Settling in - the most important steps
Once you have arrived in Helsinki there are a few things you need to do when settling in to life in Helsinki.
You have to register with the appropriate authorities, obtain a travel card for local transportation and pick up the user account information for the University network. After obtaining the user account you can log in to the University Intranet Alma.
At the end of the page you will find some tips on where to get furniture etc. when you start furnishing your apartment.
- Registering with the authorities
- Transport in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area
- User account information
- Flamma - the University of Helsinki Intranet
- Open a bank account
- Furnish your apartment
Registering with the authorities
All students coming from EU/EEA and the Nordic countries
Citizens of EU/EEA countries do not need a residence permit or visa, but they need to apply for a right to reside in Finland at the local police station within three months of arrival. For more information see the website of the Police.
Citizens of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) are registered at a Register Office if the stay in Finland lasts longer than 6 months. More information is available on the website of the Register Office (maistraatti).
Degree students: Register your permanent address in the Metropolitan Area!
If you are a degree student, you have to register at the municipal register office (maistraatti). Acquiring a permanent address and place of domicile (kotikunta) entitles you to enjoy municipal benefits, including, if your studies last for over two years, also the right to use municipal health care.
To register at the municipal register office you need to have a proof of:
- Right to reside in Finland. For non-EU/EEA citizens this is the residence permit; for EU-citizens this is obtained from the police as a certificate of residence.
- Certification of the duration of your studies.
Visit the Register office website for more information and the contact information for the offices.
Transport in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area
The Travel Card - one card for all forms of transportation
The Helsinki Metropolitan Area travel card makes it easy to travel around in the Metropolitan Area. The remotely readable and reloadable Travel Card can be used on all forms of public transportation in the Metropolitan Area - on buses, trams, local trains, metro (in Helsinki), as well as on the Suomenlinna ferry.
No matter which mode of public transport you choose, the same ticketing and fare collection system is in use on all transport modes. Fare pricing is based on zones which are determined by municipal boundaries. An internal ticket entitles you to travel within one city.
A regional ticket allows you to travel within the HSL area (Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa), while a two-zone extended regional ticket allows travel in Espoo, Kauniainen, Vantaa, Kerava, Kirkkonummi and Sipoo. A three-zone regional ticket entitles you to travel within the whole area, i.e. all seven municipalities.
Fares and student discounts
You can find the complete list of fares on the HSL transport website.
Undergraduate and graduate degree students are usually eligible for a student discount on the travel card after they have been registered as having a permanent residence in the municipality. You also need to obtain a certificate proving your student status at the Student Services at the Welcome Fair before buying the travel card.
Exchange students are also entitled to the student discount if they meet the eligibility criteria set by the Helsinki Region Transport. Exchange students also need a travel card application form bearing the stamp and signature of the university. The form is available at the Student Services or at the Welcome Fair.
Additional information
On the HSL transport website you will find a timetable search, maps, a journey planner, tickets and fares information and a passenger guide. Especially the Journey Planner is a good help when you are planning your travels in the Helsinki Region!
Local train timetables, route maps, tickets and fares as well as other information about commuter traffic can be found on the VR passenger service website.
User account information
All attending students at the University of Helsinki are given a user account to the University's network. Most public computers on the campuses as well as the University's wireless network require you to log in with your user ID and password.
The user account includes a user ID and password, an email address, disk space on a server, a printing quota of 400 sheets per term and access to various programs.
International students receive their user account information from the Centre of Information Technology.
More information on user accounts and how you activate it can be found on the Centre for Information Technology Freshman pages.
Flamma - the University of Helsinki Intranet
Flamma, the University of Helsinki Intranet, is a joint communication channel and personal work tool for all students and staff members of the University of Helsinki.
One of the basic principles is that all internal communication within the University is done through Flamma.
You need a University of Helsinki user account to use the Intranet. Upon login you will see a layout customised according to your status at the University e.g. student.
Flamma is also an information retrieval system organised according to various topics or functions in to information channels: i.e. Students, Teachers etc. You can also gather links of your own interest in one place.
You can access Flamma from the main page of the University website or through the direct link flamma.helsinki.fi.
Open a bank account
If you are studying in Finland for a longer time it is advisable to open a Finnish bank account. EU regulations regarding opening a bank account have changed recently, and starting from January 2013, the following documents are usually needed in order to open a bank account:
- Your passport
- Residence permit card (if applicable)
- Finnish Personal ID number (if applicable, you can get more information about the Finnish ID number on the Orientation Handbook and at the Welcome Fair)
- A registration certificate from the university
- Reference letter from your own bank in your home country/previous country of residence. The Reference letter is a certificate, given by the bank that you have been using, of an existing, satisfactory customer relationship and taking care of matters on time. It is also a recommendation for establishing a customer relationship. The Reference letter should be written for the purpose of opening a bank account
- Bank account statements for the past 3 months from your own bank in your home country/previous country of residence
- An address in Finland
NB! The practice of opening a bank account varies according to bank and branch in Finland. Each case is decided individually by the bank.
Furnish your apartment
Furniture for reasonable prices can be bought at second hand shops and flea markets. There are also two Ikea stores near Helsinki in Espoo and Vantaa, for contact information and instructions on how to get there, see Ikea's website> Services in English.
For one-stop shopping, check out the shopping centres in Helsinki and the surrounding area.
You can find directions on how to get to the different shops, flea markets and stores by using the Journey Planner website, street addresses are provided below.
Shopping centres in the Helsinki area
Forum in the city centre: Mannerheimintie 20
Itis (Itäkeskus) in Eastern Helsinki: Itäkatu 1-7
Jumbo in Vantaa: Vantaanportinkatu 3
Sello in Espoo: Leppävaarankatu 3-9
Iso Omena in Espoo: Piispansilta 11
Second hand shops and flea markets
UFF: shops at e.g. Fredrikinkatu 36, Hämeentie 4, Iso Roobertinkatu 4-6, Mannerheimintie 104, Runeberginkatu 4C, Turunlinnantie 12
Hietalahti flea market: at the west end of the street Bulevardi
Salvation Army Flea Market: Mannerheimintie 90
Recycling Centre (Clothes, furniture and other stuff)
Department stores in the city centre
Stockmann: Aleksanterinkatu 52
City Sokos: Mannerheimintie 9
Anttila: Salomonkatu 13
Updated June 20, 2013
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