Arrival to Lapland 21.9.2026 14:30-15:30

When: Monday 21.9.2026 14:30-15:30 (Finnish time)
How to join? Join the info sessions in Teams with this link.
Hosts: Marja and Jaana, University of Lapland

Your Welcoming buddy will be there to help you at the beginning of your studies in Rovaniemi.

Welcoming buddies are volunteers (peer students) who have the knowledge and training to perform their duties.

The buddy will get in touch with you already before your journey to the north starts and will meet you upon your arrival. The buddy will help you settle down in Rovaniemi and become familiar with the Finnish student life and local culture. The buddy can give you assistance with matters related to housing, banking and registration and provide advice on practical academic matters like using Peppi and signing up for courses.

Eager to discover who else is heading to ULapland?

Through Goin’, you can meet fellow students even before setting foot on campus. You have a unique opportunity to connect with other studens within an exclusive Goin’ to Lapland online student community.

Here’s your chance to:

• Discover students with shared interests, like sports or music
• Meet peers from your home country
• Meet your peer student support (welcoming buddies)
• Help each other practically prepare to start
• Plan the study life with friends way in advance

Ready to start building connections?
Register here to join our fun Goin’ to Lapland community: https://register.goinconnect.com/university/87493

If you download the Goin’ app from App Store or Google Play Store, please use the code 87493 to register to Goin’ to Lapland community.

NO ACTION NEEDED FROM YOU, THIS WILL BE DONE FOR YOU.

We will do the registration as attending ULapland degree student for you, due to your status as a joint programme student. PLEASE DO NOT REGISTER YOURSELF. Being registered as attending is a prerequisite for signing up for any courses.

We will also pay the Student union membership fee to ULapland Student Union and your student health care service payment for higher education students to Kela, also due to your status as a joint programme student. YOU DO NOT NEED TO DO ANY ACTIONS OR PAYMENTS.

In general, all Ulapland students have to register as either attending or non-attending for each semester for their studies and also pay the fees themselves. As mentioned, we will do this for you.

ULapland co-operates with Domus Arctica Student Housing Foudation (DAS) providing accommodation for students at DAS houses next to university campus in Rantavitikka and other areas in Rovaniemi.

It is highly recommended to arrange accommodation before arriving to Finland. Student housing in Rovaniemi is limited, so finding a place to live in Rovaniemi is one of your first big tasks and wins as a new student. Therefore, it is very important to be on time with your accommodation application.

What kind of housing is available?
Most students use Domus Arctica Foundation (DAS) as DAS provides affordable housing options for students. Read more on the types of housing in DAS and discover the different DAS residental areas in Rovaniemi.

If you are applying for a furnished apartment, you must click the “I want apartment with furniture” -button. Furnished apartments are shared ones and if you would like to share the apartment with your friend, you can write the name into the additional information. If you want to have a bigger apartment, those are not with furniture.

How to apply?
You can apply directly on the DAS website. When you are submitting the housing application, please inform that you are SDSI Degree student and will study in Rovaniemi for only one semester.

Decisions regarding placements in autumn are usually sent to applicants in late July and early August. Decisions regarding spring placements are usually also sent quite close to the beginning of the semester.

You need to provide a copy of your acceptance letter with your application. Please note that the application is valid for 90 days. You will receive an automatic message about renewing the application and it can be done by replying to the message.

Other housing options include private rentals or shared apartments. Please see more information on the website of the city of Rovaniemi.

Housing costs
Typical student housing costs: €300–450/month for a room in a shared flat. The price for studios is higher. You also need to budget for the housing deposit. Electricity, internet or heating can also be considered as an additional cost if those are already not covered in your rental agreement.

What is next?
Once offered housing, pay your deposit quickly to secure your place. You’ll sign your tenancy agreement and receive move-in instructions. It is generally advised that you bring basic bedding and kitchen items, or buy them after you arrive in Lapland. There are plenty of second-hand and affordable options available as well.

If you get stuck, Arrival services (masterschool(at)ulapland.fi) can help with advice or emergency housing contacts. However, the university itself does not offer or arrange accommodation for students.

If you are planning to move to study in Lapland with your family and children, its important to start planning and doing preparations well in advance. There are many practical matters to take care of, such as residence permit, housing, children daycare, primary school and health and vaccinations etc.

ULapland contact person for students with families is Education Specialist Jaana Severidt. If you plan to come with your family, please be in contact with Jaana to get assistance.

Contact person: Jaana Severidt, Education specialist, jaana.severidt(at)ulapland.fi

City of Rovaniemi Early Childhood Education and Care Services’ website

City of Rovaniemi Basic Education Services’ website

RECOMMENDED ARRIVAL TIME: at least a day before the Orientation starts: Orientation for degree students – University of Lapland

Note also, that DAS housing office is open at 12-15 on week days for picking up the apartment keys. If you arrive outside the DAS office opening hours, please agree with your Welcoming buddy on picking up the keys for you. You also need to inform DAS about it.

Make sure to inform your arrival schedule to your Welcoming buddy as well!

• See direct flights to Rovaniemi: www.visitrovaniemi.fi/plan/getting-here/
• Flights from Helsinki to Rovaniemi: www.finnair.fi / www.norwegian.fi
• Ferry connection between Tallinn and Helsinki:
  • Tallink: en.tallink.com/en/
  • Viking line: www.sales.vikingline.com/
  • Eckerö Line www.eckeroline.com/
• Train connections: www.vr.fi/en
• Bus connections:
  • www.onnibus.com/home
  • www.matkahuolto.fi/en
  • www.flixbus.fi

You can also browse the Visit Rovaniemi website for more information.

1. Permits

Make sure you’ll have a valid residence permit or other immigration permit which allows you to come to study in Finland. Below you can find links to Finnish Immigration Service’s website and information for non-EU students and EU students.

Read more: Migri Residence permit guide for students

Non-EU students: apply for the residence permit OR mobility notification

Option 1. Non-EU students, Residence permit for studies

• You should apply before the mobility semester.
• Be prepared for the costs, see detailed info on Migri webpages.
• Apply for the Finnish Personal Identification Code (PIC) at the same time (if possible).
• Expected processing time for residence permits: 3 month
• Webpage: Migri Residence permit application for studies

Option 2. Non-EU students, Mobility notification

• You should apply before the mobility semester.
• Be prepared for the costs, see detailed info on Migri webpages.
• Expected processing time: 1 month
• Webpage: Migri Mobility notification to Finland

EU students: EU citizen registration

• Will be done after you have arrived in Rovaniemi, within the first weeks.
• More info during the Orientation days.
• Be prepared for the costs, see detailed info on the Migri webpages.
• Webpage: Migri EU citizen registration

2. Insurance

At ULapland, all international students need an insurance policy that is valid throughout your stay at the University. Insurance must cover medical care and personal injury, and should also contain liability coverage for loss or damage.

Proof of a valid insurance coverage will be checked during the Orientation days.
Remember to have your SDSI Student Insurance policy (Expat&co Student Insurance) documents with you!

3. Finnish Personal Identification Code PIC

All international students must have a Finnish Personal Identity Code (PIC) to receive a transcript of study records from his/her Finnish university and when to deal with the Finnish authorities.

How to get the PIC?

1. Apply before arrival to Rovaniemi, at the same time with the Residence permit, see Migri webpages OR
2. Apply after your arrival to Rovaniemi, see DVV webpage below. More info during the Orientation days.

All students completing a master’s degree in the University of Lapland are automatically members of the University of Lapland Student Union and can thus obtain a Finnish student card.

The student card can be obtained as a plastic card, a digital card – or even both! Student card verifies your student status and thus entitles you to numerous student benefits.

You can find your digital Student card in Tuudo app.

Infomation on Student Card on the LYY Student Union of the University of Lapland webpage

ULapland user account

When you were accepted to SDSI programme, you received an email including the information about your ULapland user account. If you haven’t activated your user account yet, you should do it now!

Please use your account actively and change your password when asked. If you have any problems with your user account, please contact Student HelpDesk at
helpdesk(at)ulapland.fi.

Tools for studying
Once you have activated your account, you have access to ULapland’s tools for students.

Peppi – Study data service; View the course offer and read course descriptions, register for courses and exams, check the grades and numbers of credits you have completed, order a study certificate and order an official transcript of records

Microsoft Outlook – ULapland email; please check your ULapland email regularly! We use it as an official email in Ulapland and if you don’t read it, you will miss a lot of information.

Finna – Library’s databases

Exam – A system that enables electronic exams

Moodle – Virtual learning environment; there is usually a moodle space for each Ulapland course, e.g. course materials are there

Office 365 – Students of the ULapland are able to use Microsoft Office 365 cloud services (O365) which enables people to use Microsoft Office applications and various productivity tools and services. Office 365 services include eg. 1 Tb of additional personal storage.

Tuudo is an important app with study related features and useful services.
You should upload it to your phone before arrival to ULapland.

The features of Tuudo:

• information on completed credits and notifications upon completing new
  credits
• study schedule and notifications of changes to course schedule or course venue
• student card
• campus maps
• services for new students
• vacancies and traineeships
• menus of on-campus restaurants bus timetables and route maps.

Majority of the courses offered in ULapland can be found in the Peppi study guide.

There are plenty of opportunities for elective studies. You can start by browsing through the ULapland Peppi study guide -> Courses for exchange students and courses in English. More elective studies can be found in Peppi under Cross study. These studies are free of charge and are offered by other universities in Finland.

Note that elective courses take place on weekdays (Mon-Fri). Teaching language,
qualifications and amount of seats may limit access to the courses.

You need to register for courses in Peppi or in Tuudo. Registration for autumn courses will start on mid August and for spring courses at the beginning of December. You will receive guidance on how to register for the courses during the Orientation days at the beginning of the semester.

The orientation begins your Lapland student journey on campus. It is highly recommend to attend the orientation days, these are developed to help you in the beginning of your studies, just before the actual courses start.

Orientation days
Autumn Orientation days will be organized in mid August and spring orientation will be in the beginning of January.  The orientation will be on campus with online access to those who have not yet arrived to Rovaniemi.  You will get to know the campus and Rovaniemi, meet your welcoming buddies, fellow students and key staff members. You will also learn about the academic culture, how to use university systems (Moodle, Peppi, Tuudo) and receive information about other essentials. In addition to the academic encounters, you can also make new friends and attend student events and happenings.

We highly recommend you to arrive in Rovaniemi and attend the Orientation days on campus.

You can find the Orientation programme here. Note! The Orientation dates in January 2027 are January 7-8 and 11-12. The programme will be ready early December and the link will be updated on this page.

Once you’ve arrived and settled in, it’s time to sort out your local matters. This makes life easier for everything from healthcare to getting paid for work.

Register your address and Finnish ID code PIC

If you have received your Finnish ID code PIC with your residence permit, you can register your local address at the DVV office. DVV usually organizes pop-up events dedicated to students, and the exact timing of those are announced in late summer.

If you do NOT have a Finnish ID code yet, you can apply for it at DVV when registering your address.

Opening a Finnish bank account

You can also open a Finnish bank account. 

Most banks will require your passport, residence permit or registration, Finnish ID code and proof of address. Compare banks for student deals and English service. You can ask your arrival assistant or the people at your orientation for tips.

You need a local bank account for rent and work, and some banks offer student benefits, too. Having your address and ID registered also makes it easier to access online authorization systems.