in the north are quite short, only 2–3 months. The highest temperatures on the warmest summer days of July are rarely above 20-25 degrees in northern Finland.
A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle and the midnight sun can be experienced – for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter.
Finland's most significant centre for air transportation is located around 15 km / 9 miles north of Helsinki city centre. Helsinki Vantaalla Airport (HEL) is becoming increasingly important as a transport hub as Finland gains popularity as a holiday destination, and has evolved into a transit stop for passengers on their way to Asia.
Living in Finland
the cost of living for a student is €500 per month which in turn is € 6,000 per year. This means that the student must provide proof that he/she has access to this amount in a bank account under his/her name and that these funds are available for the year. If you have been awarded a scholarship, loan or financial aid, certificates must be submitted with your bank statement or proof of bank funds. Full details of a student's required cost of living can be found on Finish Immigration Service Website.
Police department and Maistraatti: There are certain things related to entry and residence regulations you should take care of as soon as possible. There are two different offices, police department and city register office (maistraatti) where you will need to visit at least after some time of your studies.
At the police department, things related to residence permits are handled. What you need to do, depends on your nationality. As students who come outside EU-countries already have applied for a residence permit beforehand, at the time of arrival in Finland there is no need to register at the police department. However, when student needs to apply for a renewal of the residence permit, this must be done personally at the local police department.
Renewing the residence permit
The residence permits for international students are granted for a maximum of one year. Application of extension of the residence permit must be submitted to the local police in person before current residence permit expires. Note also that to be able to renew the residence permit, the student must show that he/she has proceeded in studies as planned, in other words he/she must have got enough credits during the academic year.
When applying for the extension of the residence permit, take with you:
· Certificate of attendance (for next academic year)
· Transcript of records (about 40 credits / academic year)
· Proof of deposit of 6000 euros on your bank account
· One new photo
· Passport
· Fee for the new residence permit is 55 euros
· NOTE! After 1 September 2006 all students who are renewing their residence permit, must have a valid health insurance. .
Health care and health insurance
Starting from 1 September 2007 citizens from third-countries are required to have a valid health insurance. This is compolsory requirement for obtaining residence permit for studies lasting over than three months. Requirement is the same for degree seeking and for exchange students.
Any student who submits a residence permit application on or after 1.9.2007 must attach details of their comprehensive health insurance cover to their application. Comprehensive insurance cover means insurance which includes the types of treatment and costs that are covered by municipal health care services and the health insurance system.
It is a precondition for obtaining a residence permit that the student has valid health insurance cover with a reliable and solvent company or institution.
The type of the insurance student needs, depends on duration of the studies in Finland.
· For studies of less than two years in duration, a student must have private insurance which primarily covers the costs of medical treatment up to 100,000 euros (cost level in 2007).
· Where the duration of the studies is two years or more, a student will usually have a right to domicile, e.g.home municipality in Finland and is therefore entitled to municipal health care services. In such cases, it is sufficient for the insurance to primarily cover the cost of medicines (in practice the cover extends to doctor’s fees and costs of treatment and examination), up to 30,000 euros (cost level in 2007).
· In order to get the right to domicile, home municipality in Finland, you should register at Maistraatti, city register office. Home municipality is granted on request for those who fulfill the following requirements: duration of the studies is at least two years and residence permit is valid for one year minimun (non-eu citizens).
A student must have insurance cover when applying for a residence permit as without it a residence permit cannot be granted. A residence permit cannot be issued for a period exceeding the period of the insurance cover.
More detailed information about the requirements concerning the health insurance is available at the Finnish Embassy in your home country(Embassy of Finland, Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates) . For details see also the bulletin by the Ministry of the Interior. This new Act comes into force 1 September 2007, and it is applied to all residence permit applications that are handed in after that.
Note that valid health insurance is required also when student needs to renew the residence permit.Here you can find information about other documents needed when renewing the residence permit.
If you do not have a valid insurance yet, you can check insurances offered e.g. by: Finndealer Oy, ACS-AMI, International Student Insurance, AON or SwissCare. Of course, you can also have the insurance from your own home country. However, you must note that insurance must fulfill the requirements (see above).
Note also that the fact that you have a right to use the FSHS services, does not exclude the health insurance requirement.
Public Transportation
moving around by road is very easy. The highway and freeway network is good between the city centres.
The Finnish coach route network is one of the most comprehensive in Europe covering more than 90% of the public roads. There are more than 40 000 daily bus departures. Timetables are usually adapted to fit in rail, air and ship services. Oy Matkahuolto Ab's coach stations, authorised agents and travel agencies throughout Finland give additional information about coach traffic.
The rail network interconnects the major Finnish cities. Trains have almost 6000 kilometers of tracks (passenger trains about 4000 kms). The most important sections of line are electrified, like the lines from Helsinki to Turku, to Pori and to Tampere.
The metropolitan area (Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa) has a unified fare system. The region is divided into two tariff zones. Each of the towns comprises its own zone. Kauniainen ia a part of the Espoo zone. Journeys made within a single town area are charged as one zone. Regional journeys which cross city boundaries are counted as two zone journeys, irrespective of how many town areas have been driven through.
You can travel with Helsinki region travel card or with single tickets bought from ticket machines, the bus driver or train conductor on all local buses, trams, local trains and underground in the metropolitan area as well as on the Suomenlinna ferry. 1-day tourist tickets can be bought on buses, local trains and from multi-ticket machines. Tourist tickets for 3 and 5 days can be purchased from multi-ticket machines situated at train and underground stations and in advance from YTV and Helsinki City Transport service points, Kamppi Travel Centre, Stockmann Department Store and main R-kiosks.
With a single ticket or 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, excluding connecting bus lines for the underground and north eastern connecting bus lines, on which the transfer time is also 80 minutes. With a valid period ticket you can travel as much as you like. During night time 2am-4.30am a higher night rate is charged. Period tickets are not valid at that time.
Housing
Housing should be arranged before the student arrives in Finland. Some institutions like Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) is able to assist only exchange programme students coming to study for one academic year or for one academic term with their housing arrangements.
The International Student Services has reserved a fixed number of furnished rooms for the exchange students. The rooms are owned either by HOAS (The Student Housing Foundation of the Helsinki Region) or by the Student Union (TKY).
Other international students other than exchange students may apply for housing by aranging that with the institution directly.
Higher education
The higher education system of Finland is binary. It comprises Universities and Polytechnics. The Finnish higher education system comprises 20 universities and 29 polytechnics . Ten of the universities are multi-faculty universities and ten are specialized institutions. All universities engage in both education and research and have the right to award doctorates.
The polytechnics are multi-field institutions of professional higher education. They are specialized in applied research and development.
Classes from: Sep to May , long vacation from: 1 Jun to: 31 Aug
Languages of instruction: Finnish, Swedish, English
Foreign student’s admission
Admission requirements: Students must have completed secondary education. Higher education institutions select their students independently. Entrance examinations are applied and there is a numerous clausus in all fields of study.
Entry regulations: Depending on the nationality and the length of stay in Finland, a visa or a residence permit may be required. (Student from Sultanate of Oman needs visa)
Language requirements: In most cases, students must have good working knowledge of Finnish or Swedish. In international degree programmers, the teaching language can be English or some other foreign language in which case the applicants must show proof of their good knowledge of the foreign language.
Stages of studies:
University level first stage: First-cycle university degrees consist of at least 180 credits (3 years of full-time study). They are called kandidaatti/kandidat in all fields except in Law and Pharmacy .
University level second stage: Universities: magister (second cycle):
The second-cycle university degree consists of at least 120 credits (two years of full-time study). The degree is usually called maisteri/magister. Other second-cycle degrees are diplomi-insinööri/diplomingenjör (Technology); arkkitehti/arkitekt (Architecture); and proviisori/provisor (Pharmacy). The admission requirement to second cycle universitiy courses is a first cycle degree. The second cycle university degree title in the fields of Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine is lisensiaatti/licentiat. In these fields, there is no first cycle degree: in Medicine, the degrees consists of 360 credits (6 years of full-time study) and in Dentistry the degree consists of 300 credits (5 years of full-time study).
University level third stage: Universities doktor (third cycle): Students can apply for doctoral programs after the completion of a relevant second-cycle degree. The aim of doctoral studies is to provide the student with in-depth knowledge of his/her field of research and capabilities to produce new scientific knowledge independently. A pre-doctoral degree (lisensiaati/licenciat) in two years may be taken before the Doctor's Degree program. Studies for the Doctor's degree take approximately four years of full-time study beyond a second-cycle degree or two years of full-time study beyond a pre-doctoral degree. Students admitted to doctoral studies must complete a certain number of courses, show independent and critical thinking in their field of research and write a doctoral dissertation to be Foreign students admission
Visa and Student Residence Permit
Foreign applicants coming to Finland for an entrance exam may have to obtain a Tourist Visa from the Finnish Embassy. There is no Finnish Embassy in Sultanate of Oman, applicants should contact the closest Finnish Embassy, which is: Embassy of Finland, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)
Embassy of Finland
P.O.Box 3634
Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates
Tel: +971-2-632 8927
Fax: +971-2-632 5063
E-mail: sanomat.abo@formin.fi
Web page: www.finland.ae
Note that an invitation to an entrance exam does not guarantee that you will get a Tourist Visa. The Embassy will take all matters in the application into consideration and make the decision independently.
Recommended Universities:
Abo Akademi University
University Of Helsinki
University Joensuu
University Of Jyvaskyla
University Of Kuopio
University Of Lapland
University Of Oulu
University Of Tampere
University Of Turku
University Of Vaasa
University Technology of Helsinki
University Technology of Lappeenranta University Technology of Tampere |