Checklist for Outgoing Exchange Students

Before departure
During your stay
After your exchange

BEFORE DEPARTURE

Paperwork at the University of Lapland
International Office

• The confirmation form and student grant-form should be returned to the International Office together with the Certificate of Admission from the host university
• An information letter for exchange students will be sent to you and you will receive a Letter of Confirmation -form that should be returned to the International Office after your exchange.
• Keep your contact information up to date at the International Office, including your address abroad.

Housing

Apply for accommodation before leaving. The host institution usually helps the incoming exchange students with accommodation. The costs of housing, however, depend on the type of housing, the country and the size of the town. In the capitals and in the big cities the rents are higher and finding accommodation might be more difficult. Furthermore, in Canada and USA the cost of living in the campus might be expensive in comparison with the price level in Finland, but on the other hand usually include full maintenance. In some cases the student might have to find accommodation without the help of the host university.

Registration at the University of Lapland

A student studying abroad must register for attendance at the home university. If the student wants to use the benefits brought by the membership of the Student Union, the student should also pay for the Student Union fee. This is not, however, compulsory for a student doing his/her exchange.

Funding

Finnish Student Financial Aid of Kela

A student who is eligible for the Financial Aid of Kela is also entitled for the Financial aid of Kela while studying abroad when the studies form part of the degree in Finland and when the studies last at least 2 months non-stop. For more information on www.kela.fi.

Student exchange grants

The student exchange application form of the University of Lapland that the students fill in is at the same the application form for the scholarships/grants for all the exchange programmes and for the independent free movers also. In other words, once the student has filled in the student exchange application form, he or she has also filled in an application for a student exchange grant. The grant is meant to help the outgoing students in their travel costs.

Grants on the academic year 2011-2012

(The grants for the academic year 2012-2013 will be confirmed in summer 2012)

Erasmus grant

Nordplus- and Nordlys-grant varies depending of the network funding and country of the host university. Usually it consists from montly grant and travel grant. The amout of the grant will only be confirmed during the next summer.

The bilateral grants

The grant does, however, depend on other possible grants that the student might receive.

Students studying with FIRST programme receive about 510 euros per month for 3-9 months exchange periods.

Free mover grant is approximately 300-400 euros and a bit more if their host university is outside Europe.

North2north programme gives a travel grant of 500 euros for Sweden, Norway and the neighbouring areas in Russia. To Yakutsk and to other countries the travel grant is 1000 euros. All students receive furthermore a study grant of 1000 euros for 3-4 months or 1500 euros for 5-12 months.  

Residence permits and visas

EU-Citizens  

Citizens of the EU countries do not need visas for other EU countries. However, usually one has to apply for a residence permit after arriving to the host country when the stay is over 3 months. A residence permit will be granted by fulfilling the following conditions:

• the student is registered at an approved institution
• the student has a health insurance
• the student is able to certify wealth for the duration of the stay

Nordic citizens do not need a visa or a residence permit to other Nordic countries.

In case you are travelling outside the EU, you probably will need a visa or a residence permit. The process for the application might take weeks or months, so you should apply for a visa or a residence permit in time. You should contact the embassy of the host country to find out more about the application process and what documents are needed. The most common documents for visas are

• the certificate of admission from the host university
• clarification and certificate for funding the studies
• passport size photos, certificate about you insurance, medical certificate,  extract from the criminal record

Non-EU citizens

If the outgoing exchange student is not a citizen of the EU or a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA), he or she should check the requirements for the residence permit, this usually depends on the host country and the nationality of the student.

The general principles for residence permits are

• In general the student has to apply for a residence permit for the duration of the exchange period. The student should contact the nearest consulate of the host country before the exchange period to do this.
• If the exchange period is carried out in another country belonging to the Schengen area and its duration is at most 3 months, the student can stay in that country with the Finnish residence permit.
• However, usually the exchange period should be more than 3 months and the student has to apply for a separate residence permit to the host country.
• The following Erasmus member countries are not part of the Schengen area: Bulgaria, Ireland, Great Britain, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Romania and Turkey. Students doing their exchange period in these countries should apply for a separate residence permit before the exchange period.
• Note that the process of receiving the residence permit may take some time and hence the application process should be started in time. 

Insurance

All students who are going to study abroad are advised to have at least a travel insurance for the duration of the exchange period, but in many cases also a health insurance is recommended and in sometimes mandatory. The insurance of the University of Lapland does not cover exchange periods.

The European Health Insurance Card

Citizens of any Member State of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland who are insured or covered by the state social security system are eligible to applying for a European health Insurance Card. The purpose of the card is to make it easier to access health care services abroad in member states.

Brochures

Take some brochures about the University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Lapland and Finland with you. The University of Lapland also has some promotion material to take with you to the host university.

DURING YOUR STAY

Financial issues

Be prepared for additional costs such as course books or copying. The host university can also require a mandatory insurance.

Studies

Keep a journal of your studies to ease the transferring of the credits after your exchange period. In case your study plan changes, don’t forget to make a new Learning Agreement that includes the signatures from both sending and the host institution.

Changes to the length of your stay

In case the length of your stay abroad changes, notify the changes immediately to the International Office and to the International Coordinator of your faculty.

Letter of Confirmation

Before coming back to Finland ask the host university to fill in the Letter of Confirmation that you were given from the International Office.

Transcript of Records

Ask for a Transcript of Records from your host university before returning home.

In case of emergency

Find out the local emergency number and the services provided by the host university in case of emergency. Also check up on the services of your insurance.

AFTER YOUR EXCHANGE

Paperwork after the exchange

After the exchange period all students must return all of the following exchange documents to the International Relations Secretary:

• Letter of Confirmation
• Learning Agreement
• Copy of Transcript of records
• Give the exchange feedback/report online

All students are expected to ask their host universities to fill in the (Erasmus) Letter of Confirmation to provide information about the duration of the exchange period. These forms should be then returned to the International Office of the University of Lapland within two weeks after the exchange period has ended. Host university might send the Transcript of Records after your exchange period. In that case please inform the International Relations Secretary about that. The student should give the exchange feedback/report within two weeks. If the period of study abroad is shorter than the student has informed, or if the student don’t give in the necessary document, the scholarship that the student has received may be taken back.

International Café

The International Office organizes International Café; a meeting point for all the returned exchange students. This is an opportunity to discuss and share your experiences with other students who have ended their exchange period recently and also with the staff of the International Office.

Sharing the information

Students are welcome to share their experiences at the student exchange information events organized by the International Office.

Credit transfer at the University of Lapland

The student should keep a careful track of his / her studies at the host university in order to ease the credit transfer after the exchange. That is to say that the students should have all the course descriptions, workload, literature, essays etc, and a certificate for attending the courses.

After the exchange period the student should apply for credit transfer with a Credit transfer form. The credit transfer from language courses should be discussed with the Language Centre.