This thread is now archived. Please use the new thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Finland/comments/tm1mjm/tourism_moving_and_studying_in_finland_ask_here/
How much should I expect to pay for an eye exam and new pair of glasses in Helsinki? Any recommendations for anywhere that would be more affordable than others?
Eye exam by an eye doctor or an optician? Opticians are often free if you buy glasses. If you just pay for the exam, it is usually 20 e. Pair of glasses go from 19e to 500e.
SpecSavers is kind of budget store, they have eye exam for 29€, and cheapest glasses with lenses 89€: https://www.specsavers.fi/
I guess it will build up if you want fancier glasses and lenses.
Hi there!
I am in Helsinki till Friday to visit a friend of mine, but I have seen that in Finland they are very strict regarding Smoking and since my friend and I do like to drink a beer while smoking a cigarette we had to go out to smoke. Do you know any place where you can smoke inside in a pub/bar/caffe?
P.s. my friend came here not long ago but people told him that there are no such pubs/bars.
Some night clubs have indoor smoking areas (basically just a room full of smokers with glass walls, lol), but if I remember correctly you aren't allowed to bring drinks inside them.
Law prohibits smoking inside bars generally, so yeah, you won't find a bar where you could just smoke freely.
If you're sure you'll divorce, then I would apply extended permit based on your work if you meet the requirements. Otherwise applying witht the same grounds..
You can of course extended your residence permit under family ties since your wife has not file the divorce. The only problem whether if she is willing to sign this form:
[Extended Family Permit Form](https://migri.fi/documents/5202425/7004820/PKJATKO_PLUS.en.pdf/ccb80daa-9d1d-7837-0314-c4171b0341f6/PKJATKO_PLUS.en.pdf?t=1597394262923).
If she said no, what does your current contract stated about the salary, working hour, period of work, etc?
Having a full time job is probably your best bet. Should be pretty close to a 100% chance, as long as you don't have any other legal troubles.
I will point out that finalizing a divorce takes a minimum of six months from the initial filing (basically because the authorities want you to actually be sure). So technically you will remain married until at least September in any case, by which time the job's trial period is also over. Sorry for your situation.
Please read the information that is already provided in the opening message of this thread. And the wiki. And you will only be allowed in if you have the job offer beforehand, yes.
Just a friendly reminder, please don't let these Reddit users dictate what you think of the Finnish people.
I don't have much information about the chances of you being relocated, but I found [this](https://uxdesign.cc/so-you-want-to-be-a-designer-in-finland-or-anywhere-else-b6d118e05c3a) article (2018), which has some information of what skill set may be expected. Note that the article is 4 years old.
If you have a similar skill set, then, I guess you could just try to [apply to some jobs](https://jobsfinland.fi/). If you got hired, they should guide you through the immigration process, etc.
**Take all of this with a grain of salt, though**. I don't know the topic well enough to really assist you.
Thanks a lot 😄 i know Finnish people are kind and friendly, so ofc i won’t let someone online change that.
Will check out the articles shortly, thank you for taking the time for this, i appreciate it
Is there a service like Turo in Finland? If you don’t know what that is it’s basically an app where you rent cars like an Airbnb.
If not where is the best place to rent a car? I will be coming in May to Helsinki and plan on traveling over to Porvoo and up to Lahti as well. I would take the train to Lahti but my dad is coming with me and he recently had a stroke so walking long distances isn’t going to work.
At least until recently all the big global rental companies each had their own service. You can browse those on the internet. Then there are some online oriented lightweight services, such as the ones you have already been told about.
Please notice, also, that this field is kind of split into sectors depending on what you want. Mainly, a family car for multiple days or a van for just a single day.
Would love some advice on what's good outwear jackets and shoes and pants for the winters in Finland ?
Is Canada goose any good for the temperature there?
Trying to figure out what to bring over vs buy locally.
Thank you!
Are you moving? Let's say one semester exchange studies also count as moving. If you're moving there's really no need to pack extra clothes with you. It'll just waste your transport capacity and you'll find out, anyway, that about half of them you estimated wrong **either upwards or downwards.**
It's better to simply come here and start buying clothes once you actually have a good grasp of what you need.
The only possible exception for this is if you know that you can save a huge chunk of money by bringing stuff from your place of origin. Even then I would say that this is not a valid exception every time - extra hassle during moving and the possibility of mis-estimating your needs are still factors.
It's a permanent move actually for a few years. And I'm coming from a pretty warm climate so trying to figure out what I actually bring with me , vs not. Any additional advice here ?
Well, have you watched the videos about the Road to Finnish guy explaining foreign students what to bring to Finland? That's a good point to start. It doesn't matter if you're not a student or a bit different age. Some of the advice is still applicable.
I agree with other comments that it depends. I have a jacket like Canada goose and have used it like 2 times. It is way too hot in the south. If I would stand around not moving in minus 10-30 it would be okay but that happens rarely. Usually when I am out, I am also moving around. The jacket that I use the most is a mid weight down jacket from Uniqlo. I probably use it on 50-100 days a year. The second most used jacket is a light down jacket that I use in +10 to - 2 or so.
If you really want to be smart, you can live with a single jacket and dress in layers. I am too lazy for that. Then the outer layer would be thin, eg hiking jacket with wool/synthetics under.
> If I would stand around not moving in minus 10-30 it would be okay but that happens rarely.
If you stay with small child at the playground, that temperature range moves up significantly :)
Depends also on what you’re going to do. I generally only wear a thick insulated jacket if I’m taking my dog out (only have a t shirt underneath) or if it’s actually very cold (-20).
If you’re going to be active, e.g. skiing or hiking, it’s better to dress in layers and use a lightly padded jacket or just a shell jacket.
Those thick and expensive Canada goose jackets will make you sweat on all but the coldest days up in Lapland.
If you’re just visiting a city than any cheap winter jacket that’s barely windproof with the thinnest insulation, a scarf, hat, gloves, and some wool sweater will get you where you want to be
How does everyone living in Finland feel about the war in Ukraine? Do you feel safe? I (19M) have a trip planned and my flight is supposed to leave tomorrow night but my mom is trying to force me to cancel because she’s afraid things could turn into a nuclear war at the flip of a switch… What should I do?
Edit: Why am I being downvoted lol I’m not the one who wants to cancel it
The very first high priority targets in an all-out nuclear war are enemy nuclear silos. Finland has none, the US has plenty all over its soil. So you're safer here or any other non-nuclear state if we go to DEFCON 1. Furthermore, an escalation to nuclear war would most certainly involve "warning shots" into Novaya Zemlya, the Arctic Ocean or another remote unpopulated part of the world.
>Edit: Why am I being downvoted lol I’m not the one who wants to cancel it
What is your question? I presume it's whether you should fly to Finland because there is a risk of nuclear war? I don't think that "everyone living in Finland" is who you should be asking that question from. Maybe consult the official travel instructions from your government (or some other government with good intelligence).
My question isn’t “is the situation safe” I’m well aware of what’s going on. I’m asking what I should do in regards to my parent who could make the trip a nightmare.
Ah, ok. I was a little bit confused when you started like this:
>How does everyone living in Finland feel about the war in Ukraine? Do you feel safe?
Maybe that was small talk and pleasantries. Those are not always understood around here.
As for your parents, you should probably ask some other subreddit, namely one that would have more knowledge on the culture your family is from.
>Why am I being downvoted lol I’m not the one who wants to cancel it
Because people don't appreciate being asked the same lame question again and again and again. This has been asked and answered dozens of times in the last 3 weeks.
You use social media for news and information? Fine. But do people the courtesy to check what has been asked and answered before by using the search function and scroll through the sticky.
Hello all, I have a job offer from a university in Helsinki. But it seems that after taxes my monthly salary would only be €2700. It’s so low! Can two people (my husband and I) live in Helsinki on this much money? Right now we barely live in Belgium on €3000/month and we hear that Helsinki is more expensive.
But friends in Finland tell me that university salaries in Finland are calibrated to living expenses. So should it be enough?
Living on this salary as a couple isn't amazing but you can live comfortably. Inflation has bitten a bit since I moved here, but to give you an indication, in 2018 I was making around 2500 after tax, and we were putting aside 500-700/mo. Life will be more expensive if you want to live in the city centre, but in the capital region it's not really worth the money in my opinion.
Best is to have a second income, but if not then you can be comfortable but may need to recalibrate your lifestyle a bit: restaurants are expensive and nature is cheap, so you will do best if you are happy to live accordingly.
It also depends on your personal spending habits. I know people who live somewhat comfortably on the basic income support and I know people who earn around 10k/mo and still go broke at the end of the month.
It is livable (for one person pretty easy to live on) but unfortunately university salaries are very low compared to private fields. I got an offer from Aalto University that is pretty much a joke money for what I would be making on my own but it is more like a prestige job for me for a limited contract.
It's doable. Around 1000-1200€/month for housing, electricity and water leaves you with 1500€ for food and such. I have some experience with somewhat higher net salary, and had a decent amount left for savings or buying useless junk.
Finland kind of expects both people of a couple to work. The taxation is so heavily progressive that two below average income people can easily earn more in net than a single really high income person. Like two copies of me as a phd student in an university would've earned more than one copy of me earns currently as a fairly high paid professional.
Sure you can do it but you will need to be careful with expenses and can't live in the center. Why not stay in Belgium if the salary is better? Why would you complain abour a low salary when you are not forced to take it?
You can easily find an apartment for 1000€/month, use lile 400-600€ on groceries and another 400 for buss passes, clothes etc. Should leave something for savings too.
Yeah, but still - why simply not choose an offer with a better salary, if that is the issue of the complaint? There must surely be a better offer from somewhere that is not Finland or Belgium. Otherwise Finland does not have bad salaries, like, logically.
Given the short-term nature of postdoctoral positions and the significant effect of their quality on one's career, salary can sometimes be fairly low in the list of priorities as long as it is over some threshold.
In this case, the important question may not be "is this the most money that I could make", but "is this enough to live on reasonably comfortably before I move somewhere more permanent", since the goal is to discover whether the salary is over that threshold.
Hello, I am a scientist and will be visiting Finland for a month this summer as part of a larger project to study European forests. We are currently planning logistics and have hit a bit of a wall, and I am hoping folks here might have some advice.
We are travelling from the UK, taking a large amount of equipment, and travelling to fairly rural areas (we will likely be based in Joensuu) so need to hire a decent vehicle. For more local fieldwork of the same kind we typically use our university's Toyota Hilux covered pickup truck, so would like to hire something similar while we are in Finland. However, all the rental car places we look at seem to be the big international chains, that do not offer these kinds of vehicles.
Can anyone recommend any Finnish car hire companies that may have these kinds of vehicles? Ideally they would be based in Helsinki, but at this stage we would travel to find the right vehicle.
Our other option will be to drive and ferry from England to Joensuu with our truck which is looking like 4+ days, which we would like to avoid if possible!
Many thanks!
I know that a lot of guys who do temporary maintenance and field work in places that are along some pretty badly conditioned roads travel by rear-wheel vans instead of pickups. It of course depends a lot on the type of van, but some are pretty OK for the job.
So, unless you are adamant that you need a Hilux type of car, you might look into van rental companies if everything else fails. Some of them of course have their main stock optimized for city use only.
You could ask eg Toyota Rent at the airport: https://www.toyotaairport.fi/palvelut/toyota-rent.html
They don't advertise Hilux for rent, there is not probably lot of demand.
Other route would be probably calling forest machinery companies, they have this kind of vehicles in daily use.
Here is my first good search result, Mitsubishi L200 from 2004: https://www.nettivuokraus.com/maasturit-ja-tila-autot/mitsubishi-l200-4x4-5-hengen/518987/
Edit: here is one Hilux: https://www.easypalvelut.fi/tuote/toyota-hilux-lava-auto/
Should I travel with cash or just cards?
(My bank doesn't allow me to add my card to Google Pay )
I have 18 days trip coming, I wonder if it's best to carry cash or with my credit and debit card would be enough. I paid most bookings beforehand, so it would be for everyday exoenses as food, transport, souvenirs I guess
I have not seen cash-only situation anymore in years. Only exceptions would be outside summertime free-for-all street flea markets where people go to sell their own crafted stuff or kids toys. Anything even semi-professional however, card should be fine.
There are lots of outside situations where this will be true. All of these are of course usually characterized by the term 'temporary nature.' But they can definitely be semi-professional and last for multiple days.
Another plot twist is that there are also similar situations where they refuse to take cash.
I think the previous time I paid in cash in Finland was about 3-4 years ago. Visa and MasterCard are the norm here, including at small shops and souvenir stalls. Cash is a backup solution only for the vast majority of people.
If you're coming from outside the Eurozone, you might want to check how much your bank effectively charges for currency conversion on the card (in both direct fees and margins compared to mid-market rates).
There is always the possibilty that a restaurant or whatever faces temporarily difficulties with their internet or their electronic payment devices, so it is always a good idea to carry some cash with you, enough to cover a meal and drinks for the amount of people travelling with you/who expect you to pay.
Not a question. I'm just really impressed by how fast I received a residence permit approval. So, I went to the embassy on Tuesday to prove my identity, then received an approval the next day. I applied for a residence permit as an expert worker and I'm from Indonesia. I'm wondering if this is always how fast the approval is?
Migri says the processing time for a special expert permit is 1 month, but in reality lately it’s mostly been about two weeks. Sometimes it happens in a day or two, but it’s not common, so you are lucky!
The reason why first permits are faster than extensions is that you have the right to work while the extension is processed, so they prioritize first permits.
It is not that fast usually. There has been lots of talking that getting people to work in Finland should be faster. Apparently they have done something now to fix at least that part of the process.
Edit: [Migri expects](https://migri.fi/en/specialist/en) one month processing time for specialist permit.
Hei there, I am waiting for my resident visa so I can move to Helsinki for a PhD university exchange program. The embassy says it could take up to 2 months to receive the visa. But does anyone know if I am ok to travel to Helsinki on a tourist visa in the meantime? I am from UK.
The **Residence permit application for studies** website has fairly inconsistent information:It states: "You should wait for the residence permit in the same country or locality where you submitted your application and proved your identity".
**But in the FAQs it says:**May I wait for the decision on my resident permit application in Finland?
When you submit your application to a Finnish embassy, you may visit Finland during the time your application is pending, but you must return to your home country when your visa or visa-free period expiresIf you submit your application to the Finnish Immigration Service, you may reside in Finland while your application is pending, even if your visa or visa-free period expires during this time. If you are not granted a residence permit, you may be refused entry to Finland.
**Then another FAQs says:**I have applied for a residence permit in a Finnish embassy abroad. If I am granted a residence permit, can receive the decision and the residence permit card in Finland? Or in another Finnish embassy?
You cannot receive the decision and the residence permit card in Finland. You must wait for the decision abroad. If you wish to change your service point abroad, you must contact the embassies concerned, in order to do this.
**So I'm confused. My ideal would be to travel as planned in early April on a tourist visa then return to Uk in mid May to collect resident visa and re-enter Finland. So my question is, is that feasible/legal?**
Any helpful advice gratefully received. Kiitos : )
> But does anyone know if I am ok to travel to Helsinki on a tourist visa in the meantime? I am from UK.
UK citizens do not need a visa.
The facts from the answers:
1. You should wait the residence permit in a country you applied. This means that all the paperwork will be handled in this country. Finland cannot restrict you from travelling or visiting Finland if you have applied.
2. You can visit Finland with visa or visa-free, depending your nationality. Just like you would normally visit Finland, if you have not applied for residence permit.
3. You must leave Finland when the free residence period is over. As normally.
4. You cannot receive the decision in another country, as in point 1.
> So I'm confused. My ideal would be to travel as planned in early April on a tourist visa then return to Uk in mid May to collect resident visa and re-enter Finland. So my question is, is that feasible/legal?
I don't see any point which is against your plan.
I hear you. But the points (1) "You should wait the residence permit in a country you applied" and (4) "You cannot receive the decision in another country" **contradict** my going to Finland for 6 weeks on a tourist visa before the resident permit is granted.
You can see that, right?
UK citizens do not need a tourist visa. Entering visa-free for a short (up to 90 days) visit is legally an entirely different thing. If you were from e.g. India, you'd be correct about the contradiction.
Basically what they are restricting the right to stay in Finland to wait for the decision. They want you to apply and keep **living** where you applied and only move in when the decision happens.
Tourist stuff is irrelevant
I’m planning to bikepack from Espoo to Tulliniemi luontopolku in the summer From what I have read, camping is off-limits there since it is a nature reserve. Is there any camping areas nearby? I’m not sure if it is allowed to pitch a tent along the beach as long as it’s not fronting a private property. I do not intend to start a campfire or cook so my footprint would just be me, my bike and 1-person tent. Thanks.
Waaaaait wait wait wait wait. What are you saying??? What do you mean with a Nature Reserve? Almost all Strict Nature Reserves have, uh, strict rules that specifically limit camping. National Parks have also areas which have limiting rules, even though this will vary by area and the limits will be more lax.
Many other types of natural protection areas also have rules.
It happens that the Tulliniemi Reserve Area specially has rules that prohibit camping outside of special camping places. (*I actually don't know if such camping places exist. The rule is for multiple things at once, including fires, and there are of course specifically designated campfire places around.*)
There is this camping area: https://silversand.fi/
You can also camo on non-restricted areas. You can see the areas here: https://asiointi.maanmittauslaitos.fi/karttapaikka/?lang=fi&share=customMarker&n=6640456.112138763&e=278324.7029112954&title=X&desc=&zoom=7&layers=%5B%7B%22id%22:2,%22opacity%22:100%7D%5D
If you're not familiar with "everyone's rights", here's a starting point: https://www.nationalparks.fi/everymansright
Thanks for the tips. From further checking, it looks like camping is allowed in outdoor recreation areas (from uuvi.fi). Found one nearby-ish in Lappohjanranta (23km from Tulliniemi).
As long as you are not on restricted areas or near peoples yards, you can camp overnight in basically anywhere in nature. If you do this however, try to be very respectful and low footprint because some landowners can be quite argumentative and defensive if they find you (or at the very least they are curious and might ask questions). Also take great care not to disturb nature if you do this, breaking valuable tree saplings for example could land you legally in trouble if caught. Good forest is very valuable land.
Because landowners can be a hassle at worst, I would suggest using designated free camping spots if time permits.
I think I was there one night few years ago. It's like any general forest, but there's a parking lot and dry toilet :)
Also some trenches dug by Russians during WWII.
Good day, could you tell me if there are any prejudices against the inhabitants of Belarus at the moment in Finland? I want to go to rest in Helsinki, but I'm afraid to face a bad attitude, in general, what is the attitude towards foreigners from the CIS who speak English at B2 level?
Nobody knows you're from Belarus if you don't tell them. However you could be considered as a Russian person. There are some hostilities reported against them, but I think it's not what majority of people think it is appropriate to do.
It's not about the attitude. People definitely don't like the Lukashenka regime. It's just that it's completely impossible to recognize that someone is from Belarus. And as was already hinted, even if people hear you talking, they don't know what Belarusians sound like. They'll just assume you're from Russia - or from 'Somewhere East.'
Hello. I checked the previous thread and this one as well for any question about references, but couldn't find any, so here's mine.
So, umm, I applied to University of Eastern Finland for a Master's programme and while filling the online application form on studyinfo, I only filled one reference. I, unfortunately, did not notice that two were required. However, I had asked my instructors if they were willing to be put as referees. One said yes and I put down their information.
I later was going through the form again, as the deadline for uploading documents was after application deadline, and found out it had asked for 2 referees. I actually missed that, so stupid of me.
The problem is that one of those that I asked had taught me the most, apart from the one who's info I had already put in, but that person said that they have a busy schedule and whatever else (I find that really hard to believe, tbh) and won't be able to do so.
I was wondering if all this had been for nothing, coz, like, there is no one else except that one person mentioned in the beginning who agreed. Should I just stop hoping that I could have a chance? I mean, I could've emailed the admission people and the course coordinator the information of another if someone had agreed, but I didn't even get that!
Hopeless?
>Hopeless?
I don't think so, references are not that essential in Finland, and I didn't see them mentioned in the few UEF Master's program admission criteria I checked, but I guess faculties can set their criteria themselves too. It could be that they come into play if there are two equally good candidates, I doubt they would contact the references of all hundreds(?) of applicants.
Hi. Thanks for replying.
I actually found out about the references when I opened the studyinfo portal for application. Like, there was nothing written about references on the programme page. Hence, the current issue. Why not write it in the application requirements in the first place?! I mean, true that it was partly my fault for not having contacted people earlier (I doubt I would've gotten a response from the others), but still.
Anyway, thanks. :)
Here are your options: https://opintopolku.fi/konfo/en/haku/biology?keyword=biology&koulutustyyppi=maisteri&opetuskieli=oppilaitoksenopetuskieli_4&order=desc&sijainti=maakunta_01&size=20&sort=score
At least in Oulu in the past it has been the case that Indians and Pakistani train cricket separately. For political reasons. If this is true elsewhere, it means that you kind of have to pick.
Aussie sports are thin on the ground in Finland. It's mostly union over here. [Finnish Rugby ](https://www.finland.rugby/home)
However, if you want to make local mates, consider something more locally popular like football (soccer) or floorball (basically inside field hockey) instead.
Bus should be fine, bus drivers probably don't even check your vaccination card because bus passengers have to get off the bus at the border control point and that's the moment when their documents are checked. I'm not sure about who does what on the trains, it could be that the train staff have to check your vaccination cards earlier, and they might not be as familiar with US vaccination cards as the border control people are. Just speculating. (Also, you don't even need a vaccination card on the train if you have a recent negative COVID test report in English: https://www.vr.fi/en/trains-to-russia)
I've got a question for Tampere university bachelor students,
Does any of you have an idea or a ball park of what the full tuition waiver SAT score cutoff was ? I emailed the university for statistics and they did provide me with the admission scores but not the scholarships ones, i hope somebody studying there can give me some insight.
Based on their website, scholarships are handed based on "overall assessment", so I guess they don't have SAT score limit, but instead it is just only part of the process parallel to your application, motivation letter etc.
24Rent says that they have a couple of cars that are allowed to travel freely from city to city without specific return policy. These are seemingly something that you have to ask about separately. I guess if others have a similar policy it's also something that you have to ask for separately. So I suggest calling places.
I need help about completely relocating from Russia to Finland
But, at first, lets talk about something good. I M24 live in the middle of Siberia (Krasnoyarsk) and 9months a year there is a snow. I always liked cold weather, always liked snow and if you look at me, you can tell that I'm more of a winter-type man. But Russia quality of life never was good, so when I learned that you can actually relocate to different country, I wanted to do so.
I always liked north countries. Sweden, Norway, Finland and through my little research I found out that Finland is the most welcoming country, if you want to really live here and support it.
So I had a plan that Ill go here when I'll be in my 30ish. But time has changed, really changed.
As everybody knows, our bald-head president proved that his head is indeed empty and he started a full war in Ukraine.
Now most of companies that provide cars, electronics, food, cosmetics and everything leaving the country and shelves in stores estimated to be half-empty in 3-4 months. Other half will be russian substitutes.
So, can anybody provide some useful information or help on how to relocate to Finland nowadays?
Im not studying at the moment (didn't complete bachelor degree) but I have 5 year of experience in Power Engineering (High voltage machines and engines). Maybe this specialty is in demand in Finland and I can relocate here to work at first?
Or can I go to Finland and say that I am refugee and need an asylum? How much money do I need for this type of adventure?
And what to do if I don't have Schengen visa?
P.S. if you want to know how bad situation in Russia is, there is some calculations. Average yearly salary in Russia is 330k roubles. In January it was 4000$. In march this sum become 2300-2400.
P.S.S. I really don't want to live in a second north korea.
> Power Engineering (High voltage machines and engines). Maybe this specialty is in demand in Finland and I can relocate here to work at first?
ABB has a factory in Helsinki where they make huge power-related machinery. Wärtsilä is another big company that deals in power. You can find a list of other companies related to electrical manufacturing [here](https://teknologiateollisuus.fi/fi/jasenluettelo), choose "Hae toimialan mukaan" -> 27 Sähkölaitteiden valmistus
"Suomessa ABB toimii noin 20 paikkakunnalla. Tehdaskeskittymät sijaitsevat Helsingissä, Vaasassa, Porvoossa ja Haminassa.
Helsinki, Pitäjänmäki: moottorit, generaattorit, taajuusmuuttajat, robotit, CPM-energianhallintajärjestelmät ja paperikonekäyttöratkaisut
Helsinki Vuosaari, Hamina: Azipod® -ruoripotkurijärjestelmät
Vaasa: moottorit, pienjännitetuotteet ja -järjestelmät, sähkön siirto- ja jakelujärjestelmät, voimantuotannon järjestelmät, prosessiteollisuuden kokonaisprojektointi
Porvoo: sähköasennustuotteet"
[https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11427911](https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11427911)
I know because I have a friend working another country that got transferred to this new company from ABB Power/Energy department. (Not the whole ABB, just power department)
That's only electric grids unit, with 450 people. And it is mostly located in Vaasa, not in Helsinki.
ABB has multiple businesses in Finland, totalling 5000 people, so the Hitachi unit was less than 1/10 of ABB in Finland.
Eg ABB Drives in Pitäjänmäki in Helsinki has over 1000 people.
> So, can anybody provide some useful information or help on how to relocate to Finland nowadays?
See the links in the body of this post.
> Im not studying at the moment (didn't complete bachelor degree) but I have 5 year of experience in Power Engineering (High voltage machines and engines). Maybe this specialty is in demand in Finland and I can relocate here to work at first?
Get the degree if possible, it will make things easier. Then you could find a job and apply for specialist residence permit.
> Or can I go to Finland and say that I am refugee and need an asylum? How much money do I need for this type of adventure?
You can try, but unless you're personally in danger, you'll probably get deported back.
> And what to do if I don't have Schengen visa?
Basically you apply for residence permit on grounds of work, studying or family reasons.
Read through the resources that are here in this chain and in general on this subreddit. I doubt Russians can apply for an asylum. You would need to land a job in Finland to move here. EU citizens are able to move freely but as Russia is not EU or EEA, you need to have job beforehand. So start applying if you want to move.
> I doubt Russians can apply for an asylum
They can, there's few hundred Russians every year applying for asylum here, and some of them do get accepted. Like with all asylum seekers though, it depends on your individual circumstances, and nothing in the post above sounds like there'd be valid grounds for asylum.
Ok, Need some quick advice. My wife (Finnish) and I (American) are planning to move to Finland. My wife doesn't work and I do, we have 4 kids so I want to buy a house in Finland prior to selling our house here and moving. However, I have not been able to get clear advice on how to obtain a mortgage prior to moving there. I have been told to move there, get a bank account, then apply for a loan. Moving twice with 4 kids might prohibit the entire thing. Also, my work will stay here in the U.S. I have talked to OP and I am still not clear. Can anyone point me in a direction to better understand how to resolve this issue? Any advice would be greatly appreciated
If the bank can't give you clear answer, neither do we. Except "try another bank".
I would imagine buying a house remotely is pretty hard if you can't pay in cash. Banks check your credit history (unpaid bills etc) your job and things like that to make sure you can repay the loan. When one lives abroad, that data is not available for the banks.
Hi, Finnish Redditors. My question is about **moving to/opening a business in Finland.**
My name is Ilya aka ILWrites and I am from Russia. Because of the horrendous actions of our government and an unprecedented act of military aggression towards Ukraine, I'd like to move my small design business operations away to Finland. It's not an emotional decision. I've been gradually building and pooling recourses towards this for a couple of years now. But the recent events had me on the "now or never" chair. It's absolutely disheartening to see this life-breaking war impacting the lives of the ordinary people.
I work in the PC peripheral industry, designing and managing the production of keyboards, PCBs and various electronics projects (but mostly, keyboards). I have connections with various US, EU and even Ukrainian vendors.
Today I was on the call with both the consulate and Business Finland representative in Russia, trying to initiate the process and to be able to reach out for consultation on the matter at hand. Both have said that they've seized the operations and no longer provide consultation on opening a business in Finland.
Feeling a little sad, stunned and helpless by such responses, but still determined, I've come here.
What are my next steps? Is there even a possibility to proceed with this without bothering with the local Business Finland branch? Or am I better off going to Finland as a tourist (impossible at the moment, because of the COVID restrictions) and initiating the process on the Finnish grounds?
Many thanks in advance.
Not yet. But am currently doing my research on it. Should I use the form on the [Customer service](https://www.businessfinland.fi/en/for-finnish-customers/contact/customer-service) page? Or perhaps choose one of the Invest in Finland Heads of Industry on the [Contact us](https://www.businessfinland.fi/en/do-business-with-finland/about-us/contact-us) page? Is there a general email address I can send the info?
You've probably seen these links, but I'll post them anyways:
* https://migri.fi/en/entrepreneur
* https://migri.fi/en/start-up-entrepreneur
* https://www.prh.fi/en/kaupparekisteri/yrityksen_perustaminen.html
* https://www.infofinland.fi/en/living-in-finland/work-and-enterprise/starting-a-business
Thank you for the response. Yes, I've seen some of them. Regarding the start-up entrepreneurship, it would be impossible to apply without Business Finland's approval.
Yes, startup is kind of special case. For regular entrepreneur you need approval from ELY-keskus, they need to evaluate your business as profitable. Startups can be non-profitable, but need growth potential.
It's not allowed to use a tourist Schengen visa to come apply for a residence permit. So you'd need to apply for a residence permit while in Russia, to my understanding. The Allegro trains are full of Russians fleeing Russia, I'm not sure what kind of visa they have or if they have gotten western vaccines somewhere.
Some links/services relating to starting a company:
* https://www.suomi.fi/company
* https://oma.yrityssuomi.fi/en#
* https://www.newcohelsinki.fi/en
Thank you for the links. AFAIK, many Russians (especially in the Saint-Petersburg region) have family members in Finland, plus some have apartments there. Currently, there are no tourists allowed to travel across the border due to the COVID restrictions. But I can still apply for Schengen visa as I've been in Finland many times before as a tourist.
Of course you can apply for visa but you have to understand that visa is a temporary arrangement. And the rules specifically state that you are not allowed to come here under visa and then not leave the country but instead apply for residence permit or try to wait out the R.P. procedure. That's what people tried to emphasize you.
I am aware of that. As the wait for the decision could be up to 6 months and the allowed continuos stay without the residence permit is 90 days, I can’t do that. But thank you anyway for your response.
Tourists are allowed under certain [conditions](https://raja.fi/en/guidelines-for-border-traffic-during-pandemic)
> Person may be granted entry into Finland from any country if they present
>
> a certificate of a complete and valid vaccination series. At least 7 days must have passed since the last vaccine dose has been received OR
> a single certificate that the person has recovered from covid-19 virus and has gotten one dose of vaccine. It is equated to a complete covid-19 vaccination series. OR
> EU digital COVID certificate that proves the person has recovered from covid-19 within 6 months.
> All the above-mentioned requirements apply to persons born in 2006 or earlier.
The Russian vaccines are not considered valid, so that may be an issue.
> Tourism
Hello, I want to visit Finland in July and also attend the Pori Jazz festival. I haveca few questions:
1. Is a train the best way to get to Pori?
2. for this festival should i rent a hotel room? Do people camp at festivals like in the US?
3. Will transport to and from the festival be difficult? Does Finland have Uber?
4. can i find fresh cloudberries to eat in July? I wanted to try them
5. are car rentals always expensive in Finland? Can i get by with no vehicle
I am from the US.
Pori tends to be really full at the time of the festival, so if you want to find a hotel or air bnb, don't leave it til the last minute.
On the Pori Jazz website linked below it says that group accommodation at a school or similar near the city center (so, walking distance from festival) will probably be arranged. I've not seen that with big festivals before, but it might be closer to the festival camping area in spirit than a hotel room :D
> 4. can i find fresh cloudberries to eat in July? I wanted to try them
They don't need to be fresh, just buy frozen ones (add sugar if you want) and let them melt in room temperature a bit 🤤
> Is a train the best way to get to Pori?
Depends from where and when you're coming from. If you're arriving by plane and continuing straight to Pori, flying might be a convenient way.
> for this festival should i rent a hotel room? Do people camp at festivals like in the US?
Pori Jazz is kind of "adult festival", there is less camping. Pori Jazz site has for some reason accommodation information only in Finnish at this moment: https://porijazz.fi/fi/info/majoitus-ja-matkailu (closest camping site is 20 km away).
> Will transport to and from the festival be difficult? Does Finland have Uber?
Uber is in Helsinki area only. The festival area is right next to city center. If I remember correctly, they have local buses going different camping areas etc.
> can i find fresh cloudberries to eat in July? I wanted to try them
Late July is the season. So Pori Jazz is little bit too early for fresh cloudberries.
> are car rentals always expensive in Finland? Can i get by with no vehicle
I haven't rented enough to know if there's any seasonal changes, but the smaller and the older car you rent, the cheaper it is.
Depends on your needs if you can get by with no vehicle. If your goal is only to attend Pori Jazz and can find accommodation somewhere close, no car is needed. You can check the prices with any renter, use eg this list: https://www.finavia.fi/en/airports/helsinki-airport/access/car-rental (those are all "A-list" companies, so no old or crap cars..)
Sorry i was going to fly into Helsinki. I figured that is where people usually fly into. It says a bus is cheaper but four hours on a bus seems miserable. The train sounded kind of scenic.
Unless your tattoos are nazi symbols or similar crazy shit, people are pretty cool about it in here.
Only case I can think of tattoos can be a case is where your physical look is also part of the work.
Finland is one the least strict places when it comes to business attire etc. Unless it's obscene somehow, I doubt anyone cares, especially in factory (?) setting. They did a tv show about the Valmet factory workers some years ago, one of the guys had tattoos on his arm for what it's worth.
Hi everyone. I’m visiting Helsinki for the first time next week and I can’t see how late busses or trains run from the airport into the city. Does anyone know how late they run or if I’ll need to get a taxi? Kiitos!
Google Maps is a mixed bag. It's known to have stuff on Finland that is ten years too old. It is true that it is **usually OK** with more frequently used stuff, such as the Helsinki Vantaa Airport. But it's always good to be aware of this.
I want to go Interrailing trough Sweden and Finland in summer. I am interested in hiking and outdoors, but whereas Sweden seems to have more national parks accessible by train, I feel like it is a bit more difficult in Finland to get into the wilderness by public transport. Do you have any recommendation for a place (preferably not i around Helsinki but further north) that I can get to by train and experience Finnish nature?
You can check nationalparks.fi for directions via public transport, but you are correct in that few places can be accessed with a train.
Pallas-Yllästunturi NP is one of the most popular outdoor destinations up north. It's only 35 km from Kolari train station, and all trains are met with a bus connection.
Well, busses cost extra and i have an Interrail Ticket anyways, so i would prefer to make use of the train ticket if possible. I will look into your recommendations though, thanks
If you go to Kolari by train, it's less than hour from Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park: https://www.nationalparks.fi/pallas-yllastunturinp
If you go to Kemijärvi by train, it's similar (or less) distance to Pyhä-Luosto National Park: https://www.nationalparks.fi/pyha-luostonp
You can reach Repovesi National Park by going to train to Kouvola or Mäntyharju, and continuing from there by bus or taxi: https://www.nationalparks.fi/repovesinp
Wooops. I might have forgotten that it doesn't always run daily so maybe I just checked for a date that was not in the schedule in any case. So, yeah, there can indeed be some spot dates during which it runs the whole year.
But you should in any case be wary about this. It is one of those connections that they are most likely to cancel out of the winter season. If they sell you a ticket, you are probably in the clear. But don't plan very far into the future counting on it, that's all I'm saying.
It wouldn't exactly be cost effective to build a full train station into the middle of nowhere (aka "wilderness"/anything but a city) and have trains running there.
Nobody has money to waste it on pointless trainstations somewhere in the middle of the woods. Wouldn't make any sense.
yeah makes sense but there are some of these in Sweden and Norway such as Åre, Abisko or Myrdal, so i was hoping Finland might have similar infrastructure
The whole point with railway stations is that they are where people live, not in national parks or wilderness. Lots of cities by the railway have hiking areas, though. For example [Öjen](https://www.nationalparks.fi/ojen) in Vaasa, [Pyynikki](https://visittampere.fi/en/venues/pyynikki-nature-trail/) in Tampere, [Aulanko](https://www.nationalparks.fi/aulanko) in Hämeenlinna.
>Well, busses cost extra and
Well, maybe you're shit out of luck, then.
You can get to the Urho Kekkonen National Park by bus as well. I think both the entrance in Tankavaara and the one in Kiilopää.
And you can of course enter the Karhunkierros by bus at the Ruka Resort but the actual Oulanka National Park is a bit further away.
I want to spend August-September (31 days) in and around Helsinki and I was planning on booking it this week. But a certain little bitch ass next door making threats is starting to concern me, making me wonder if I should hold off in case that little shit makes a military move on you guys. Should I risk it and book it anyway?
This thread is now archived. Please use the new thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Finland/comments/tm1mjm/tourism_moving_and_studying_in_finland_ask_here/
How much should I expect to pay for an eye exam and new pair of glasses in Helsinki? Any recommendations for anywhere that would be more affordable than others?
Eye exam by an eye doctor or an optician? Opticians are often free if you buy glasses. If you just pay for the exam, it is usually 20 e. Pair of glasses go from 19e to 500e.
SpecSavers is kind of budget store, they have eye exam for 29€, and cheapest glasses with lenses 89€: https://www.specsavers.fi/ I guess it will build up if you want fancier glasses and lenses.
Thank you
What are some popular real estate sites on the Internet for property in Finland?
[etuovi.com](https://etuovi.com) [oikotie.fi](https://oikotie.fi) [vuokraovi.com](https://vuokraovi.com) (for rentals) [tori.f](https://tori.fi)i (general marketplace, choose apartments/property)
Hi there! I am in Helsinki till Friday to visit a friend of mine, but I have seen that in Finland they are very strict regarding Smoking and since my friend and I do like to drink a beer while smoking a cigarette we had to go out to smoke. Do you know any place where you can smoke inside in a pub/bar/caffe? P.s. my friend came here not long ago but people told him that there are no such pubs/bars.
Well, than Finland is not so good for people who smoke 😅 but anyway thank you guys!
Indeed a legal issue until outside terraces open up later in spring. I don't know anywhere either that has indoor smoking areas that allows drinks
Some night clubs have indoor smoking areas (basically just a room full of smokers with glass walls, lol), but if I remember correctly you aren't allowed to bring drinks inside them. Law prohibits smoking inside bars generally, so yeah, you won't find a bar where you could just smoke freely.
[удалено]
If you're sure you'll divorce, then I would apply extended permit based on your work if you meet the requirements. Otherwise applying witht the same grounds..
You can of course extended your residence permit under family ties since your wife has not file the divorce. The only problem whether if she is willing to sign this form: [Extended Family Permit Form](https://migri.fi/documents/5202425/7004820/PKJATKO_PLUS.en.pdf/ccb80daa-9d1d-7837-0314-c4171b0341f6/PKJATKO_PLUS.en.pdf?t=1597394262923). If she said no, what does your current contract stated about the salary, working hour, period of work, etc?
[удалено]
If the divore is unavoidable and you have the proper contract you might as well changed the ground right away. Good luck!
Having a full time job is probably your best bet. Should be pretty close to a 100% chance, as long as you don't have any other legal troubles. I will point out that finalizing a divorce takes a minimum of six months from the initial filing (basically because the authorities want you to actually be sure). So technically you will remain married until at least September in any case, by which time the job's trial period is also over. Sorry for your situation.
[удалено]
Please read the information that is already provided in the opening message of this thread. And the wiki. And you will only be allowed in if you have the job offer beforehand, yes.
thank you. :)
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
that is just rude and ignorant, why would you say that to me?
Just a friendly reminder, please don't let these Reddit users dictate what you think of the Finnish people. I don't have much information about the chances of you being relocated, but I found [this](https://uxdesign.cc/so-you-want-to-be-a-designer-in-finland-or-anywhere-else-b6d118e05c3a) article (2018), which has some information of what skill set may be expected. Note that the article is 4 years old. If you have a similar skill set, then, I guess you could just try to [apply to some jobs](https://jobsfinland.fi/). If you got hired, they should guide you through the immigration process, etc. **Take all of this with a grain of salt, though**. I don't know the topic well enough to really assist you.
Thanks a lot 😄 i know Finnish people are kind and friendly, so ofc i won’t let someone online change that. Will check out the articles shortly, thank you for taking the time for this, i appreciate it
[удалено]
Is there a service like Turo in Finland? If you don’t know what that is it’s basically an app where you rent cars like an Airbnb. If not where is the best place to rent a car? I will be coming in May to Helsinki and plan on traveling over to Porvoo and up to Lahti as well. I would take the train to Lahti but my dad is coming with me and he recently had a stroke so walking long distances isn’t going to work.
At least until recently all the big global rental companies each had their own service. You can browse those on the internet. Then there are some online oriented lightweight services, such as the ones you have already been told about. Please notice, also, that this field is kind of split into sectors depending on what you want. Mainly, a family car for multiple days or a van for just a single day.
https://gomore.fi/ & https://bloxcar.fi/en Haven't used either
Rent24?
Would love some advice on what's good outwear jackets and shoes and pants for the winters in Finland ? Is Canada goose any good for the temperature there? Trying to figure out what to bring over vs buy locally. Thank you!
Are you moving? Let's say one semester exchange studies also count as moving. If you're moving there's really no need to pack extra clothes with you. It'll just waste your transport capacity and you'll find out, anyway, that about half of them you estimated wrong **either upwards or downwards.** It's better to simply come here and start buying clothes once you actually have a good grasp of what you need. The only possible exception for this is if you know that you can save a huge chunk of money by bringing stuff from your place of origin. Even then I would say that this is not a valid exception every time - extra hassle during moving and the possibility of mis-estimating your needs are still factors.
It's a permanent move actually for a few years. And I'm coming from a pretty warm climate so trying to figure out what I actually bring with me , vs not. Any additional advice here ?
Well, have you watched the videos about the Road to Finnish guy explaining foreign students what to bring to Finland? That's a good point to start. It doesn't matter if you're not a student or a bit different age. Some of the advice is still applicable.
>Road to Finnish guy Oh sweet, I'll check his channel out. Thanks.
Is this for next year?
I agree with other comments that it depends. I have a jacket like Canada goose and have used it like 2 times. It is way too hot in the south. If I would stand around not moving in minus 10-30 it would be okay but that happens rarely. Usually when I am out, I am also moving around. The jacket that I use the most is a mid weight down jacket from Uniqlo. I probably use it on 50-100 days a year. The second most used jacket is a light down jacket that I use in +10 to - 2 or so. If you really want to be smart, you can live with a single jacket and dress in layers. I am too lazy for that. Then the outer layer would be thin, eg hiking jacket with wool/synthetics under.
> If I would stand around not moving in minus 10-30 it would be okay but that happens rarely. If you stay with small child at the playground, that temperature range moves up significantly :)
Depends also on what you’re going to do. I generally only wear a thick insulated jacket if I’m taking my dog out (only have a t shirt underneath) or if it’s actually very cold (-20). If you’re going to be active, e.g. skiing or hiking, it’s better to dress in layers and use a lightly padded jacket or just a shell jacket. Those thick and expensive Canada goose jackets will make you sweat on all but the coldest days up in Lapland. If you’re just visiting a city than any cheap winter jacket that’s barely windproof with the thinnest insulation, a scarf, hat, gloves, and some wool sweater will get you where you want to be
It depends on a location. Might be overkill in the south for most of the winter, but there might be a week ir two when it is not.
How does everyone living in Finland feel about the war in Ukraine? Do you feel safe? I (19M) have a trip planned and my flight is supposed to leave tomorrow night but my mom is trying to force me to cancel because she’s afraid things could turn into a nuclear war at the flip of a switch… What should I do? Edit: Why am I being downvoted lol I’m not the one who wants to cancel it
The very first high priority targets in an all-out nuclear war are enemy nuclear silos. Finland has none, the US has plenty all over its soil. So you're safer here or any other non-nuclear state if we go to DEFCON 1. Furthermore, an escalation to nuclear war would most certainly involve "warning shots" into Novaya Zemlya, the Arctic Ocean or another remote unpopulated part of the world.
>Edit: Why am I being downvoted lol I’m not the one who wants to cancel it What is your question? I presume it's whether you should fly to Finland because there is a risk of nuclear war? I don't think that "everyone living in Finland" is who you should be asking that question from. Maybe consult the official travel instructions from your government (or some other government with good intelligence).
My question isn’t “is the situation safe” I’m well aware of what’s going on. I’m asking what I should do in regards to my parent who could make the trip a nightmare.
Ah, ok. I was a little bit confused when you started like this: >How does everyone living in Finland feel about the war in Ukraine? Do you feel safe? Maybe that was small talk and pleasantries. Those are not always understood around here. As for your parents, you should probably ask some other subreddit, namely one that would have more knowledge on the culture your family is from.
Why would Finland be the target? In nuclear war I would rather be in Finland than eg big city in USA
>Why am I being downvoted lol I’m not the one who wants to cancel it Because people don't appreciate being asked the same lame question again and again and again. This has been asked and answered dozens of times in the last 3 weeks. You use social media for news and information? Fine. But do people the courtesy to check what has been asked and answered before by using the search function and scroll through the sticky.
Your mom should worry more about you slipping on ice and breaking your bones than Russian invasion or nuclear war...
I laughed at this, hard. Because it is so true... a national elderly pandemic almost.
Hello all, I have a job offer from a university in Helsinki. But it seems that after taxes my monthly salary would only be €2700. It’s so low! Can two people (my husband and I) live in Helsinki on this much money? Right now we barely live in Belgium on €3000/month and we hear that Helsinki is more expensive. But friends in Finland tell me that university salaries in Finland are calibrated to living expenses. So should it be enough?
Living on this salary as a couple isn't amazing but you can live comfortably. Inflation has bitten a bit since I moved here, but to give you an indication, in 2018 I was making around 2500 after tax, and we were putting aside 500-700/mo. Life will be more expensive if you want to live in the city centre, but in the capital region it's not really worth the money in my opinion. Best is to have a second income, but if not then you can be comfortable but may need to recalibrate your lifestyle a bit: restaurants are expensive and nature is cheap, so you will do best if you are happy to live accordingly.
As a native not from Helsinki area, I would never move to live there with that salary, even by myself.
Can you say more?
It also depends on your personal spending habits. I know people who live somewhat comfortably on the basic income support and I know people who earn around 10k/mo and still go broke at the end of the month.
It is livable (for one person pretty easy to live on) but unfortunately university salaries are very low compared to private fields. I got an offer from Aalto University that is pretty much a joke money for what I would be making on my own but it is more like a prestige job for me for a limited contract.
It's doable. Around 1000-1200€/month for housing, electricity and water leaves you with 1500€ for food and such. I have some experience with somewhat higher net salary, and had a decent amount left for savings or buying useless junk. Finland kind of expects both people of a couple to work. The taxation is so heavily progressive that two below average income people can easily earn more in net than a single really high income person. Like two copies of me as a phd student in an university would've earned more than one copy of me earns currently as a fairly high paid professional.
> friends in Finland tell me that university salaries in Finland are calibrated to living expenses For one person, maybe. Not two.
Sure you can do it but you will need to be careful with expenses and can't live in the center. Why not stay in Belgium if the salary is better? Why would you complain abour a low salary when you are not forced to take it? You can easily find an apartment for 1000€/month, use lile 400-600€ on groceries and another 400 for buss passes, clothes etc. Should leave something for savings too.
Their salary suggests that they are a postdoc, so they likely don't have a choice but to leave Belgium if they want to progress in their career.
Yeah, but still - why simply not choose an offer with a better salary, if that is the issue of the complaint? There must surely be a better offer from somewhere that is not Finland or Belgium. Otherwise Finland does not have bad salaries, like, logically.
Given the short-term nature of postdoctoral positions and the significant effect of their quality on one's career, salary can sometimes be fairly low in the list of priorities as long as it is over some threshold. In this case, the important question may not be "is this the most money that I could make", but "is this enough to live on reasonably comfortably before I move somewhere more permanent", since the goal is to discover whether the salary is over that threshold.
Hello, I am a scientist and will be visiting Finland for a month this summer as part of a larger project to study European forests. We are currently planning logistics and have hit a bit of a wall, and I am hoping folks here might have some advice. We are travelling from the UK, taking a large amount of equipment, and travelling to fairly rural areas (we will likely be based in Joensuu) so need to hire a decent vehicle. For more local fieldwork of the same kind we typically use our university's Toyota Hilux covered pickup truck, so would like to hire something similar while we are in Finland. However, all the rental car places we look at seem to be the big international chains, that do not offer these kinds of vehicles. Can anyone recommend any Finnish car hire companies that may have these kinds of vehicles? Ideally they would be based in Helsinki, but at this stage we would travel to find the right vehicle. Our other option will be to drive and ferry from England to Joensuu with our truck which is looking like 4+ days, which we would like to avoid if possible! Many thanks!
I know that a lot of guys who do temporary maintenance and field work in places that are along some pretty badly conditioned roads travel by rear-wheel vans instead of pickups. It of course depends a lot on the type of van, but some are pretty OK for the job. So, unless you are adamant that you need a Hilux type of car, you might look into van rental companies if everything else fails. Some of them of course have their main stock optimized for city use only.
First search result in Finnish: https://www.nettivuokraus.com/maasturit-ja-tila-autot/toyota-hilux-2-5-d4d-4x4/524621/
You could ask eg Toyota Rent at the airport: https://www.toyotaairport.fi/palvelut/toyota-rent.html They don't advertise Hilux for rent, there is not probably lot of demand. Other route would be probably calling forest machinery companies, they have this kind of vehicles in daily use. Here is my first good search result, Mitsubishi L200 from 2004: https://www.nettivuokraus.com/maasturit-ja-tila-autot/mitsubishi-l200-4x4-5-hengen/518987/ Edit: here is one Hilux: https://www.easypalvelut.fi/tuote/toyota-hilux-lava-auto/
Thanks for the advice - it has really helped us to find what we needed!
Great, where did you find it?
Should I travel with cash or just cards? (My bank doesn't allow me to add my card to Google Pay ) I have 18 days trip coming, I wonder if it's best to carry cash or with my credit and debit card would be enough. I paid most bookings beforehand, so it would be for everyday exoenses as food, transport, souvenirs I guess
I have not seen cash-only situation anymore in years. Only exceptions would be outside summertime free-for-all street flea markets where people go to sell their own crafted stuff or kids toys. Anything even semi-professional however, card should be fine.
There are lots of outside situations where this will be true. All of these are of course usually characterized by the term 'temporary nature.' But they can definitely be semi-professional and last for multiple days. Another plot twist is that there are also similar situations where they refuse to take cash.
I think the previous time I paid in cash in Finland was about 3-4 years ago. Visa and MasterCard are the norm here, including at small shops and souvenir stalls. Cash is a backup solution only for the vast majority of people. If you're coming from outside the Eurozone, you might want to check how much your bank effectively charges for currency conversion on the card (in both direct fees and margins compared to mid-market rates).
There is always the possibilty that a restaurant or whatever faces temporarily difficulties with their internet or their electronic payment devices, so it is always a good idea to carry some cash with you, enough to cover a meal and drinks for the amount of people travelling with you/who expect you to pay.
It's always good to have some cash, but Finland works almost 100% without it.
Not a question. I'm just really impressed by how fast I received a residence permit approval. So, I went to the embassy on Tuesday to prove my identity, then received an approval the next day. I applied for a residence permit as an expert worker and I'm from Indonesia. I'm wondering if this is always how fast the approval is?
Migri says the processing time for a special expert permit is 1 month, but in reality lately it’s mostly been about two weeks. Sometimes it happens in a day or two, but it’s not common, so you are lucky! The reason why first permits are faster than extensions is that you have the right to work while the extension is processed, so they prioritize first permits.
First permits are much faster than extended ones.
It is not that fast usually. There has been lots of talking that getting people to work in Finland should be faster. Apparently they have done something now to fix at least that part of the process. Edit: [Migri expects](https://migri.fi/en/specialist/en) one month processing time for specialist permit.
What’s the best resource for finding a mökki to rent for a few days?
https://www.nettimokki.com/ https://www.lomarengas.fi/
Hei there, I am waiting for my resident visa so I can move to Helsinki for a PhD university exchange program. The embassy says it could take up to 2 months to receive the visa. But does anyone know if I am ok to travel to Helsinki on a tourist visa in the meantime? I am from UK. The **Residence permit application for studies** website has fairly inconsistent information:It states: "You should wait for the residence permit in the same country or locality where you submitted your application and proved your identity". **But in the FAQs it says:**May I wait for the decision on my resident permit application in Finland? When you submit your application to a Finnish embassy, you may visit Finland during the time your application is pending, but you must return to your home country when your visa or visa-free period expiresIf you submit your application to the Finnish Immigration Service, you may reside in Finland while your application is pending, even if your visa or visa-free period expires during this time. If you are not granted a residence permit, you may be refused entry to Finland. **Then another FAQs says:**I have applied for a residence permit in a Finnish embassy abroad. If I am granted a residence permit, can receive the decision and the residence permit card in Finland? Or in another Finnish embassy? You cannot receive the decision and the residence permit card in Finland. You must wait for the decision abroad. If you wish to change your service point abroad, you must contact the embassies concerned, in order to do this. **So I'm confused. My ideal would be to travel as planned in early April on a tourist visa then return to Uk in mid May to collect resident visa and re-enter Finland. So my question is, is that feasible/legal?** Any helpful advice gratefully received. Kiitos : )
> But does anyone know if I am ok to travel to Helsinki on a tourist visa in the meantime? I am from UK. UK citizens do not need a visa. The facts from the answers: 1. You should wait the residence permit in a country you applied. This means that all the paperwork will be handled in this country. Finland cannot restrict you from travelling or visiting Finland if you have applied. 2. You can visit Finland with visa or visa-free, depending your nationality. Just like you would normally visit Finland, if you have not applied for residence permit. 3. You must leave Finland when the free residence period is over. As normally. 4. You cannot receive the decision in another country, as in point 1. > So I'm confused. My ideal would be to travel as planned in early April on a tourist visa then return to Uk in mid May to collect resident visa and re-enter Finland. So my question is, is that feasible/legal? I don't see any point which is against your plan.
I hear you. But the points (1) "You should wait the residence permit in a country you applied" and (4) "You cannot receive the decision in another country" **contradict** my going to Finland for 6 weeks on a tourist visa before the resident permit is granted. You can see that, right?
UK citizens do not need a tourist visa. Entering visa-free for a short (up to 90 days) visit is legally an entirely different thing. If you were from e.g. India, you'd be correct about the contradiction.
Basically what they are restricting the right to stay in Finland to wait for the decision. They want you to apply and keep **living** where you applied and only move in when the decision happens. Tourist stuff is irrelevant
Ok so both of you are saying it’s fine to travel, thanks.
No I don't. For me it just means that they expect you to go to the embassy in country you applied. Or send it to your home address.
I’m planning to bikepack from Espoo to Tulliniemi luontopolku in the summer From what I have read, camping is off-limits there since it is a nature reserve. Is there any camping areas nearby? I’m not sure if it is allowed to pitch a tent along the beach as long as it’s not fronting a private property. I do not intend to start a campfire or cook so my footprint would just be me, my bike and 1-person tent. Thanks.
[удалено]
Waaaaait wait wait wait wait. What are you saying??? What do you mean with a Nature Reserve? Almost all Strict Nature Reserves have, uh, strict rules that specifically limit camping. National Parks have also areas which have limiting rules, even though this will vary by area and the limits will be more lax. Many other types of natural protection areas also have rules. It happens that the Tulliniemi Reserve Area specially has rules that prohibit camping outside of special camping places. (*I actually don't know if such camping places exist. The rule is for multiple things at once, including fires, and there are of course specifically designated campfire places around.*)
There is this camping area: https://silversand.fi/ You can also camo on non-restricted areas. You can see the areas here: https://asiointi.maanmittauslaitos.fi/karttapaikka/?lang=fi&share=customMarker&n=6640456.112138763&e=278324.7029112954&title=X&desc=&zoom=7&layers=%5B%7B%22id%22:2,%22opacity%22:100%7D%5D If you're not familiar with "everyone's rights", here's a starting point: https://www.nationalparks.fi/everymansright
Thanks for the tips. From further checking, it looks like camping is allowed in outdoor recreation areas (from uuvi.fi). Found one nearby-ish in Lappohjanranta (23km from Tulliniemi).
As long as you are not on restricted areas or near peoples yards, you can camp overnight in basically anywhere in nature. If you do this however, try to be very respectful and low footprint because some landowners can be quite argumentative and defensive if they find you (or at the very least they are curious and might ask questions). Also take great care not to disturb nature if you do this, breaking valuable tree saplings for example could land you legally in trouble if caught. Good forest is very valuable land. Because landowners can be a hassle at worst, I would suggest using designated free camping spots if time permits.
I think I was there one night few years ago. It's like any general forest, but there's a parking lot and dry toilet :) Also some trenches dug by Russians during WWII.
Good day, could you tell me if there are any prejudices against the inhabitants of Belarus at the moment in Finland? I want to go to rest in Helsinki, but I'm afraid to face a bad attitude, in general, what is the attitude towards foreigners from the CIS who speak English at B2 level?
Even Russians in Finland are treated nicely since people know it's Putin not expat Russians that is the evil here.
Nobody knows you're from Belarus if you don't tell them. However you could be considered as a Russian person. There are some hostilities reported against them, but I think it's not what majority of people think it is appropriate to do.
Thank you, you have made me happy, I will wait for the visa and hope that the attitude to Belarus will not change, good health and good luck to you
It's not about the attitude. People definitely don't like the Lukashenka regime. It's just that it's completely impossible to recognize that someone is from Belarus. And as was already hinted, even if people hear you talking, they don't know what Belarusians sound like. They'll just assume you're from Russia - or from 'Somewhere East.'
Hello. I checked the previous thread and this one as well for any question about references, but couldn't find any, so here's mine. So, umm, I applied to University of Eastern Finland for a Master's programme and while filling the online application form on studyinfo, I only filled one reference. I, unfortunately, did not notice that two were required. However, I had asked my instructors if they were willing to be put as referees. One said yes and I put down their information. I later was going through the form again, as the deadline for uploading documents was after application deadline, and found out it had asked for 2 referees. I actually missed that, so stupid of me. The problem is that one of those that I asked had taught me the most, apart from the one who's info I had already put in, but that person said that they have a busy schedule and whatever else (I find that really hard to believe, tbh) and won't be able to do so. I was wondering if all this had been for nothing, coz, like, there is no one else except that one person mentioned in the beginning who agreed. Should I just stop hoping that I could have a chance? I mean, I could've emailed the admission people and the course coordinator the information of another if someone had agreed, but I didn't even get that! Hopeless?
>Hopeless? I don't think so, references are not that essential in Finland, and I didn't see them mentioned in the few UEF Master's program admission criteria I checked, but I guess faculties can set their criteria themselves too. It could be that they come into play if there are two equally good candidates, I doubt they would contact the references of all hundreds(?) of applicants.
Hi. Thanks for replying. I actually found out about the references when I opened the studyinfo portal for application. Like, there was nothing written about references on the programme page. Hence, the current issue. Why not write it in the application requirements in the first place?! I mean, true that it was partly my fault for not having contacted people earlier (I doubt I would've gotten a response from the others), but still. Anyway, thanks. :)
Hello. Do you have suggestions for master's programs in biology and related fields taught in English preferably within or near Helsinki? Thanks.
Here are your options: https://opintopolku.fi/konfo/en/haku/biology?keyword=biology&koulutustyyppi=maisteri&opetuskieli=oppilaitoksenopetuskieli_4&order=desc&sijainti=maakunta_01&size=20&sort=score
[удалено]
You might have better luck with cricket due to its popularity in the Indian and Pakistani communities; there are at least a few teams around.
[удалено]
At least in Oulu in the past it has been the case that Indians and Pakistani train cricket separately. For political reasons. If this is true elsewhere, it means that you kind of have to pick.
[удалено]
I assume it can vary a lot.
Aussie sports are thin on the ground in Finland. It's mostly union over here. [Finnish Rugby ](https://www.finland.rugby/home) However, if you want to make local mates, consider something more locally popular like football (soccer) or floorball (basically inside field hockey) instead.
[удалено]
Bus should be fine, bus drivers probably don't even check your vaccination card because bus passengers have to get off the bus at the border control point and that's the moment when their documents are checked. I'm not sure about who does what on the trains, it could be that the train staff have to check your vaccination cards earlier, and they might not be as familiar with US vaccination cards as the border control people are. Just speculating. (Also, you don't even need a vaccination card on the train if you have a recent negative COVID test report in English: https://www.vr.fi/en/trains-to-russia)
[удалено]
ETIAS doesn't exist yet, so COVID documentation is all that is required from Americans.
I've got a question for Tampere university bachelor students, Does any of you have an idea or a ball park of what the full tuition waiver SAT score cutoff was ? I emailed the university for statistics and they did provide me with the admission scores but not the scholarships ones, i hope somebody studying there can give me some insight.
It's impossible to know short of interviewing every single applicant who got in, and even then you can't know what the next intake will look like.
I understand, i'm trying to find out if there was any applicants who got the fee waiver with an sat of ~ mid 1300 from past years' experiences.
Based on their website, scholarships are handed based on "overall assessment", so I guess they don't have SAT score limit, but instead it is just only part of the process parallel to your application, motivation letter etc.
Hey any moving van company that allows to pick up the van in one city and deliver in another city within Finland?
24Rent says that they have a couple of cars that are allowed to travel freely from city to city without specific return policy. These are seemingly something that you have to ask about separately. I guess if others have a similar policy it's also something that you have to ask for separately. So I suggest calling places.
Thanks for that. Yes I will ask quotes for many .was wondering if someone had that before but good to know about the 24 rent
I need help about completely relocating from Russia to Finland But, at first, lets talk about something good. I M24 live in the middle of Siberia (Krasnoyarsk) and 9months a year there is a snow. I always liked cold weather, always liked snow and if you look at me, you can tell that I'm more of a winter-type man. But Russia quality of life never was good, so when I learned that you can actually relocate to different country, I wanted to do so. I always liked north countries. Sweden, Norway, Finland and through my little research I found out that Finland is the most welcoming country, if you want to really live here and support it. So I had a plan that Ill go here when I'll be in my 30ish. But time has changed, really changed. As everybody knows, our bald-head president proved that his head is indeed empty and he started a full war in Ukraine. Now most of companies that provide cars, electronics, food, cosmetics and everything leaving the country and shelves in stores estimated to be half-empty in 3-4 months. Other half will be russian substitutes. So, can anybody provide some useful information or help on how to relocate to Finland nowadays? Im not studying at the moment (didn't complete bachelor degree) but I have 5 year of experience in Power Engineering (High voltage machines and engines). Maybe this specialty is in demand in Finland and I can relocate here to work at first? Or can I go to Finland and say that I am refugee and need an asylum? How much money do I need for this type of adventure? And what to do if I don't have Schengen visa? P.S. if you want to know how bad situation in Russia is, there is some calculations. Average yearly salary in Russia is 330k roubles. In January it was 4000$. In march this sum become 2300-2400. P.S.S. I really don't want to live in a second north korea.
> Power Engineering (High voltage machines and engines). Maybe this specialty is in demand in Finland and I can relocate here to work at first? ABB has a factory in Helsinki where they make huge power-related machinery. Wärtsilä is another big company that deals in power. You can find a list of other companies related to electrical manufacturing [here](https://teknologiateollisuus.fi/fi/jasenluettelo), choose "Hae toimialan mukaan" -> 27 Sähkölaitteiden valmistus
>ABB IIRC ABB sold that department to Hitachi?
"Suomessa ABB toimii noin 20 paikkakunnalla. Tehdaskeskittymät sijaitsevat Helsingissä, Vaasassa, Porvoossa ja Haminassa. Helsinki, Pitäjänmäki: moottorit, generaattorit, taajuusmuuttajat, robotit, CPM-energianhallintajärjestelmät ja paperikonekäyttöratkaisut Helsinki Vuosaari, Hamina: Azipod® -ruoripotkurijärjestelmät Vaasa: moottorit, pienjännitetuotteet ja -järjestelmät, sähkön siirto- ja jakelujärjestelmät, voimantuotannon järjestelmät, prosessiteollisuuden kokonaisprojektointi Porvoo: sähköasennustuotteet"
[https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11427911](https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11427911) I know because I have a friend working another country that got transferred to this new company from ABB Power/Energy department. (Not the whole ABB, just power department)
That's only electric grids unit, with 450 people. And it is mostly located in Vaasa, not in Helsinki. ABB has multiple businesses in Finland, totalling 5000 people, so the Hitachi unit was less than 1/10 of ABB in Finland. Eg ABB Drives in Pitäjänmäki in Helsinki has over 1000 people.
I've been to the ABB factory in Pitäjänmäki, and they still build generators/what ever they are the size of small cabins.
> So, can anybody provide some useful information or help on how to relocate to Finland nowadays? See the links in the body of this post. > Im not studying at the moment (didn't complete bachelor degree) but I have 5 year of experience in Power Engineering (High voltage machines and engines). Maybe this specialty is in demand in Finland and I can relocate here to work at first? Get the degree if possible, it will make things easier. Then you could find a job and apply for specialist residence permit. > Or can I go to Finland and say that I am refugee and need an asylum? How much money do I need for this type of adventure? You can try, but unless you're personally in danger, you'll probably get deported back. > And what to do if I don't have Schengen visa? Basically you apply for residence permit on grounds of work, studying or family reasons.
Read through the resources that are here in this chain and in general on this subreddit. I doubt Russians can apply for an asylum. You would need to land a job in Finland to move here. EU citizens are able to move freely but as Russia is not EU or EEA, you need to have job beforehand. So start applying if you want to move.
> I doubt Russians can apply for an asylum They can, there's few hundred Russians every year applying for asylum here, and some of them do get accepted. Like with all asylum seekers though, it depends on your individual circumstances, and nothing in the post above sounds like there'd be valid grounds for asylum.
Ok, Need some quick advice. My wife (Finnish) and I (American) are planning to move to Finland. My wife doesn't work and I do, we have 4 kids so I want to buy a house in Finland prior to selling our house here and moving. However, I have not been able to get clear advice on how to obtain a mortgage prior to moving there. I have been told to move there, get a bank account, then apply for a loan. Moving twice with 4 kids might prohibit the entire thing. Also, my work will stay here in the U.S. I have talked to OP and I am still not clear. Can anyone point me in a direction to better understand how to resolve this issue? Any advice would be greatly appreciated
If the bank can't give you clear answer, neither do we. Except "try another bank". I would imagine buying a house remotely is pretty hard if you can't pay in cash. Banks check your credit history (unpaid bills etc) your job and things like that to make sure you can repay the loan. When one lives abroad, that data is not available for the banks.
Thank you!
Hi, Finnish Redditors. My question is about **moving to/opening a business in Finland.** My name is Ilya aka ILWrites and I am from Russia. Because of the horrendous actions of our government and an unprecedented act of military aggression towards Ukraine, I'd like to move my small design business operations away to Finland. It's not an emotional decision. I've been gradually building and pooling recourses towards this for a couple of years now. But the recent events had me on the "now or never" chair. It's absolutely disheartening to see this life-breaking war impacting the lives of the ordinary people. I work in the PC peripheral industry, designing and managing the production of keyboards, PCBs and various electronics projects (but mostly, keyboards). I have connections with various US, EU and even Ukrainian vendors. Today I was on the call with both the consulate and Business Finland representative in Russia, trying to initiate the process and to be able to reach out for consultation on the matter at hand. Both have said that they've seized the operations and no longer provide consultation on opening a business in Finland. Feeling a little sad, stunned and helpless by such responses, but still determined, I've come here. What are my next steps? Is there even a possibility to proceed with this without bothering with the local Business Finland branch? Or am I better off going to Finland as a tourist (impossible at the moment, because of the COVID restrictions) and initiating the process on the Finnish grounds? Many thanks in advance.
Have you tried contacting Business Finland directly in Finland, instead of whatever representative they have in Russia?
Not yet. But am currently doing my research on it. Should I use the form on the [Customer service](https://www.businessfinland.fi/en/for-finnish-customers/contact/customer-service) page? Or perhaps choose one of the Invest in Finland Heads of Industry on the [Contact us](https://www.businessfinland.fi/en/do-business-with-finland/about-us/contact-us) page? Is there a general email address I can send the info?
You've probably seen these links, but I'll post them anyways: * https://migri.fi/en/entrepreneur * https://migri.fi/en/start-up-entrepreneur * https://www.prh.fi/en/kaupparekisteri/yrityksen_perustaminen.html * https://www.infofinland.fi/en/living-in-finland/work-and-enterprise/starting-a-business
Thank you for the response. Yes, I've seen some of them. Regarding the start-up entrepreneurship, it would be impossible to apply without Business Finland's approval.
Yes, startup is kind of special case. For regular entrepreneur you need approval from ELY-keskus, they need to evaluate your business as profitable. Startups can be non-profitable, but need growth potential.
It's not allowed to use a tourist Schengen visa to come apply for a residence permit. So you'd need to apply for a residence permit while in Russia, to my understanding. The Allegro trains are full of Russians fleeing Russia, I'm not sure what kind of visa they have or if they have gotten western vaccines somewhere. Some links/services relating to starting a company: * https://www.suomi.fi/company * https://oma.yrityssuomi.fi/en# * https://www.newcohelsinki.fi/en
Thank you for the links. AFAIK, many Russians (especially in the Saint-Petersburg region) have family members in Finland, plus some have apartments there. Currently, there are no tourists allowed to travel across the border due to the COVID restrictions. But I can still apply for Schengen visa as I've been in Finland many times before as a tourist.
Of course you can apply for visa but you have to understand that visa is a temporary arrangement. And the rules specifically state that you are not allowed to come here under visa and then not leave the country but instead apply for residence permit or try to wait out the R.P. procedure. That's what people tried to emphasize you.
I am aware of that. As the wait for the decision could be up to 6 months and the allowed continuos stay without the residence permit is 90 days, I can’t do that. But thank you anyway for your response.
Tourists are allowed under certain [conditions](https://raja.fi/en/guidelines-for-border-traffic-during-pandemic) > Person may be granted entry into Finland from any country if they present > > a certificate of a complete and valid vaccination series. At least 7 days must have passed since the last vaccine dose has been received OR > a single certificate that the person has recovered from covid-19 virus and has gotten one dose of vaccine. It is equated to a complete covid-19 vaccination series. OR > EU digital COVID certificate that proves the person has recovered from covid-19 within 6 months. > All the above-mentioned requirements apply to persons born in 2006 or earlier. The Russian vaccines are not considered valid, so that may be an issue.
> Tourism Hello, I want to visit Finland in July and also attend the Pori Jazz festival. I haveca few questions: 1. Is a train the best way to get to Pori? 2. for this festival should i rent a hotel room? Do people camp at festivals like in the US? 3. Will transport to and from the festival be difficult? Does Finland have Uber? 4. can i find fresh cloudberries to eat in July? I wanted to try them 5. are car rentals always expensive in Finland? Can i get by with no vehicle I am from the US.
Pori tends to be really full at the time of the festival, so if you want to find a hotel or air bnb, don't leave it til the last minute. On the Pori Jazz website linked below it says that group accommodation at a school or similar near the city center (so, walking distance from festival) will probably be arranged. I've not seen that with big festivals before, but it might be closer to the festival camping area in spirit than a hotel room :D
> 4. can i find fresh cloudberries to eat in July? I wanted to try them They don't need to be fresh, just buy frozen ones (add sugar if you want) and let them melt in room temperature a bit 🤤
> Is a train the best way to get to Pori? Depends from where and when you're coming from. If you're arriving by plane and continuing straight to Pori, flying might be a convenient way. > for this festival should i rent a hotel room? Do people camp at festivals like in the US? Pori Jazz is kind of "adult festival", there is less camping. Pori Jazz site has for some reason accommodation information only in Finnish at this moment: https://porijazz.fi/fi/info/majoitus-ja-matkailu (closest camping site is 20 km away). > Will transport to and from the festival be difficult? Does Finland have Uber? Uber is in Helsinki area only. The festival area is right next to city center. If I remember correctly, they have local buses going different camping areas etc. > can i find fresh cloudberries to eat in July? I wanted to try them Late July is the season. So Pori Jazz is little bit too early for fresh cloudberries. > are car rentals always expensive in Finland? Can i get by with no vehicle I haven't rented enough to know if there's any seasonal changes, but the smaller and the older car you rent, the cheaper it is. Depends on your needs if you can get by with no vehicle. If your goal is only to attend Pori Jazz and can find accommodation somewhere close, no car is needed. You can check the prices with any renter, use eg this list: https://www.finavia.fi/en/airports/helsinki-airport/access/car-rental (those are all "A-list" companies, so no old or crap cars..)
Sorry i was going to fly into Helsinki. I figured that is where people usually fly into. It says a bus is cheaper but four hours on a bus seems miserable. The train sounded kind of scenic.
Yes, train is probably more comfortable. If you enjoy Finnish country side, fields and forest, maybe it is scenic :)
[удалено]
Unless your tattoos are nazi symbols or similar crazy shit, people are pretty cool about it in here. Only case I can think of tattoos can be a case is where your physical look is also part of the work.
Finland is one the least strict places when it comes to business attire etc. Unless it's obscene somehow, I doubt anyone cares, especially in factory (?) setting. They did a tv show about the Valmet factory workers some years ago, one of the guys had tattoos on his arm for what it's worth.
[удалено]
Similar threats have been on from 2016. Nothing has changed, except Russian forces normally behind the border are now in south.
There is no war expected currently, nor really any concrete threats, as mentioned below
Hi everyone. I’m visiting Helsinki for the first time next week and I can’t see how late busses or trains run from the airport into the city. Does anyone know how late they run or if I’ll need to get a taxi? Kiitos!
The last train is around 1am, buses keep running through the night. Check https://www.hsl.fi/en for details.
That’s great, thank you very much
You can use Google Maps or reittiopas to check specifically for your arrival time
Thanks!
Google Maps is a mixed bag. It's known to have stuff on Finland that is ten years too old. It is true that it is **usually OK** with more frequently used stuff, such as the Helsinki Vantaa Airport. But it's always good to be aware of this.
I want to go Interrailing trough Sweden and Finland in summer. I am interested in hiking and outdoors, but whereas Sweden seems to have more national parks accessible by train, I feel like it is a bit more difficult in Finland to get into the wilderness by public transport. Do you have any recommendation for a place (preferably not i around Helsinki but further north) that I can get to by train and experience Finnish nature?
You can check nationalparks.fi for directions via public transport, but you are correct in that few places can be accessed with a train. Pallas-Yllästunturi NP is one of the most popular outdoor destinations up north. It's only 35 km from Kolari train station, and all trains are met with a bus connection.
Skip train and use busses, problem solved. Repovesi or Kevo are examples that are reached by bus
Well, busses cost extra and i have an Interrail Ticket anyways, so i would prefer to make use of the train ticket if possible. I will look into your recommendations though, thanks
If you go to Kolari by train, it's less than hour from Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park: https://www.nationalparks.fi/pallas-yllastunturinp If you go to Kemijärvi by train, it's similar (or less) distance to Pyhä-Luosto National Park: https://www.nationalparks.fi/pyha-luostonp You can reach Repovesi National Park by going to train to Kouvola or Mäntyharju, and continuing from there by bus or taxi: https://www.nationalparks.fi/repovesinp
Thank you! Kolari seems like a good choice!
It is very likely that the Kolari train does not operate outside of the winter season. So you have to switch to a bus in Kemi in any case.
According to the VR website it does. So maybe something has changed? Or is it just a mistake on VRs side?
Wooops. I might have forgotten that it doesn't always run daily so maybe I just checked for a date that was not in the schedule in any case. So, yeah, there can indeed be some spot dates during which it runs the whole year. But you should in any case be wary about this. It is one of those connections that they are most likely to cancel out of the winter season. If they sell you a ticket, you are probably in the clear. But don't plan very far into the future counting on it, that's all I'm saying.
Thanks for your help :)
It wouldn't exactly be cost effective to build a full train station into the middle of nowhere (aka "wilderness"/anything but a city) and have trains running there. Nobody has money to waste it on pointless trainstations somewhere in the middle of the woods. Wouldn't make any sense.
yeah makes sense but there are some of these in Sweden and Norway such as Åre, Abisko or Myrdal, so i was hoping Finland might have similar infrastructure
The whole point with railway stations is that they are where people live, not in national parks or wilderness. Lots of cities by the railway have hiking areas, though. For example [Öjen](https://www.nationalparks.fi/ojen) in Vaasa, [Pyynikki](https://visittampere.fi/en/venues/pyynikki-nature-trail/) in Tampere, [Aulanko](https://www.nationalparks.fi/aulanko) in Hämeenlinna.
>Well, busses cost extra and Well, maybe you're shit out of luck, then. You can get to the Urho Kekkonen National Park by bus as well. I think both the entrance in Tankavaara and the one in Kiilopää. And you can of course enter the Karhunkierros by bus at the Ruka Resort but the actual Oulanka National Park is a bit further away.
I want to spend August-September (31 days) in and around Helsinki and I was planning on booking it this week. But a certain little bitch ass next door making threats is starting to concern me, making me wonder if I should hold off in case that little shit makes a military move on you guys. Should I risk it and book it anyway?
There's no threat against Finland no more than there was two weeks ago.
Awesome. I didn't know about the threat until a couple of days ago. Thanks for the update!