How To Legally Enter In Finland?

Finland is a member of the European Union and part of the Schengen area, which means that the nationals of the EU do not need a visa to enter Finland for stays not exceeding three months. All they need is a simple ID card or a passport of current validity. A residence permit is, however, necessary for the stays of more than three months. It can be obtained when you are in Finland by supplying an application to the police station of the region where you are staying at the end of three past months.

The Canadian nationals also do not need a visa to travel to Finland, and they just have to present a passport that is valid three months after their return date. It is always advised to contact the closest embassy of Finland to get more information about travelling to Finland.

To go from Finland to Russia, a visa is compulsory for all the nationals, except in case you visit Saint-Petersburg within the framework of a cruise from Finland. You will then have the right to stay in this city without visa during 72 hours.

Before travelling to Finland, it is highly recommended to get in touch with the Finnish embassy or consulate nearest to you, to make sure that the formalities of entrance on the Finnish territory did not change. It is also very much recommended to make copies of your important documents, so to be able to replace them in case you lose one of them or in case of a theft.

Categories: Finland

How The Educational System Works In Finland?

The higher educational system in Finland is much closer to many of the Anglo-Saxon systems, as it adopted the LMD (Licence-Master-Doctorat) reform to facilitate the equivalences and the mobility of Finnish students within the European Union.

However, Finland keeps a rather particular university system, which can be seen in the type of programs, which are proposed by the educational establishments. There are 340 different curricula ranging from Bachelor to the Doctorate, and the majority of them are accessible in English, as the country having an excellent language ability.

The different diplomas delivered by Finnish universities:

Finnish universities follow the LMD system:

1- Bachelor's degree: 

It is equivalent to " La License" in France. It represents 180 credits, 3 years of study, and it is the first diploma delivered at the university. It allows you to discover the bases of the subjects studied in first year, then to deepen during the next two years to obtain an intermediate level. It consists also of the study of foreign languages as well as a thesis in the last year.

2- Master's degree: 

It represents 120 credits, 2 years of studies, and it is accessible to students having obtained their Bachelor's degree. There exist more than 200 accessible programs of Master's degree in English. The students, however, have to join a program in connection with their preliminary programs of study. They will resume the activities of the Bachelor's Degree more deeply, and in the last year, they should prepare a thesis. 

3- Doctor's degree programs: 

Doctor programs are accessible only at the university, and these programs are the equivalent of  the "doctorate" in France. However, this type of program is prepared in a period of 4 years in Finland, and represents 240 credits ECTS contrary to 3 years of necessary studies in France.

The research and the preparation of a high-level thesis are the main activities of the Doctor's program. There are two types of accessible programs,and it is advised that you contact directly the university of your choice to know more about the possibilities offered by this type of programs.

A good thing here is that when it comes to financing Doctor's programs, the set of scholarships in Finland is accessible at this level for the European students.

At the end, the set of diplomas described above corresponds to the accessible programs in Finnish universities, however, it is possible to apply to a polytechnics institute, which proposes trainings and different diplomas, more focused on the professionalization and specialization.

Categories: Finland

Family In Finland Looking For A Swedish Au Pair 2017

A family in Jyvaskyla in central Finland is looking for a Swedish au pair starting from January 2017. The family consists of both parents and two girls, one is 3 years old and the other one is 1 year old. 

Information about the family:

Parents work and the children go to the Swedish-language kindergarten. Sports are a big part of the family life, the father doing triathlons and the mother plays tennis. The family enjoys the outdoors, and also likes spending time at their cottage. 

Both parents have been living abroad and are interested in different cultures and people with different backgrounds. They also want to bring this interest to their children. The whole family have Finnish as their mother tongue, the father also speaks Swedish and communication with the mother would be in English. 

The qualities needed in the au pair:

The au pair must be non-smoking, cheerful, reliable, flexible, independent, and like small children. The person should have a driver's license because the au pair should take children to kindergarten, to different hobbies and to grocery shopping. It is good if you are used to being with young children. Experience in working with children, such as through sports activities is an asset. During the day, you would also do some household chores, cooking, etc. 

You will stay with the family where you have your own room with toilet. You also get some pocket money under the current au pair contract. The job is 30 hours a week and have free most weekends. The length of the au pair period is going to be discussed, as there is an opportunity to work throughout the year. A the end, if you are interested to be an au pair in Finland, you can contact Nordjobb Finland through this email: finland@nordjobb.org 

Categories: Finland