Our welcome services
We will help you with the following:
- Immigration formalities (i.e. permits and other arrangements)
- Insurance before moving to Finland
- Finding an apartment
- Getting your family settled in Finland (i.e. school and day care, spouse support)
- Paperwork toward Finnish authorities (Digital and Population Data Services Agency, Finnish Immigration Service, police department, tax office, bank, Kela)
- Getting to know your team and the campus
- Integrating into Finland and your new hometown (Finnish language courses for staff and spouses, cultural orientation, social activities)
Important matters to consider when you are coming to LAB
If you need to apply for a residence permit or visa for Finland, you will need to prove you will be working at LAB. As soon as LAB has confirmed your employment, we recommend starting the residence permit or visa application process as early as possible. In case you need an invitation letter for a visa application, please contact your host or supervisor at LAB.
LAB offers its employees occupational health care, but it does not extend to leisure or emergencies, nor does it cover all treatment, e.g. dental care. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you acquire separate health insurance coverage for yourself and your family before arrival – at least for the first year of your stay.
Once your employment at LAB has been officially confirmed, you should start arranging for housing. LAB can provide some assistance in looking for accommodation. Finding a place to stay can be time-consuming, especially if you are looking for a furnished apartment.
You should ensure that you have sufficient funds at your disposal when you arrive. Opening a bank account is not complicated in Finland, but it might take some time.
You can get by in Finland without knowing any Finnish, as most Finns speak English to some degree. However, knowing the local language is very useful and will make your life easier in many ways. LAB offers Finnish language courses for international employees, and we strongly encourage starting to learn the language before arrival.
Rental apartments in Finland
Rental apartments in Finland
Learning the Finnish language
Learning the Finnish language
Living and working in Finland
The Finnish standard of living is one of the highest in the world. Security, nature and education are priorities in Finland, which is also highly recognized internationally. All this makes Finland a great country to live in.
Finland offers vast areas of unpolluted nature and a safe, high-technology society. You can drink water out of the tap and enjoy clean and healthy food, and people are honest and punctual. The crime rate is considerably low. Finland can be described as a country with relatively low hierarchy where everybody is equal. Finnish people are individualistic, and they value equality, solidarity and quality of life.
Finland’s high standard of living also means that prices are not particularly low but remain comparable to those in many other Western European countries. Still, you can get by on fewer euros in our campus cities than in Finland's larger cities.
Our campuses
LAB University of Applied Sciences is a higher education institution specialising in innovation, business and industry. It operates in Lahti and Lappeenranta, Finland, and also online. We offer education in five fields: health care and social services, technology, business, hospitality, and design, fine arts and visual communication.