Nursing in Finland for International Students: 15 Degrees Open for 2027

  • Last Updated on: October 15, 2026 by
  • Ananya Nallagalla
Nursing in Finland for International Students
Nursing in Finland for International Students

Nursing in Finland for international students means a 3.5-year Bachelor of Health Care that you can start in English, at a university of applied sciences (a job-focused university). For an autumn 2027 start, 15 of these degrees still take applications, and yearly tuition for non-EU students runs from EUR 9,500 at Laurea to EUR 12,000 at TAMK. The catch is language: hospital placements and the nurse licence need Finnish. After Class 12, apply in a rolling round open now or in the joint application on 7-21 January 2027. GNM and BSc nurses can take a shorter top-up course instead. Our guide to studying in Finland covers the wider move.

Written by
Ananya Nallagalla
Senior Counsellor
Ananya Nallagalla, Senior Counsellor for Nordic Countries at AOEC India (Hyderabad), has 7 years of experience in Nordic admissions and has counselled 113 students at AOEC India, specialising in Sweden and Finland.
95% visa success rate
Reviewed by
Sridhar Kongara
Managing Director
Mr. Kongara Sridhar, Director of AOEC India, has over 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting, admissions, and student visa guidance.
Over 12 years Experience

Key Takeaways

  • Non-EU tuition is EUR 9,500 to 12,000 a year (about INR 10.1 to 12.8 lakh); EU citizens pay nothing.
  • Tuition plus the EUR 9,600 a year you must show for living costs, both for 3.5 years, means budgeting at least EUR 66,850 to 75,600 (about INR 71.2 to 80.5 lakh).
  • With your Class 12 result, apply in a rolling round now, or in the joint application on 7-21 January 2027 with IELTS 6.0 or PTE 55.
  • GNM or BSc nurses: SeAMK’s top-up opens on 5 November 2026 and Metropolia’s on 1 December 2026.
  • You can start without Finnish, but placements and the nurse licence need it, usually at B1 level.
  • After you graduate, you can stay up to two years to find work.
Table of Contents
Entry requirements and your route into nursing in Finland Scroll here ↓ Nursing degrees in Finland you can start in English: fees and 2027 dates Scroll here ↓ What a Finnish nursing degree involves Scroll here ↓ Cost of nursing in Finland for international students Scroll here ↓ Finnish language for clinical placements and the nurse licence Scroll here ↓ Nurse jobs and pay in Finland after graduation Scroll here ↓ Shorter top-up routes for Indian GNM and BSc nurses Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

Entry requirements and your route into nursing in Finland

Where you apply depends on what you hold today. A joint application is Finland’s one national round for many schools; a rolling round takes applications until the school’s places fill.

  • Class 12 with at least 60% overall and 60% in Maths and English: apply now to SeAMK’s direct admission, which ends with a 45-minute online group interview. You need your final Class 12 result.
  • Class 12 plus IELTS 6.0 or PTE 55: apply in the January joint application and upload your English score by 28 January 2027, 15:00 Finnish time. TOEFL iBT needs 3.5 on the new score scale, or 60 on the old one (tests before 21 January 2026).
  • Class 12 plus IELTS 5.5 or PTE 42: VAMK’s rolling admission is open now, with an interview.
  • An SAT score of 800 or more (at least 400 in each section): Diak’s rolling round takes SAT plus an online interview until its 10 places fill.
  • A degree taught and assessed fully in English in India: it counts as English proof in the joint application if your documents state the teaching language, but your Class 12 English marks don’t. Other routes are in our guide to study in Finland without IELTS.
  • GNM, nursing diploma or BSc Nursing of 3 years or more: see the top-ups at the end.

You don’t need Finnish to get in, except at Laurea and for 35 of Diak’s 45 joint-application places. Both ask for B1, the middle level on the European language scale, enough for everyday talk at work.

Rolling rounds close once places fill, and KAMK’s already closed on 6 October 2026. Apply to one rolling round first and keep the joint application as your second chance. If you accept a JAMK rolling offer, you can’t take a joint-application place later. The school-leaver steps are in studying in Finland after 12th.

Nursing degrees in Finland you can start in English: fees and 2027 dates

For 2027 entry, non-EU tuition for a nursing degree in Finland you can start in English starts at EUR 9,500 (about INR 10.1 lakh) a year at Laurea. It rises to EUR 12,000 (about INR 12.8 lakh) a year at TAMK. That EUR 2,500 gap adds up to EUR 8,750 (about INR 9.3 lakh) over a 3.5-year degree.

University of applied sciencesCityNon-EU fee a year2027 route and dates
LaureaVantaaEUR 9,500 (≈ INR 10.1 lakh)Joint application, 7-21 Jan 2027
SeAMKSeinäjokiEUR 9,500 (≈ INR 10.1 lakh)Direct admission to 22 Apr 2027; joint application
CentriaKokkolaEUR 9,500 (≈ INR 10.1 lakh)Rolling, 30 Oct 2026 to 31 May 2027; joint application
Lapland UASKemiEUR 9,500 (≈ INR 10.1 lakh)Own application, 4-15 Jan 2027, online entrance exam
SavoniaKuopioEUR 9,700 (≈ INR 10.3 lakh)Direct admission, 1 Oct 2026 to 31 Jul 2027; joint application
HAMKHämeenlinnaEUR 9,700 (≈ INR 10.3 lakh)Direct admission, 1 Oct 2026 to 14 May 2027; joint application
NoviaVaasaEUR 10,000 in 2026-27 (≈ INR 10.6 lakh)Joint application, 7-21 Jan 2027
JAMKJyväskyläEUR 10,000 (≈ INR 10.6 lakh)Rolling to 19 Nov 2026; joint application
OamkOuluEUR 10,000 (≈ INR 10.6 lakh)Joint application; chosen by UAS Exam
KAMKKajaaniEUR 10,000 (≈ INR 10.6 lakh)Joint application; own online exam, 25 Feb 2027
VAMKVaasaEUR 10,500 (≈ INR 11.2 lakh)Rolling, 1 Oct 2026 to 30 Apr 2027, interview
DiakHelsinkiEUR 10,500 (≈ INR 11.2 lakh)Joint application; SAT rolling round from 30 Oct 2026
XamkSavonlinnaEUR 10,700 (≈ INR 11.4 lakh)Rolling, 15 Nov 2026 to 15 Feb 2027; joint application
MetropoliaHelsinkiEUR 11,500 (≈ INR 12.2 lakh)Joint application; chosen by UAS Exam
TAMKTampereEUR 12,000 (≈ INR 12.8 lakh)Joint application; chosen by UAS Exam

INR figures use the live Google-published rate captured on 2026-10-14: EUR 1 ≈ INR 106.47. Rates fluctuate intraday; figures are indicative.

SAMK in Pori also teaches nursing in English, but its only published 2027 round closed on 10 September 2026.

The joint application runs on Studyinfo (studyinfo.fi, Finland’s national application website). In it, Oamk, Metropolia, TAMK and Xamk choose students only through the International UAS Exam, an entrance test on 23 March 2027, while KAMK runs its own online exam. Non-EU applicants pay a EUR 100 application fee that is not refunded. At Metropolia, plan on the joint application, because its December round only takes students who finished one named pathway course. More detail sits in the requirements to study in Finland.

What a Finnish nursing degree involves

Every degree in the table leads to the same title, Bachelor of Health Care, and the same job: registered nurse. At Metropolia and TAMK it takes 210 ECTS credits (European study credits) over 3.5 years:

  • Classes: at Novia, 105 of the 210 credits are theory, 90 are hospital internships and 15 are a final thesis.
  • Skills practice: Metropolia teaches clinical skills in a simulation hospital that copies a real one, with children’s, emergency, intensive care and surgical wards.
  • Real placements: at TAMK, about a third of the degree (75 credits) is supervised work in hospitals and clinics. It can mean night and weekend shifts anywhere in Finland, and you pay your own travel and rent.

Metropolia says the degree meets the EU’s rules for registered nurse training. At TAMK and Novia, placements can be in other towns, so before you pick a campus on fee alone, budget for that travel and rent.

Cost of nursing in Finland for international students

For a 2027 start, budget at least EUR 66,850 to 75,600 (about INR 71.2 to 80.5 lakh) for a 3.5-year nursing degree in Finland as a non-EU student. That is tuition of EUR 33,250 to 42,000 (about INR 35.4 to 44.7 lakh) plus the EUR 9,600 a year Finland’s immigration service asks you to show for living costs.

CostAmountIn rupees
Money to show for the permitAt least EUR 800 a month≈ INR 85,200 a month
Realistic living costEUR 900 to 1,200 a month≈ INR 95,800 to 1.28 lakh
Student residence permit, onlineEUR 600, plus EUR 20 service feeINR 66,400 + 2,215, VFS Global’s price in India

Parents, two rules matter. The permit money must sit in the student’s own bank account when you apply, with any unpaid first-year tuition on top, and a sponsor’s promise letter isn’t accepted. And Study in Finland’s realistic monthly budget is above the permit minimum, so treat that minimum as a floor. Rent by city is in our cost of studying in Finland breakdown.

Some schools cut the fee if you learn Finnish:

  • JAMK: EUR 4,000 after year one for A2 Finnish, then EUR 6,000 after year two for B1, proven only by the YKI test (Finland’s national language exam).
  • Centria: a one-time EUR 2,000 for a B1.1 Finnish certificate.

Early-bird offers at Lapland UAS and Diak need you to accept and pay within two weeks, so keep the first-year money ready. Other waivers are under scholarships in Finland.

Finnish language for clinical placements and the nurse licence

No, finishing a nursing degree in Finland won’t, on its own, let you work as a registered nurse. In 2026, graduates apply to the Finnish Supervisory Agency (the office that licenses nurses), and the law behind the licence requires spoken and written Finnish or Swedish. So your Finnish study has to start in year one.

Finnish shows up at three points before the licence:

  • On placements: Novia’s internships are supervised in Finnish or Swedish, never English, and SeAMK’s practical training happens in Finnish-speaking workplaces.
  • In the final year: only one of Savonia’s four final-year options is taught in English, and Lapland UAS teaches the last semester in Finnish.
  • At graduation and licensing: Novia wants B1 Finnish or Swedish before you graduate, and Xamk notes the licence itself needs at least B1 Finnish.

From our counselling desk: we plan Finnish classes before we look at rent. Start in semester one, aim for B1 before your final placements, and favour JAMK or Centria, which pay you for reaching it.

Nurse jobs and pay in Finland after graduation

With your licence, you can work in hospital wards, emergency units, operating theatres, intensive care, home care and health centres, or in private health care.

  • Typical pay: Metropolia puts a registered nurse’s usual monthly earnings at about EUR 3,600 to 3,700.
  • Time to find a job: after graduating, you can get a permit to look for work for up to two years. Online, it costs EUR 230 as an extension inside Finland, or EUR 750 as a first permit.

Keep up your Finnish while you job-hunt, because Helsinki’s university hospital works in Finnish and Swedish. The permit steps are in our post-study work visa guide.

Shorter top-up routes for Indian GNM and BSc nurses

Say you hold a three-year GNM diploma from a State Board of Nursing and Midwifery. You don’t need to restart a full degree: at Metropolia, a top-up gives you the Finnish nursing bachelor’s in about 1.5 to 2 years, depending on your earlier training. Four schools have a 2027 round:

Top-upFee2027 windowWho can apply
Metropolia, HelsinkiEUR 11,500 a year (≈ INR 12.2 lakh)1 Dec 2026 to 31 Mar 2027, 60 places, may close earlyGNM, nursing diploma or BSc of 3+ years
SeAMK, SeinäjokiEUR 12,500 for the whole 1.5 years (≈ INR 13.3 lakh)5 Nov 2026 to 23 Apr 2027; starts 11 Jan 2028GNM or nursing diploma of 3+ years, or BSc
Arcada, HelsinkiEUR 13,000 with a diploma, EUR 11,000 with a bachelor’s (≈ INR 13.8 / 11.7 lakh); Arcada doesn’t say if yearlyJanuary joint application; exam in Helsinki, 18-19 Mar 2027GNM, diploma or BSc, plus 2 years’ work and B1 Finnish or Swedish
Oamk, OuluNo separate fee listed; its nursing degree is EUR 10,000 a year (≈ INR 10.6 lakh)30 Oct 2026 to 16 Apr 2027, 5 placesNursing diploma or BSc that licenses you as a nurse in India, plus B1.1 Finnish and English at interview

When we review a GNM nurse’s file, we first check that the diploma ran at least three years, because Metropolia and SeAMK both set that floor. Metropolia starts in autumn 2027 but charges EUR 11,500 a year over 1.5 to 2 years, about EUR 17,250 to 23,000 in all, and fills places first come, first served. SeAMK costs EUR 12,500 in total but starts on 11 January 2028. Arcada suits you only if you already speak Finnish or Swedish and have two years’ relevant work experience, and it warns that a visa just for its Helsinki exam may be impossible.

A top-up makes you eligible to apply for the licence; it isn’t a licence. You can also apply for one straight from your Indian diploma. You then pay for the decision and any extra training ordered, and the Finnish Nurses Association calls that route costly and slow for nurses from outside the EU.

Get in Touch

Frequently Asked Questions

No, not for Indian students. Studies are free for EU citizens, but Finnish law makes these universities charge students from outside the EU and EEA. Xamk takes 10% off your first year with its early-bird scholarship, and 20% off the next year for good progress.

Not always. A degree taught and assessed fully in English in India counts as English proof in the joint application if your documents state that, and Diak’s rolling round takes an SAT score instead. For GNM nurses, Metropolia’s top-up treats an English certificate as optional and can test your English itself.

Yes, once they hold a Finnish licence. Every health professional must show Finnish or Swedish to the licensing agency. Working as a nurse without a licence can lead to a fine or even prison, so don’t take a nursing job until your licence is granted.

Yes. Your student permit lets you work an average of 30 hours a week in any field, as long as work doesn’t slow your studies. At Laurea, once you’ve earned 140 credits, you can work as a substitute registered nurse. Our part-time jobs in Finland guide covers pay.

Yes, but the fee is small. Bachelor’s students pay the FSHS student healthcare fee, around EUR 35 a term (about INR 3,700), according to Study in Finland. Budget it as a separate line from tuition and rent, and pay it for each term you study.

AOEC India has guided Indian students abroad for over 10 years from offices in Hyderabad and Tirupati. For a nursing file, we check your Class 12 marks or GNM diploma against each school’s rule, then plan your English test, your Finnish classes and the permit money.

Sources

Official sources first, then other official university pages and associations.

Show 47 more sources

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