Settling in Oulu

Here you can find information on the services for immigrants available in Oulu. Other important information is available at Settling in Finland.

International House Oulu

International House Oulu (IH Oulu) is a service point in BusinessAsema where both current and prospect international citizens of Oulu can receive free guidance and advice. IH Oulu also organizes events and info sessions related to employment and networking and supports companies in recruiting international people.

If you already live in Oulu, at IH Oulu you can:

• Seek guidance and information related to daily matters, such as hobbies, learning Finnish, and city services.
• Receive guidance on searching for work from the city’s employment services.  
• Receive employment counselling and assistance with job or study-related issues from the advisor of Oulu Skills Centre OSKE.
• Learn about pop-up services at BusinessAsema and IH Oulu, such as Kela, OSAO Ovi, services for people planning to start a business and entrepreneurs, housing guidance, and assistance with financial issues.

Refugees and immigrants who have obtained a residence permit through an asylum application can seek advice and support from a representative of the city’s integration services(Link leads to external service) (in Finnish).

Ukrainian nationals and the ones with temporary protection can receive guidance in Ukrainian.

If you are planning to move to Oulu, IH Oulu can offer you personalized advice on moving to and settling in Oulu. To learn more about the service and book an online consultation, please click here(Link leads to external service)

All our services are provided free of charge. The staff of IH Oulu speak several languages and can also assist in your preferred language using an online interpreter.

For updates about living, working, and studying in Oulu, please follow International House Oulu on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. There, you can also learn about upcoming events and fun activities in the city.  

BusinessAsema has moved! We will open at the new address on September 2^nd 2024.

Address:
BusinessAsema, Uusikatu 52
90100 Oulu, Finland

Email:
ihoulu@ouka.fi (Link opens default mail program)

Multicultural Centre Villa Victor 

Multicultural center Villa Victor is an organization belonging to the City of Oulu which provides multicultural information and activities for immigrants.

Villa Victor coordinates and regularly develop how the city works with the multicultural part of the municipality. Villa Victors employees are all experienced in topics such as immigration, integration and multicultural communication. Villa Victor works to combat racism, promote two-way integration and actively cooperate with other organizations working with foreigners.  

 ​​​​​Another core service that is provided at Villa Victor is Finnish language lessons that are free of charge. The Finnish language courses that are provided operates on a non-stop basis, so you are free to join them whenever you want, provided there are spots available for the in-person classes. The courses offered are at elementary, follow-up and advanced level of Finnish. Villa Victor also offer courses where you can train for the National Certificates of Language Proficiency test (YKI). Please see the website below for further information about the Finnish language courses.  

One of Villa Victor's main tasks is to organize and enable various multicultural events. In addition, Villa Victor organizes events on various topics every month.

Mentoring program

A new mentoring program starts in Villa Victor every early autumn.

The target group of the mentoring program are international talents with education/degree and adequate Finnish language skills. Language makes it easier to get involved in society and in the activities of your home community. For this reason, the main language of mentoring is Finnish.

The aim of mentoring is to increase immigrants' professional networks and deepen their knowledge of Finnish working life and customs. In addition, the aim is to strengthen and encourage the actor in the use of the Finnish language, which in general improves the quality and management of one's own life also outside working life.

Welcome to Villa Victor!

Oulu10 services

If you have any questions on services provided by the City of Oulu, you can contact a centralised customer service point of the city known as Oulu10.

You can purchase tickets to cultural events at the Oulu10 service point (such as Oulu City Theatre, Oulu Symphony Orchestra), as well as tickets to public transport and sports services. There are also brochures on the City of Oulu, forms, guide maps and public transport timetables, for example. At Oulu10 service point you can receive assistance with using online services and filling out various kinds of forms or applications.  

Oulu10 Service Point (Oulu10-palvelut)
Torikatu 10
90100 Oulu
Telephone: 08 558 558 00
Email: oulu10@ouka.fi (Link opens default mail program)

Byström One-Stop Guidance Center 

: If you are under thirty years old and is a resident of Oulu you are welcome to visit Byström One-Stop Guidance Center. At Byström you can request information, assistance, and guidance regarding employment, education, health and well-being, financial issues, housing, relationships, leisure activities, studies, working and volunteering abroad, alcohol and drugs, and addiction issues. 

You are also you are free to use computers, printers, copiers as well as the Internet – free of charge. 

Byström One-Stop Guidance Center is at your service from Monday to Friday 9.00-16.00. You can visit us at Byström without making an appointment or, if you wish, make an appointment by calling, texting or sending us an email. Without an appointment, you can independently use our client computers, library services and materials for independent information retrieval.  

Information and guidance is available without an appointment on the spot at Byström as well as by phone and online. 

We are there to meet you at Byström, welcome! 

If you need unobstructed access, call 050 599 2293. 

Hallituskatu 5 A
90100 Oulu
 

If you do not speak Finnish or Swedish, you can use an interpreter when attending to your affairs with the authorities. The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) and the Finnish Immigration service (Maahanmuuttovirasto), for example, book interpreters for their customers in some cases. In that case you do not need to pay for it. Always ask about interpreting in advance from the authority.

If you book an interpreter yourself and pay for it, you can use an interpreter whenever you want. You can search for such companies on the Internet.

You can search for an interpreter or translator using the search engine on the website of The Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters.

Read more: Do you need an interpreter?

If you have financial problems, you can contact a social worker for advice. In some situations, you may be entitled to receive income support.

Social emergency service (Sosiaalipäivystys)
044 703 6235
every day around the clock

A debt guidance service provides information and advice on debt issues.

Further information: Financial problems