Services for highly educated immigrants

SIMHE-Metropolia’s primary target group is highly educated immigrants living in Finland who are planning studies or career development in Finland.

Can I register?

• If you are a degree student at a Finnish higher education institution, contact the career services of your own institution. For example, Metropolia has its own career coach team for students, which you can contact via JobTeaser or by email. More information is available on the “Career coaching and job search support” page.
• If you are a student in an integration training programme (kotoutumiskoulutus), contact your own educational institution (you can find more information about integration training on Job Market Finland page and in the curriculum on the Finnish National Agency for Education’s website). We recommend using SIMHE-Metropolia’s services towards the end of your integration training, when you are ready to apply for your next study programme.
• SIMHE-Metropolia language requirement: To ensure smooth guidance, we require at least B1-level proficiency in Finnish or English (CEFR scale). If your language skills are not sufficient for independent participation, you may bring a trusted assistant or interpreter with you.

Our services focus on higher education and supporting the employment of international talents in the Finnish labour market. We support you in complementing your competences and planning your career in Finland, as well as in finding alternative steps towards your next job and/or studies.

Everyone interested in the topic is welcome to our webinars, as long as they commit to following Metropolia’s safer space principles.

You can book an appointment for SIMHE-Metropolia’s career guidance via Metropolia’s website.

SIMHE-Metropolia guidance options:

• Group guidance in Helsinki
  Group guidance is organized at Metropolia’s Myllypuro Campus. Registration is done via an e-form.
• Online group guidance
  Metropolia’s career webinars, registration via an e-form.
• Individual guidance remotely
  Individual guidance sessions with a SIMHE-Metropolia career coach are organized in Zoom, Teams, or by phone if needed. Appointments are booked through the Vihta booking system.

More information and registration
Up-to-date information on the types of guidance and available time slots can be found on the Career guidance and counselling for immigrants page.

In SIMHE career counselling, we require at least B1-level Finnish or English skills (on the CEFR scale). This level is needed to ensure the counselling discussion goes smoothly.

If your language skills are not yet sufficient for independent participation, you may bring a trusted assistant or interpreter with you.

According to the national curriculum for integration training in Finland, the programme includes 7 credits of guidance (OPH 2022). If you are in integration training, discuss your own situation at your institution, for example with a study counsellor or a teacher responsible for working life studies.

We recommend that you start using SIMHE-Metropolia’s services towards the end of your integration training, when you are ready to apply for your next education programme or to plan further studies.

Metropolia’s Finnish language studies

Metropolia offers free Finnish language courses for all immigrants, mainly online but sometimes also on our campuses in the Helsinki metropolitan area (Helsinki, Espoo and/or Vantaa), most typically at the Myllypuro Campus in Helsinki.
You can find more information on the page Finnish language studies for immigrants at Metropolia.

From the field-specific courses, you can find, for example, Finnish for health care professionals and others in the social and health care sector or those interested in the field. There you can also find a Finnish and communication course for technology.

Finnish language studies at other higher education institutions

Other higher education institutions also offer Finnish language courses for immigrants. For example, check Savonia’s Finnish language courses for immigrants page, which has many different online courses.
You can find self-study materials and tips for studying Finnish, as well as Finnish language courses, on the Kielibuusti website.
You can find more different Finnish language courses via the Finnishcourses.fi course search service.

Low-cost courses and other practice

You can find courses offered by adult education centres in the Helsinki metropolitan area via the Ilmonet course search.

If you are unemployed or a student, you can often get about a 50% discount on the course fee.
You can find detailed information on these pages of adult education centres in the Helsinki region, for example:

• Vantaa Adult Education Centre’s course and billing practices
• Helsinki Adult Education Centre’s course fees and discounts (Finnish-language adult education centre in Helsinki)
• Arbis Adult Education Centre’s course discounts (Swedish-language adult education centre in Helsinki)
• Espoo Adult Education Centre’s course fees and discounts (Finnish-language adult education centre in Espoo)
• Esbo Arbis Learn Swedish courses (Swedish-language adult education centre in Espoo)
• Perta Adult Education Centre courses and registration (bilingual adult education centre in Kauniainen)

Additional language practice

You can practise Finnish and other languages in different groups and events, for example:

• In groups run by the “Luetaan yhdessä” network
• In language cafés at libraries – events can be found in the Helmet libraries’ event calendar (use “kielikahvila” as the search word)
• On the Selkouutiset website, where the news is written in easy Finnish and can also be listened to

Studying other subjects in Finnish (for example hobby courses found through the Ilmonet course search service) also helps you develop your Finnish language skills.

If you are a degree student at any Finnish university or university of applied sciences, please contact your own institution’s career or employment services, or other relevant staff.

For Metropolia degree students, career counselling is provided by Metropolia’s own career coach team. You can contact them via JobTeaser or by email (see Metropolia’s page “Career coaching and job search support”).

If you already know which degree or study programme you want to apply to (for example, a specific bachelor’s or master’s (UAS) programme):

• first, check Metropolia’s application page, where you can find all degree programmes and information on how to apply
• if you have questions about eligibility criteria, admission criteria or the application process, contact directly
  • Metropolia’s Admissions Services, or
  • the programme’s responsible teacher or contact person (their contact details are usually found on the programme’s own web page).

SIMHE-Metropolia’s career counselling is best for you if:

• you are not yet sure what you would like to study or which profession or job tasks you want to aim for next
• you want to consider different options and get a better overall picture of your opportunities in Finland
• you need support in career planning, describing your competence, and planning your next steps

So, if you already know exactly which programme you want to apply to, you should primarily contact Admissions Services or the programme’s contact person.

If you need help thinking about your career direction and options, SIMHE-Metropolia’s career counselling is the right service for you.

The possible language requirements for a permanent residence permit are determined by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). All questions related to a permanent residence permit, language level, and required certificates must be addressed directly to Migri.

Metropolia offers several Finnish language courses and self-study materials that can help you develop your language skills. You can find more information on the “Finnish language studies for immigrants at Metropolia” page.

For materials and courses related to studying Swedish, see for example the Kielibuusti website.

Metropolia offers several programmes aimed at immigrants that can help you:

• improve your Finnish language skills, including field-specific Finnish, for example in the social and health care sector and in engineering
• prepare for higher education studies (for example MaVa – preparatory education for higher education studies for immigrants)
• complement your professional competence, such as licensing studies for health care degrees completed abroad or the “Taloushallinnon Career Boost” training

You can find the programmes designed for immigrants on the “Study opportunities and competence development for immigrants” page.

If you have questions about specific programmes (for example about content, requirements or admission), you should contact the programme’s contact person directly or Metropolia’s Admissions Services, not SIMHE-Metropolia.

At Metropolia Open University of Applied Sciences (Open UAS), you can:

• complete individual study units, and/or
• apply for pathway studies, after which you can apply to become a degree student in certain programmes.

Read more about the options on the “Metropolia Open UAS course offering and study opportunities” page.

If you need support in planning your Open UAS studies at Metropolia, you can book an appointment for Metropolia’s continuous learning career guidance.

You can find open studies at other Finnish higher education institutions through the Opin.fi service.

Note for unemployed jobseekers:
A law reform that entered into force on 1 July 2026 makes it easier to study in Open UAS and universities while receiving unemployment benefits. However, always check your own situation and how your study plan affects your unemployment benefit with your own specialist (for example at employment services).

All Finnish- and Swedish-language higher education degrees in Finland are currently free of charge for all students who are directly admitted as degree students. In addition to the fact that they are free, we also recommend studying for a higher education degree in a domestic language to support employment in Finland (in Finnish) / in the Nordic countries (in Swedish).

For English-language higher education degrees, not everyone coming from outside the EU and EEA has to pay tuition fees. The obligation to pay tuition fees depends, among other things, on the type of residence permit you have and your situation in Finland. The most up‑to‑date information on Metropolia’s tuition fees and exemptions can be found in English on Metropolia’s Tuition fees page.

In addition, everyone completing a higher education degree in Finland must pay Kela the healthcare fee for higher education students each semester.

Yes, an unemployed jobseeker is allowed to study, but you must always agree on it in advance with your own specialist (for example at employment services) and obtain the correct statements regarding your studies.

There are different options for studying while unemployed, for example:

• Hobby-type studies
  – individual courses that are not pursued on a full-time basis.
• Part-time studies
  – degree-oriented studies that are not pursued on a full-time basis.
• Full-time studies, such as
  – short-term studies (up to 3 months)
  – short-term studies (up to 6 months)
  – labour market training
  – self-motivated studies during the integration period
  – self-motivated studies with unemployment benefit.

Note that a law reform that entered into force on 1 July 2026 makes it easier to study at an open university of applied sciences while receiving unemployment benefits. However, always check your own situation and how your study plan affects your unemployment benefits with your own specialist.

You can find more information about different ways to study while unemployed on the Job Market Finland website.
If you have questions about your own situation or unemployment benefit, you can contact Unemployment Security Advisory Services (Työttömyysturvaneuvonta).

Metropolia offers several online resources that support career planning and job search in Finland.

Information on finding work in Finland
On this site, you will find information, for example, about Finnish work culture, the importance of language skills, networking, and entrepreneurship.

Career and job search guide
The Career and Job Search Guide is a toolkit compiled by Metropolia’s career coaches. It covers, among other things, identifying your own competences, career planning, and job search in Finland.

Career Webinars
In the Career Webinars online events, topics such as job search, career planning, and applying for studies in Finland are discussed.

With these materials, you can independently deepen your understanding of Finnish working life and prepare for career counselling or job search.

If you did not find a suitable service on this page, the following options may help:

You do not yet live in Finland:
– If you are interested in moving to the Helsinki region, you can book an appointment for job search counselling through International House Helsinki.

Other SIMHE services and employment services:
– You can also explore SIMHE services offered by other higher education institutions, as well as the service manual of Employment Services in Uusimaa, where you can find plenty of information about career planning and education services.