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1. After you have been selected to a position or your visit has been confirmed, you will receive a request to fill in your personal information in the Vasara system if you will be an employee or as a pdf form if you are not an employee. Fill in the requested information.
2. Get familiar with this Handbook’s instructions.
3. Start the residence permit application process.
4. Join a Pre-arrival info and Q&A session (you will receive the invitation sent by International Staff Services).
5. If you are an employee your work contract will be signed after you have received your residence permit card and your arrival date to Jyväskylä has been confirmed. 
   If you are a visitor or a grant researcher yourAgreement on Conducting Research Using the University’s Premises and Equipment will be signed either before your arrival or alternatively when you arrive here.
6. After arriving in Finland, complete the necessary registrations, see instructions on the After-arrival arrangements page and join an After-arrival info and Q&A session.

Alongside these steps, take care of the following actions: Home country arrangements, appointments to be booked beforehand, documents to bring with you, housing, travel and moving arrangements.

NB for employees: Please note that you need to be in Finland on the starting date of your employment so it is not possible to start the employment abroad. When you sign your employment contract, you commit to being in the work location determined in the contract on the starting date of your employment. If you are not at the work location determined in your contract at the start of the employment, an unpaid absence of leave will be applied until you have arrived at the work location.

1. After you have been selected to a position or your visit has been confirmed, you will receive a request to fill in your personal information in the Vasara system if you will be an employee or as a pdf form if you are not an employee. Fill in the requested information.
2. Get familiar with this Handbook’s instructions and join a Pre-arrival info and Q&A session (you will receive the invitation sent by International Staff Services).
3. If you are an employee your work contract will be signed well before your work is due to start. 
   If you are a visitor or a grant researcher yourAgreement on Conducting Research Using the University’s Premises and Equipment will be signed either before your arrival or alternatively when you arrive here.
4. After arriving in Finland, complete the necessary registrations, see instructions on the After-arrival arrangements page and join an After-arrival info and Q&A session.

Alongside these steps, take care of the following actions: Home country arrangements, appointments to be booked beforehand, documents to bring with you, housing, travel and moving arrangements.

NB for employees: Please note that you need to be in Finland on the starting date of your employment so it is not possible to start the employment abroad. When you sign your employment contract, you commit to being in the work location determined in the contract on the starting date of your employment. If you are not at the work location determined in your contract at the start of the employment, an unpaid absence of leave will be applied until you have arrived at the work location.

Citizens of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) are allowed to enter and work in Finland without residence permits or visas. However, if you live in Finland for more than six months, you must inform the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) of your stay in Finland after you arrive in Finland.

You can't make this registration before you have arrived in Finland, but it's recommended to book the needed appointment as soon as you know when you will arrive in Finland. See instructions for booking this appointment at the Appointments to be booked beforehand section on this page.  

More information:

Citizens of the member states of the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) do not need a visa or residence permit to enter and work in Finland. However, if you stay in Finland for more than 90 consecutive days, you must register your right to reside in Finland at the Finnish Immigration Service after you arrive in Finland.

You can't make this registration before you have arrived in Finland, but it's recommended to book the needed appointment as soon as you know when you will arrive in Finland. See instructions for booking this appointment at the Appointments to be booked beforehand section on this page.  

More information:

If you come from a country that is not a member state of the or the , you will usually need a permit to enter Finland.

Staying in Finland up to 90 days

If your stay does not exceed 90 days, apply for a visa if needed. Apply for it at the Visa Application Centre indicated by a Finnish mission, at a Finnish mission or as a Schengen country mission representing Finland. See more information from .

In case you will need a visa invitation letter, please, contact International Staff Services (ISS).

Staying in Finland longer than 90 days

If you stay in Finland for longer than 90 days, you will need a residence permit. You can find the different permit types from . Teaching and research staff (including doctoral students) working professionally in the field of science and having at least a bachelor’s degree can apply for a .

1. If you'll have to attach a hosting agreement to the residence permit application, the International Staff Services (ISS) will prepare this document for you. The hosting agreement will be signed electronically in an electronic signing program Jyu Sign. When the document is ready for your electronic signature, you will receive an email from the Jyu Sign system about it. Check also your junk mail in case the request has gone there. Let your ISS contact person know if you’ll have any technical problems with the system, e.g. you don’t receive a pin code.
2. The first residence permit application needs to be applied for in your current country of residence before arriving in Finland. Make at first an electronic application to . Attach the signed hosting agreement to that.
3. After completing the online application, make an appointment to the nearest for  and bringing the original documents. Handling of the application starts from the identification visit. Remember to book the appointment at the Finnish mission right after you have filed the residence permit application, since there can be a long waiting list for the appointments. In general, it takes 1 – 3 months to receive the residence permit and the residence permit card, so take this into account when booking your flights and accommodation. The University has very limited opportunities to influence the speed of the residence permit process, so be active yourself.
4. Please keep your ISS contact person updated about the application process.
5. Once you have received the residence permit card, you can enter Finland.
6. If you are an employee, you need to send ISS a copy of your card (both sides) as we need to certify by law your right to work here.

Process chart for residence permit application and arrival in Finland

New Doctoral Students

Doctoral Students who are starting their studies with the Ģ��ֱ�� must accept their study place and register before a Hosting agreement can be issued.

D visa in addition to the researcher’s residence permit

You have an option to apply for a D visa in addition to a researcher’s residence permit. A D visa may allow you to arrive in Finland approximately 1-2 weeks earlier than without it. This is optional, so you don't have to acquire this if you do not want to. Please note that you cannot work with the D visa. You can start working when your residence permit becomes valid.

If applying for a D visa, you need be aware of few things;

• The residence permit card will be delivered to a Schenker office here in Jyväskylä, so you need to find your way to it in time (they will keep it there only for a certain period of time). If the card is not picked up in time, it will be returned to the Finnish Immigration Services.
• The D-visa costs 95 € extra.
• It may be that the decision for your residence permit does not come much before the start date of your residence permit, in which case you do not gain much extra time from the D-visa.
• You may not be able to start the official registrations in Finland (e.g. apply for a tax card) before your residence permit becomes valid even if you have a D visa.

More information:

Frequently asked questions about residence permit application

How do I find the type researcher when making an electronic residence permit application?

• Select the following options regardless of your employment status:
  • Select the application that suits your situation: Work
  • Select an application that fits your situation: Work and employment in Finland
  • Select the option that best describes your situation: I conduct research or pursue post-graduate studies (doctoral studies) in Finland.

What is my employer's contact information?

• Employer: Ģ��ֱ��
• Business ID: 0245894-7
• Street address: Seminaarinkatu 15 
• Postal code: 40100
• City/town: Jyväskylä

What are my working hours?

• If you'll work in total working time, your working time will be 1,612 hours per year.

Will I have any taxable fringe benefits provided by the employer?

• No.

If your family member(s) move with you to Finland, the immigration formalities depend on the nationality of a family member.

Non-EU-citizens

• Note that your family member should apply for a residence permit at the same time as you in order to speed up their application process.

EU-citizens

Nordic citizens

When you join us as an employee you will receive an email request to fill in your personal information via the Vasara system. Fill in the information as completely as possible.

The employment contract can be signed when all the necessary pre-requisites (e.g. preliminary information, possible residence permit, travelling arrangements) of arriving to Finland have been completed. The HR Partner or HR Coordinator from your unit contacts you to finalize your employment contract.

In order to define the matters concerning your arrival, we ask all but employees to fill in the form below. Please send it to the International Staff Services (ISS) via secured e-mail (provided by the International Staff Services).

Download a pre-information form (.pdf)

Join an Pre-arrival info and Q&A session that is organized online by the International Staff Services (ISS). You will receive more information about it and a Teams link to join the session from your unit's ISS contact person.

Opening a Finnish bank account is not easy and takes a while. To receive your first months’ salary (if applicable) and manage the first days’ daily issues in Finland confirm that your home country/current bank/credit card works in Finland and that you can receive international money transfers to your bank account.

If you wish you can bring some cash (Euros) for the first weeks of your stay. Note that there is no money exchange service in Jyväskylä and that invoices (e.g. rent) cannot be paid by cash in Finland.

If you do not wish or are unable to use your home country bank account, you can open an online bank, such as or . 

Arrange travel insurance and/or a to cover for at least the first months of your stay in Finland.

Having an insurance or EHIC is important since you are entitled to use public health care services in Finland with similar costs as locals only if you have a municipality of residence in Finland. Applying for the municipality of residence takes some time and during the processing period you are only entitled to essential health and emergency care and some of the medical cost can be collected from you afterwards.

Examples of available international insurances on the .

Consider having a medical checkup before travelling and check that you have all the vaccinations needed. Also bring your and your family’s vaccination card/certificate with you.  If you or any of your accompanying family members have an illness that requires permanent medical treatment, it is important to bring along any medical records and prescriptions that will help physicians in Finland to treat your medical condition.

If you are on a continuous medication, please make sure you will be able to get the appropriate medicine in Finland as well. You can check . See also .

Remember to inform all necessary authorities in your home country about your move (either permanently or temporarily) to Finland. It is your responsibility to complete all the necessary documents for the home country authorities. These include - but are not limited to - tax and social security authorities.

This action is only for employees.

A Finnish personal identity code is needed for applying the tax card.

If you have a Finnish personal identity code (“henkilötunnus” in Finnish) beforehand or you have it on your Residence permit card, you can apply for a tax card by phone after your arrival. There's no need to book an appointment for applying for a tax card.

In case you do not have a Finnish personal identity code, you need to apply it from the Finnish Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) before you can apply for a tax card. Make an appointment for this to DVV beforehand. See the “Registration as a resident, notification of move and Finnish personal identity code” section on this page.

If you will be employed at the Ģ��ֱ�� you will need a Finnish tax card for your salary payment, or 60% tax will be deducted from your salary. Since the tax card is needed right after your arrival in Finland you need to apply for it during your first days in Finland.

Your salary payment date is always on the last day of the month (fixed term employments) or the 15. day of the months (permanent employments) or if that day happens to be on a weekend or a midweek holiday, the day before that. You need to deliver your tax card approximately two weeks prior to the payment date. After you have your JYU credentials, you can check the specific dates from here: .

More information about the applications: Taxation

This action is only for citizens of EU/EEA/Switzerland (excluding Nordic citizens) who plan to stay in Finland for more than 90 days.

Citizens of the member states of the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland who stay in Finland for more than 90 days must register their right to reside in Finland at the Finnish Immigration Service's (Migri) service point in Finland. Please note that this doesn't apply to Nordic citizens.

This registration needs to be done among the first things in Finland so make the appointment at Migri well before your arrival in Finland (there is a long queue for the appointment times). Since Jyväskylä does not have a Migri service point, book the appointment, e.g., at Helsinki or Tampere service point to be done in connection with your arrival in Finland. A link to the English booking pages is found at the top of this page under Suomeksi: . You should have the appointment as soon as possible but at latest within three months of your arrival in Finland.

More information:

• EU registration at Migri

This action is for those who stay in Finland for long-term. If you are a Nordic citizen, you need to complete this registration only if you stay in Finland for more than six months.

As a foreign citizen, you need to register at the Finnish Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV). The application for a municipality of residence and a notification of move will be done also there. The registration, applying for a municipality of residence and notification of move are important and support, e.g., receiving the right for the public health care and Finnish identity card.

To make the registration process faster, read the instructions carefully before your arrival in Finland:  and . Prepare all the necessary documents and have them legalized if needed. Also, book an appointment to the Jyväskylä office .A link to the English booking pages is found at the top of the page under Suomeksi. You should have the appointment as soon as possible during your first days in Finland.

• Non-EU/EEA-citizens can book the appointment when you have received your residence permit card, and your arrival date in Finland has been confirmed.
• EU/EEA-citizen + Swiss citizens can book the appointment when your arrival date in Finland has been confirmed. Please note that you can apply for the municipality right only after you have completed the registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence. If you need a Finnish personal identity code straight away, you can apply this first and the municipality right later.

If there is something unclear or you have any questions when filling out the application, please, contact DVV easily before submitting the application. This will make your application process smoother and quicker.

More information about the registration: Local registration and municipality of residence at DVV

This action is for those who arrive in Finland with children.

If you move to Finland with your children, make applications to daycare and schools.

Finnish education is of high quality. Differences in the learning results of different schools are small and nearly all students complete comprehensive school within target time. Pre-primary education, comprehensive education and upper secondary education is free of charge and also higher education is for the most part free of charge. The goal is for everyone to have an equal opportunity to receive high quality education regardless of the family’s income and to grow up to become active citizens. 

Contact day care and education in advance: .

General information:

Arrange accommodation for the first days of your stay in Jyväskylä or longer term. Accommodation options can be found on our Accommodation page.

Start travel arrangements when the start date of your employment/grant/visit has been agreed and if you need a visa/residence permit when you have received the permits. See: . For local transportation, campus map etc., see Maps and visitor information | Ģ��ֱ��

If you move your personal belongings to Finland, please contact shipping companies in your country of residence or .

Unless you know the size of the apartment where you are moving to, you should only bring the essentials. Inexpensive furniture and items for your home can be bought in second-hand shops or shops such as Ikea. If you wish to bring electrical appliances and/or electronics, you might need a voltage converter and a plug adapter.

Please note that the Ģ��ֱ�� will not cover the removal expenses.

Familiarize yourself with the .

Many Finns have pets and there are several dog parks in Jyväskylä. In case you wish to bring your pet to Finland, please familiarize yourself with these pages: .