Health Care & Social Security

It is not always easy to arrange your medical needs in the first days when you arrive to a new country. In this section you will find necessary information to plan your medical needs. Before your departure, please check in your home country what kind of insurances you can use in Finland in case of emergency or illness and please be prepared. If you visit Finland temporarily and if you are a national of EU/EEA you have to apply for European Health Insurance Card.

Once you arrive to Finland, after getting your residence permit and have your social security number, you are eligible to use local health care services. If you are living permanently in Finland, you can get KELA (Social Insurance institution of Finland) card. This means that Kela pays a share of your medical expenses. You can, for instance, claim a refund from Kela in relation to many medicines. You can also ask for more information at your local health centre or check what kind of benefits you can get from following web page.

If you are a basic degree student (Master`s degree also included in basic degree in Finland) you are eligible to use student health care services. In case of emergency, you can always visit the hospital. There are also private clinics and doctors where you can visit. You can always ask people around whom they were mostly satisfied. Be sure that, you can always find a health professional in Finland who speaks fluent English. Especially in the areas where many foreigners live, there are always English speaking midwives, nurses and doctors.

If you have an emergency situation please call 112 to ask for help. Do not worry for language because there is a system, which can speak with you in English.

Last Updated on 15.01.2010