Make sure you have all the necessary insurance. Student leaving for the exchange must have adequate insurance cover:

• Studies abroad: travel insurance and health insurance
• Placement abroad: travel insurance, health insurance, liability insurance and accident insurance coverage.

When doing placement abroad, if you are not employed by the placement organisation and only do an internship agreement with them, the insurance offered by LAB is then valid. If you are employed by placement organisation, LAB insurance does not cover you. Therefore, please make sure that your placement organisation insurance will cover you or in case it doesn’t, make sure you will take care of adequate insurance coverage yourself.

Please note that LAB's liability insurance is not valid in Canada and the USA.

Personal travel insurance

Student completing studies or placement abroad must have a personal travel insurance. Please make sure that the travel insurance cover is valid for as long as your exchange lasts and covers all essentials (e.g. leisure time and luggage unless they are insured in possible home insurance if your home insurance remains valid during the exchange). Note that if for example you decide to hike to the tip of Kilimanjaro, most likely your insurance does not cover this and you need to buy an extra coverage for these kinds extreme sports. 

Only Finnish students leaving for short mobility periods are covered by LAB's travel insurance. However, the validity of the insurance requires prior notification of the mobility period to the LAB Mobility-Online program.

EHIC card

According to EU law, an EU citizen moving from one member state to another can also receive medical treatment in another member state. The right to medical care applies, for example, to the following types of travel: vacation, study (+ placement), work assignment, job search. To secure your access to treatment, you need a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which can be ordered from Kela.

Medical care is provided by each member state according to its own system. The European Health Insurance Card therefore guarantees you the same health care services as nationals in that country. If there are patient fees or deductibles in the country, you will pay them too, but no more. In some cases, you will have to pay all the costs first, and then you will apply for reimbursement from the health insurance institution of your place of residence.

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) does not cover exceptional transport to Finland due to illness or accident, nor the costs of treatment by a doctor or hospital that is not part of the public health care of that country.

When doing placement in another EU member state, please note that if you receive a salary for your internship, you will be considered to be employed by the placement organization and you may be excluded from Finnish social security. More information on Kela's website

EU-terveydenhoito.fi page provides accurate and up-to-date information on how to use health services abroad (for example on student medical care abroad and country-specific information about health services). The website is provided in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the National Institute for Health and Welfare, and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela).

If you struggle with your mental health or have problems, it is not a good idea to escape the situation abroad. The situation is going to get worse by escaping it. Please take care of your problems and leave abroad when your life is in order at home.

Consider your mental health for example by filling this questionnaire.

If you have physical illness or impairment, it does not prevent your period abroad but you must consider if you are capable to live abroad with your illness or impairment.

If you need medication, find out if you are allowed to bring medication to the destination country for the whole period there, or if you are able to buy more in the country.

If you need any special arrangements, please contact outgoing@lab.fi as early as possible to arrange things before the exchange period. Or regarding a placement abroad placement@lab.fi.

When you know your destination country, find out the disease situation and the vaccinations required. Be sure to consider the cost of vaccines and be prepared for the cost, read more here.

Find out about the possible health requirements of the host country / university (forms, certificates, etc.). Partner institutions usually send the forms they require along with the application instructions.

If needed, make an appointment with the student health nurse at least half a year before leaving for the exchange (note for example the hepatitis vaccine schedule). The nurse needs time to plan a vaccination schedule and possible doctor visits.

Also, check out Kela's website regarding student medical care abroad!

Finland is a relatively safe country. Some of the things happening in the world may seem very strange to Finns. Outside Finland, we also might have to face forces of nature which are unknown to us. So, it is a good idea to get to know your destination in advance and think about what you may have to face during the exchange.

At least check out the Ministry for Foreign Affairs' travel instructions and make a travel notification before departure.

Also check out the travel risk map to gain further information about your destination.

Moving to another country and adapting to a new culture may cause stress and a culture shock. Feelings of anxiety in adapting to a foreign culture are normal but usually passing feelings and even a necessary part of the process of adapting to a new culture.

Culture shock proceeds in stages. First everything new inspires and delights you. After that it is typical to feel that everything is better back home and the everyday life in the destination country frustrates you. You may feel anxious, depressed, and tired and have no appetite. Slowly you will accept the new culture, even though you would still miss familiar things from home. Probably you already understand the local language more and can follow some discussions around you. Last stage of the culture shock can strike when you get back home from the exchange.

How to ease the culture shock?

• Prepare yourself to the exchange by getting to know your destination as thoroughly as possible before hand. Try to learn the local language even a little before going
• Be active, open minded and brave to get to know the local culture. Get to know the other exchange students but especially local people. Don’t be alone.
• Travel to different destinations inside the country.
• Keep in touch with your family and friends back home. Use and listen to your native language, for example by reading news in your language, talking to people who speak the same language or listening to music in your language.
• Contact other exchange students from LAB in the same country and the exchange students from other countries in your host institution to share feelings and ideas.
• In some locations you can find Finland's Seamen's Mission to help you with culture shock.

How to ease the feelings of anxiety and depression or undefined bad feeling?

• Don’t be alone! Talk to your loved ones.
• If you are not quite sure what is your situation, you can start by filling this anxiety screening questionnaire.
• If you think your situation is quite good but you would like to support and improve your mental health and feeling, you can try this Self-Help Program for Anxiety.
• There are also many good mindfulness practices online you could try.
• The eLAB page Student support and wellbeing may help you.

Help for mental health issues in English:

• YTHS (FSHS)
  General and mental health services, call +35846 710 1073
  Mon–Thu 8 am–3 pm, Fri 8 am–2 pm (Finnish time)
  
  in SelfChat*
  General and mental health
  Mon–Fri at 09 am–11 am (Finnish time)
   
• The Crisis Helpline (MIELI – Mental Health Finland ry)
  Call +3589 2525 0113
  Mon, Tue at 11-15, Wed at 13-16 and 17-21, Thu at 10-15 (Finnish time)
   
• Moodspace provides information, tips and self-help tools to tackle emotional problems or to help you study confidently.
   
• Try to find mental health helplines or chats from your home country to get help in your own language.
   
• If you belong to a church, the local congregation may be able to help you in English or there might be some personnel even from your country. The Finnish Lutheran priests abroad you find on this map (the page is in Finnish). The priests probably can talk to you in English, too.
   
• In some locations you can also find Finland's Seamen's Mission
   
• If you have a municipality of residence in Finland, you can contact your local health centre.

Primarily contact the exchange coordinator or other contact person in the host institution. Sometimes the teacher of the course is the best contact if you need to solve a problem regarding the course. If the problem remains unsolved after contacting them, please contact LAB International Mobility Services (outgoing@lab.fi / placement@lab.fi).

If you face difficulties in completing your courses, please contact both the home and host institution. Remember that not completing enough credits leads to a partial or full reimbursement of the grant.

If you failed an exam or are unsure about passing when leaving the host institution, please ask the teacher to write a certificate that you finished all the assignments and were present at the course and only (maybe) failed the exam.

Call the local emergency number which you hopefully have found out earlier!

After the acute phase, inform about the emergency to whom it may concern.

Information about the health care in EU can be found EU-healthcare -page.

About the costs of medical treatment, please contact your insurance company.

The Embassy of your country of citizenship in the destination country may also be able to assist you on medical issues.

If your sickness affects your studies, please contact the host and home institution. Ask and keep all the medical certificates about your sickness.

Follow the news in the destination country and the announcements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

LAB will contact all the exchange students staying in the crisis area, but it is in the student’s own responsibility to decide when to return to Finland.

You can also contact the Embassy of your country of citizenship in the destination country to get information and instructions.

In addition to the local police, the Embassy of your country of citizenship in the destination country may be able to help you.

Never make the decision about returning to Finland without discussing the matter with your tutor teacher and/or the exchange coordinator at LAB, and the contact person at the host institution. They all want to help you to complete your exchange period.

If you have been exposed to infectious diseases during your exchange book an appointment with the school nurse / other health care service and take care of the necessary tests to prevent spread of infectious diseases.

Consider the health of others - to what you might expose them to once you return and take into account that certain examinations and / or waiting periods are sometimes required before you can start your placement or working