Useful Sites on the Internet

There is usually a lot of paperwork and practical arrangements to be taken care of when arriving in a new country. Except for the official documents that must be managed when settling down in Finland, there might also appear some practical problems and questions that need to be solved. The following sites might serve as a quick reference when trying to arrange with all the necessary documents and when adapting to the daily Finnish routines.

The Finnish universities publish brochures and material containing academic information and local practical information in English. These information packages can usually be found at the homepages of your university.

Guides and Link Collections

Citizen's Guide: http://www.opas.vn.fi/english/index.html
Published by the Finnish Ministry of Finance. The guide contains essential information that citizens need in everyday life.

The VOCTUC Project: Handbook on employee mobility within Europe:
http://www.akava.fi/html/english/voctuchandbook.html
Published by AKAVA with the support of the Commission of the European Communities.

The Finnish Ministry of Labour/Migration Affairs: `Are You Planning to Move to Finland?'
http://www.mol.fi/migration/engopas.pdf

Virtual Finland: http://virtual.finland.fi/
Published by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (http://formin.finland.fi/ english/). On this site you will find among other things information on education and research, a guide to Finnish customs and manners and information on the Finnish way of life, a Finnish and Swedish glossary (`A Chance to Speak Finnish'), travel information, information on and links to Finnish mass media and a virtual newsroom.

Discover Finland: http://finland.cimo.fi/
Published by CIMO. Here you will find information on the Finnish education system, the higher education institutions, Finnish culture and many useful links.

Finnish State Regulations

Visa, residence and work permits:
Police http://www.poliisi.fi/english/pi278en.htm
Directorate of Immigration:
Information sheets on work and residence permit for Finland (pdf) http://www.uvi.fi/englanti/julkaisu.html
`Residence in Finland' http://www.uvi.fi/englanti/oleskelu.html
Legislation concerning entry and residence of foreigners
http://www.uvi.fi/englanti/lait.html

Civil registration and notice of moving:
Population Register Centre: `Registration of a Foreigner in Finland'
http://www.vaestorekisterikeskus.fi/prc.htm
Taxation: Tax Guide http://www.vero.fi /english/taxguide/index.html

Identity cards and driving licenses:
How to apply for a Finnish identity card
http://www.poliisi.fi/english/pi274en.htm
Information on the application procedure of Finnish driving licences and the validity of a foreign driving licence
http://www.poliisi.fi/english/pi271en.htm

Labour administration: Ministry of Labour http://www.mol.fi/english/index.html
General information on migration affairs
http://www.mol.fi/migration/pateng.html

Consulates: Finnish diplomatic missions abroad
http://virtual.finland.fi/kalenteri/maat.html

Municipalities: The Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities http://www.kuntaliitto.fi/indexeng.htm
Surf Finland: Explore Finnish municipalities and cities on the web
http://www.netek.fi/surf/

Health Care and Social Security

The Social Insurance Institution (the Finnish acronym KELA): http://www. kela.fi/english/index.html
Information on among other things social benefits for parents and families, sickness allowance and unemployment benefits.

The Federation of Unemployment Insurance Funds: http://www.tyj.fi/english/paasivu.html
Information on earnings-related allowance during unemployment.

The Finnish Student Health Services (FSHS, the Finnish acronym YTHS):
http://www.yths.fi/indexEN.htm

The Central Pension Security Institute: http://www.etk.fi/english/etusivu.asp
Information on the employee's pension.

Financial Aid: Grants and Scholarships

The Finnish Cultural Foundation (Suomen kulttuurirahasto): http://www.skr.fi/english/grants.html

CIMO (Centre for International Mobili
ty): http://www.cimo.fi/

Recreation and Culture

kulttuuri.net: http://www.kulttuuri.net/indexeng.php3
A gateway to Finnish culture on the net
See above: Virtual Finland http://virtual.finland.fi/

The Confederation of Unions for Academic Professionals in Finland (AKAVA) http://www.akava.fi/html/english/index.html provides information in English on among other things the aims and goals of the Confederation.

Martina Landén