• Before arrival
• After arrival
• Accommodation
• Transportation
• Income
• Problems?
• Ombudsman for Minorities
• Municipality of Residence
• Food and restaurants
• About Finland

 

After arrival

1. The very first thing to do is to pick up your apartment keys and find your way to your apartment. Here you can find information on how to get to Otaniemi. Please check the opening hours of the housing offices (in general they are open until 3.30 p.m.). If you arrive later and you don't have anyone (international tutor / employer) to pick your keys, you might want to stay the first night at a hostel .
2. If you are going to study at TKK, then you should take care of enrolling for the University.
   1. First, visit the Student Union Secretariat and pay the Student Union fee. All Bachelor and Master students have to join the Student Union. The fee is approx. 91 €.
   2. Then visit TKK’s International Student Services, room Y249a, to enrol for the University. You will need
   1. • a receipt of the paid Student Union (TKY) fee and possible tuition fee (for paying guests)
      • passport or internationally recognised identification card for EU-state citizens
      • the letter of acceptance signed by the Rector of TKK
      • passport sized photograph for the student card (does not concern doctoral students).
3. For receiving discount on public transportation, you will need a travel card. For that, you will need to visit a local register office for registering yourself as a resident and then go to the city service center called "Yhteispalvelupiste" to buy one.
4. Opening a bank account is strongly recommended for paying your rent and other bills. There is a Nordea bank at Otaniemi and they are prepared for opening accounts to foreign students. For more info, see www.nordea.fi. There are more banks in Tapiola, which is close to Otaniemi.
5. Finns love communicating with cell phones. You can buy a pre-paid subscribtion for a mobile phone from any "R-kioski" - there is one on the campus, at the shopping centre. There are several possible choices, be sure to compare as the prices may vary quite a lot.
6. If you are a EU-citizen staying in Finland more than three months, you will have to register yourself at a police station of the city where you live in. You need a photo and a proof of your studies, which you will get when enrolling. Nationals of Nordic countries do not need to do the registration, but they need to announce their address to a local register office when staying more than 6 months.
7. If you are a non-EU-citizen, you need to have the residence permit before arrival. If you need to extend your permit, the application needs to be done at the local police station.