New students

Autumn break

• 17.–21.10.2022 (Kokkola and Pietarsaari)
• 25.–29.10.2021 (Ylivieska)

Christmas break 19.12.2022–8.1.2023

Winter break

• 27.2.–3.3.2023 (Kokkola and Pietarsaari)
• 6.–10.3.2023 (Ylivieska)

Teachers’ summer break 20.6.–12.8.2022

Degree students must enrol as a present (attending) or absent (non-attending) for each study year. Only students who are enrolled as present students have the right to pursue studies, to have credits entered in the record of credits and to receive guidance related to the studies.

New students

• New students enrol for the study year at the same time as they accept their study place.
• Tuition fee-paying students have to pay the tuition fee at the same time as they accept the study place.
• First-year students can enrol as absent only for predetermined statutory reasons. The statutory reasons for the absence must be verified with appropriate documentation by a given date.
• If the student enrols as absent during the first study year but does not provide adequate documentation for the reasons of absence by the given date, the student loses the study right. If the student wants to start their studies later, they will have to apply for readmission.

If you are starting your studies in the middle of the academic year, please contact our Student Services (studentoffice@centria.fi).

In the message, explain your need for the starting info or guidance. Also, tell your full name, date of birth, as well as the degree programme you will study in. The Student Services will review your right of study and send you a starting info or give you the name of the person who you should contact regarding the beginning of your studies.

After you receive your acceptance letter from Centria UAS you should check the immigration formalities. Make sure that you have enough time to complete all the necessary steps in order to get your residence permit process ready in time.

The regulations concerning the stay in Finland and the visa regulations can be found on the web page of the Finnish Immigration Service. 

You must submit your residence permit application to the Finnish embassy in the country of your legal residence. 

Through the e-service you can access residence permit applications related to studies in the case of both the first permit and extended permits (http://www.migri.fi/studying_in_finland). 

• If you have submitted your application via the e-service, you need to visit a Finnish embassy to verify your identity and to present the original copies of any supplements needed for the application. 

• Please note that Centria UAS cannot influence the decisions made by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland regarding residence permits.

For students coming to study in Finland for more than two years, medical insurance covering the duration of the visa and the Schengen area is required in order to obtain a student residence permit. Comprehensive insurance cover means insurance which includes the types of treatment and costs that are covered by municipal health care services and the health insurance system. A residence permit cannot be issued for a period exceeding the period of the insurance cover.

• For studies of less than two years in duration, a student must have private insurance which primarily covers the costs of medical treatment up to 100,000 euros.
• When the duration of the studies is two years or more, a student will usually have a home municipality in Finland and is therefore entitled to municipal health care services. In such cases, it is sufficient for the insurance to primarily cover the cost of medicines (in practice the cover extends to doctor’s fees and costs of treatment and examination); up to 30,000 euros.

The student visa requirements also include yearly deposits as a proof of sustainable means of support. If later on, it is found that the student does not possess the funds originally stated when applying for the residence permit, the permit can be cancelled, and the student deported. 

A student applying for a residence permit needs to show that they have 6720 Euros for the next 12 months. 

The cost of living in Finland is on average comparable to the rest of Europe. In this section, you will get a glimpse of what kind of budget you should expect. 

You have to be aware of that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible for an international student who does not know any Finnish to get a part time job in small cities like Kokkola, Ylivieska and Pietarsaari. Therefore, it is crucial that you have taken care of your financial issues so that you can afford to stay in Finland even if you do not get a job during your studies. 

Basically, for expenses such as rent, food and personal costs, you will need approximately 560 Euros per month, that is 12 x 560 = 6 720 Euros for ONE year.

DETAILS

• Rent 180 – 280 Euros
• Food 150 – 250 Euros
• Books, equipment and materials 50 Euros
• Leisure, other personal costs 85 – 150 Euros

= Total 465- 720 Euros

This calculation is based on the assumption that you would be staying in a student apartment. It is however possible that at times the student accommodation is full and you would need to rent an apartment in the general rental market. The rents of one-bedroom apartments are usually 350 – 600 Euros depending on the square metres and how new the apartment is.

Please also note that these examples don’t include your travel from your home country nor any private travel in Finland. To these costs, you can also add the purchase of a second-hand bicycle (around 100 Euros), the purchase of bed clothing, curtains and kitchen equipment for your apartment. 

Financial aid for studies pursued in Finland is available to Finnish citizens and, under certain conditions, to citizens of other countries.

The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Kela, provides students with a Study Grant and a Housing Supplement (both monthly). The student financial aid system also includes student loans guaranteed by the state.

More information

Meal subsidy

If you are in higher education, you are eligible for discounted meals at participating student restaurants. The subsidy is deducted from the price of the meal at the student restaurant. You pay the discounted price.

You can qualify even if you are not a Finnish citizen. If you are attending a higher education institution in Finland as an exchange student, you qualify for the meal subsidy for the duration of your exchange.

Centria UAS restaurants participate in the meal subsidy programme:

• Restaurant Sodexo (at Talonpojankatu Campus)
• Restaurant Messi (at Vierimaantie Campus)

Banks are usually open Monday to Friday from 10.00 till 16.30. Money can be exchanged at any bank in Finland although it is wise to exchange large amounts at a time to avoid service charges. Major credit cards are generally accepted everywhere in Finland.

International students can open an account in any bank in Finland by presenting one valid ID (passport) and a certificate showing that the student is enrolled to Centria UAS. To open an account, you need to visit the bank branch in person.

Cash Machines (ATM) in Finland are called OTTO and NOSTO, and they are easily recognized by their orange- and yellow-coloured signs.

Students are supposed to take care of coming to Finland and to Centria UAS by themselves. Centria UAS does not have any services concerning arrival of students.  

Arrival information

When you are aware of your date and means of arrival, you should send the following information to the contact person of the degree programme you are starting your studies at:

• The date of arrival
• The exact time of arrival

In Finland the working week is five days (from Monday to Friday) and office hours are usually from 8 (9) am. to 4 (5) pm. Please notice this when planning your arrival in Finland, because in case you arrive during the weekend all offices will be closed (student affairs office, banks etc.) and it is not possible to get keys to student apartments either.

Transportation to Kokkola

Take the train to Kokkola from Helsinki or Tikkurila (nearer to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and there is a train connection between the airport and Tikkurila station). The trains head up north (Oulu, Rovaniemi). Get off at the Kokkola station. The trip lasts approx. 4 hours. 

It is also possible to get to Kokkola by plane from Helsinki to Kokkola-Pietarsaari airport. The flight lasts about an hour. A bus links the airport and Kokkola. 

Transportation to Pietarsaari

The nearest airport is Kokkola-Pietarsaari airport, travel time from the airport to Pietarsaari centre is approx. 30 min. 

The nearest train station is the Pietarsaari-Pedersöre train station, approx. 15 min travel time from Pietarsaari centre. From the train station there is a shuttle bus service to Pietarsaari centre. The timetable is available here. 

For train connections, see www.vr.fi. 

For instructions on how to get your username and password, please visit Centria’s Password Reset Portal (choose Account registration option). It is possible to register your username starting from 2 August 2022.

During your studies, you will need several digital tools. After you have received your user ID (username and password) to Centria, you can log in to itslearning learning management system via the Centraali portal or directly. 

In itslearning, you can find a workspace called Digistart. The idea of Centria Digistart is to familiarize you with Centria’s IT systems related to learning. You can begin Digistart right after you have got your user account, even if the studies have not yet started. This helps you when the actual courses start as you already know the learning tools Centria uses and their possibilities.

You will need 1-5 h to go through the material. After this, you can check your knowledge with a small multiple-choice test.

The course material is available during your whole study time.

Student tutoring is an important part of Centria’s guidance system. Student tutors are peer learners who will help you launch your studies as smoothly as possible. Their task is to provide comprehensive peer support to all students and they can be contacted about all kinds of matters; you can ask them anything!