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Students standing on the top of Koli.

Student life in Finland

As a student arriving in Finland, you will likely appreciate the clean environment, safe surroundings, reliable public services, and close connection to nature. At the same time, moving here requires realistic expectations.

You may have heard that Finland is often ranked as the happiest country in the world. Despite the name, the ranking does not mean that Finns are happier every day than people elsewhere, or that life is free from problems. Instead, the rankings primarily reflect factors such as safety, trust in society, quality of education, and social stability rather than individual happiness.

 Students should arrive with sufficient funds to support themselves throughout their studies, as finding part-time work can be extremely challenging and many jobs require excellent Finnish language skills. Part-time employment should not be relied upon to finance your studies or life in Finland.

The rankings and statistics only tell part of the story. To help you understand what everyday life in Finland is really like, this site provides practical information and honest advice on topics such as living costs, housing, healthcare, residence permits, studying Finnish, employment opportunities, climate, and student life at UEF.

Finland has four distinctive seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. The highest daytime temperature in eastern Finland during the summer occasionally rises over 25°C (degrees Celsius). During the winter months, particularly in January and February, temperatures of minus 20°C are common. Due to the low humidity, however, Finland's climate is actually not as cold as temperature readings might seem to indicate.

In eastern Finland first snow settles in late October or in November, and the landscape will usually be covered with snow in December. The first signs of spring can be seen in March, and in April the snow gradually starts melting away. Still, there might be some snow left even in the beginning of May.

Finland is generally considered a relatively expensive country. While the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) sets a minimum requirement of €800 per month for a student residence permit for non-EU/EEA students, we recommend budgeting more, at least around €900–€1000 per month, to comfortably cover essential living costs, including food, accommodation, and local travel.

UEF does not offer financial support or aid for students facing financial difficulties, and cannot provide assistance in financial emergency situations. Careful planning will help you focus on enjoying your studies and student life here.

Please see Finnish Immigration service website for more information.

Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) provides all Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students of the University of Eastern Finland, with preventive health care, medical care, mental health care, and dental care. FSHS provides health services only for degree students (not available for exchange students) who have paid the Student Union membership fee. Read our Kamu Student Handbook about the student health care.

The University of Eastern Finland requires that all incoming international students must have a valid personal (travel) insurance policy from an internationally recognized insurance agency for the whole duration of their stay in Finland. Read our Kamu Student Handbook about the insurance cover for students.

Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. However, knowledge of Finnish language is not necessary for studying in our degree programmes taught in English. However, studying Finnish before and during your studies is highly recommended. Knowledge of Finnish helps students to integrate into the everyday life in Finland.

For more information and links to learning Finnish online, please see infoFinland.fi.

EU citizens and citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland can enter Finland freely, but they must register their right to reside in Finland if staying for more than three months.

The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) is responsible for issuing residence permits in Finland. You can apply for a study-based continuous residence permit (type A) for the entire duration of your studies. Application process can take time, and the student should be prepared to visit to a Finnish mission for identification. Allow at least three months for processing, or possibly longer. You need to have a valid residence permit before arriving in Finland and starting your studies. 
 

For more information:

Independent, non-profit student housing companies in Joensuu and Kuopio offer housing for single students as well as students with families. There are no on-campus dormitories available. For more information, please see Kamu students' handbook.

Student housing companies in our campus cities:

It is not possible to apply to our university solely for the purpose of studying Finnish. Neither do we offer any preparatory Finnish courses that aim to train students to study in our Finnish degree programmes.

Students who have been admitted to study at the University of Eastern Finland can choose Finnish language studies offered by the Language Centre free of charge. Further information can be found in Kamu student handbook.

The non-European citizens studying in an international Bachelor's or Master’s degree have tuition fees which are approximately 10,000 € per academic year. The university offers a limited number of tuition waivers and scholarships for international degree students required to pay tuition fees. There are no tuition fees for the EU and EEA citizens.

Applicants cannot apply for full (100%) tuition waivers. UEF also does not offer scholarships on humanitarian grounds. Students are expected to have sufficient personal funds to cover the remaining tuition fees and living expenses throughout their studies in Finland.

For more information: Tuition fees and waivers

International students from non-EU/EEA countries are allowed to work in Finland on student's residence permit (without a work permit) for a maximum of 30 hours per week. Students from the EU/EEA countries do not need work permits at all.

Please note that finding a job without excellent knowledge of the Finnish language is very difficult. In addition, if you plan to move to Finland with your family, your spouse may find it difficult to secure employment. Therefore, it is important to ensure that you have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family for the entire duration of your stay. 

For more information: Employment and Economic Development Office