Hands taking notes on tablet.

On this page you can find information on all the practical matters you need to take care of after arriving in Finland, but also tips on what to do in your spare time.

First days in Finland

Getting from the airport to the city center

You can take a train from the airport to the city centre. The train ride takes about 30 minutes. There are also buses during nighttime. You can find the schedules and information on how to buy tickets on the Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) website.

You can find more information on how to get around in Helsinki on this page under the chapter about Practical matters.

First night in Helsinki

If you do not have long-term accommodation when you arrive in Helsinki, we advise you to book a hostel or hotel in advance. You can find more information on short-term and long-term accommodation here.

Register in the Finnish population system

All students staying in Finland for longer than three months must register in the Finnish population system. You do this at the Digital and Populations Data Services Agency (DVV). If you do not already have a Finnish personal identity code this is where you will get it. Therefore you should register as soon as possible upon arrival. Read more about the registration of foreigners and municipality of residence on DVV's website . When you book a time for the registration you may be asked to first check with your higher education institution whether we organise joint visits with DVV. The answer is no, Arcada does not have joint visits. You need to book your own appointment to do the registration.

EU citizens: Swiss and EU citizens (except Nordic citizens) need to register their right to stay in Finland before they register with DVV.

Practical matters

Bank account

Setting up a bank account in Finland is essential partly because it makes payments easier, but also because the bank will provide you with an online identification system, that can be used to log into all government web pages. To get the online identification you have to have a Finnish ID card that you can get from the police . 

To open a bank account, pick a bank and contact them to book an appointment. Do not forget to check what documentation you are expected to bring when you make the appointment. Some banks have all their services in English (e.g. Danske Bank , Nordea and OP ), others provide partial service in English (e.g. S-pankki ).

Please note that if you try to deposit a large amount of cash or make a large bank transfer from abroad, the bank will likely ask you to document were the money come from before they will accept it.

Insurance and healthcare

Residence permit requirement: The need for insurance and the access to healthcare and medical care depends on your nationality and residence status. A private health insurance is mandatory for non-EU/-EEA nationalities applying for student residence permit in Finland. Read Migri's detailed information about international students' insurance and health services .

Finnish Student Health Service: All degree students who are enrolled at a higher education institution in Finland (also those that are not physically present in Finland) have to pay a mandatory student healthcare fee. Currently (2025) the fee is €35.60 per semester. Read more about the fee and how and when to pay it on Kela's webpages. This allows you to use the Finnish Student Health Service . If you are in need of non-urgent healthcare just call the Student Health Service (+358 46 7101073) and they will counsel you or book a time for you.

Kela card: Students who have a residence permit that is valid for two years or more should also be able to apply for a Kela card . This is a health insurance card that allows you to use the regular public health care services. These services are not always free but they are reasonable priced and considerably cheaper than private health care. If you have a Kela card, it is up to you whether you want to keep your private health insurance. Many Finns also have a private health insurance.

At Arcada: All students at Arcada are insured against accidents during practical lessons and training, but not during theory lessons or transport to and from Arcada. We also offer you the possibility to get help from our study psychologist and our study social worker, who can help you in your studies and advise you on the availability of various health services. Read more about counselling and support at Arcada.

Medication

Self-care medication (e.g. most painkillers) can be bought from pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription. For other medicines (e.g. antibiotics) you will need a prescription before you can buy them. A prescription is usually written by a doctor, but also some nurses are allowed to prescribe certain medicines. Read more about how to get medicine in Finland on InfoFinland.

You are allowed to bring some medicines to Finland with you from abroad for your personal use. There are, however, restrictions on the imports of medicines. These restrictions depend on what kind of medication it is and the country from which it is brought to Finland. In addition, you must be able to prove with a prescription or medical certificate, for example, that the medicine is intended for your personal use. You can find more information on InfoFinland.

Phone subscription

There are many different phone operators offering phone subscriptions in Finland, e.g. DNA, Elisa, Moi, Telia and Saunalahti. In order to get a subscription you need to have a Finnish identity code. If you do not have one already you will get it when you register in the Finnish population registry (DVV). The best way to find out about the different phone operators is to visit their web pages, contact their customer service or to go and ask at their stores, which you can find at many places in the Helsinki city centre. Often phone subscription companies will give new customers a very good deal that is valid for one or two years, when the deal expires your subscription automatically reverts to less favourable terms. This is when you should call up your provider and negotiate a new deal or switch to a different company.

If you do not have a personal identity code yet or you do not want to commit to a phone subscription, you can buy a pre-paid sim-card to get you started. Pre-paid cards are more expensive to use than a subscription but they do not require any registration or identification. A pre-paid card is a sim-card you top up with a certain amount of money as often as you need to. You can buy prepaid subscriptions at R-kioski kiosks and some supermarkets.

Special for Autumn 2025: Arcada has been given free pre-paid sim-cards by Elisa to give to international students. It includes a small amount of credit and after that you have to top it up yourself. Come to Arcada's campus and get yours from the International Student Advisor.

Internet

First check with your housing whether they provide internet or not. Especially in student housing it is common that internet is included in the rent, though you may have to bring your own internet cable or wifi router. If your housing does not provide internet it is wise to compare prices between different internet service providers. Many mobile phone subscriptions also include unlimited data, so you may not even need a wired connection.

Transport

Getting around in Helsinki is easy with public transportation and city bikes. Download the HSL app or use the online journey planner to find the quickest route to wherever you are going. HSL has a unified ticketing system where one ticket is valid for all buses, trams, metros, local trains and even some ferries. Remember that full-time students are entitled to a 40% discount. Learn more on our Student discounts page.

Getting a city bike pass is a great way to get to know Helsinki and move around when the weather allows it. Learn more on how to get started!

Travelling around Finland by train or bus is easy. You can use the perille.fi service to look up travel options for trips. Remember that if you buy a student ticket for a long distance train or bus trip you have to show a student card app when your ticket is inspected.

Working while studying

If you are in Finland on a student residence permit you are allowed to work up to 30 hours per week on average. Unpaid internships that are part of your studies are not counted as work. If you have a work or family residence permit, or you do not need a residence permit at all, there are no restrictions to how much you can work, but please take into account that we expect you to attend classes and study full-time.

Language skills and courses

At Arcada we hope that you take advantage of the Swedish language environment and learn Swedish. In many areas of Finland, a good command of Swedish will facilitate your job seeking. In order to be successful on the job market in Finland, a thorough command of Finnish is also strongly recommended and in many cases indispensable. Thus, in addition to the courses in Finnish and Swedish available at Arcada, we strongly urge you to study Finnish also outside of the Arcada classrooms, as good knowledge of Finnish will be very beneficial later on in your studies and job seeking.

Remember that the language teachers in charge of the Finnish and Swedish courses at Arcada will be happy to give you further tips on improving your language skills and provide you with advice on studying Swedish and Finnish outside the classroom.

Here is a short list of some courses you can take outside Arcada:

Sports, leisure and extracurricular activities

Even though your studies and work will take up a lot of your time and effort, it is important that you have a life outside of your studies and have some time to socialise with your friends and, for example, do some exercise. As a foreigner in Finland, it can sometimes be a challenge to find out exactly where and when such events that interest you take place. This list is designed to give you some starting suggestions, but can of course not be all-inclusive. There is a lot to do in Helsinki, something for everyone! Keep in mind that many of the sites below have their own collection of links to various activities, so be sure to have a look at these as well.

Hobbies

Art, culture, and music events

You can find timetables for major theatre, music, and sporting events through the largest vendors of tickets for said events: Tiketti and Ticketmaster . In Finland movies are almost always shown in their original language so you do not have to learn Finnish to go to the cinema and watch the latest Hollywood blockbusters.

You can browse through the list of museums and other sights in Helsinki on MyHelsinki .

Many events offer student discounts on the ticket price - make sure you ask!

Socialising

More information about studying and living in Finland

Below is a list of useful links with more information on studying and living in Finland:

  • Info Finland : The pages of Info Finland contain a wealth of basic information for immigrants on the functioning of society and opportunities in Finland. It covers a wide range of topics from health care to starting a business, and finding jobs and accommodation. All the information is available in 12 languages.
  • International House Helsinki: Get multilingual guidance online or at their office. They can provide you with a wide range of information and public authority services, for example this is also the place you have to go to do your DVV registration when you come to Finland. Check out their Newcomer's Guide for lots of practical advise about living in Finland.
  • Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) is responsible for everything that has to do with residence permits. If you need to change or extend you residence permit, start by reading the information on their web page. Be sure to begin the well in advance before your current permit expires, as it can take some time to process your application.
  • Luckan Integration : Luckan is an independent Swedish-language culture and information centre. They also offer services to immigrants and international students in Finland and the integration project Fika. They also organise multilingual events for newcomers in Helsinki!
  • Helsinki Times is an English-language online newspaper, providing you with news from Finland and the world.
  • YLE News in English is The Finnish National Broadcasting Company YLE's news site in English.
  • This is Finland has all kinds of content about Finland and Finnish culture!