I am thoroughly impressed by Finnish efficiency!
On the first day I had signed my contract, got my badge, a laptop, a phone, the keys to my personal office, setup my university account, and my license to operate the coffee machine. 🙂
On the second day I had registered at the police, got my foreigner ID, registered as a resident, applied for social security, got my tax card, applied for a transportation card, and opened a bank account.
Couldn’t be any faster!
On the other hand, some things don’t seem very welcoming for foreigners. For example:
- I had to pay 50€ to register at the police, which boils down to a hefty “immigration tax” which should not be there.
- All my social benefits (social security, health insurance, transport discount, etc..) expire the moment my contract terminates
- I need to wait 3 payslips before the bank gives me access to web banking (and I can change the PIN of my card).
Some friends even told me about circular dependencies in the set of documents you need to register (though I didn’t have any problem). Definitely an interesting mix!
Kenkyuu 