Application attachments

When applying to the University of Helsinki, you may be asked to submit attachments together with your application. It is important that you do so in accordance with the instructions given.
See instructions for each application process

The instructions for submitting attachments vary according to the application process. Please read the instructions for the relevant process. Detailed instructions are provided on separate pages.

 

Below you can find general instructions for submitting attachments that pertain to all application processes.
Instructions for all application processes

In all our application processes, you may be asked to submit officially certified copies or authorised translations of your application documents. Please see below for instructions for submitting paper (hard copy) attachments.

A document copy can be certified as follows:

  • The educational institution (or an organisation such as the Finnish Matriculation Examination Board or the IB organisation) certifies the copy (see further information below).
  • A Finnish notary public certifies the copy.
  • The copy is legalised.

Only the above are accepted as certified copies. For example, the following are not considered certified copies:

  • A regular photocopy of an original stamped document
  • A scanned copy or photo of a stamped document
  • A copy attested by two people
  • A copy certified by a notary public outside Finland, unless the copy has also been legalised.

Please note the following in connection with certification:

  • A certified copy must be submitted to Admission Services as a paper (hard) copy, unless otherwise instructed.
  • A certified copy must always be a copy of the original document.
  • All pages included in the original document must be included in the certified copy. If the copy contains several pages, each page must be stamped and signed by the certifying institution or individual, unless the pages are bound together in such a way (e.g., by a seal) that individual pages cannot be detached from each other. If the pages are separate or can be detached from each other (e.g., they have been stapled together with a regular stapler), each page must be stamped and signed by the certifying institution or individual.

Copy certified by the awarding institution

The following criteria must be met for a document copy awarded by an educational institution to be considered certified:

  • The copy must bear the official stamp of the educational institution.
    • Official stamps usually display the educational institution’s name and logo.
    • A stamp which only contains the phrase ‘certified copy’ (or ‘jäljennöksen oikeaksi todistaa’) is not an official stamp.
  • The copy must contain the signature of a representative of the institution, their name in capital letters as well as their title.

Please note that an educational institution cannot certify a degree certificate awarded by another organisation (e.g., the Finnish Matriculation Examination Board or the IB organisation) or another educational institution.

A translation is considered an authorised translation only if it was done by an authorised translator or the educational institution that awarded the document.

An authorised translation must include the translator’s stamp and signature. In addition, every page of a translation with multiple pages must bear the translator’s stamp or signature.

Translation by an authorised translator

You can get an authorised translation of any document from an authorised translator. In Finland, authorised translators include those who pursuant to Act on Authorised Translators (1231/2007) have the right to work as such. A register (in Finnish and Swedish) maintained by the Finnish National Agency for Education can also be used to acquire information on authorised translators in Finland. If you are not in Finland, you can also obtain an authorised translation from an authorised translator living in your country of residence.

A translation made by the educational institution that originally awarded the document

We accept translations made by the educational institution that originally awarded the document. If the educational institution awards the document directly in Finnish, Swedish or English, no separate translation is required.

If you cannot obtain officially certified copies of your academic documents from the awarding institution, you may submit legalised copies of your academic documents.

Legalisation can take place by two different routes depending on whether the country of the awarding institution is a signatory to the Hague Convention of 1961 or not. Documents supplied by countries that have ratified the Hague Convention are legalised by the issuance of an Apostille Certificate (stamp or paper certificate). Documents issued by other countries are legalised in two steps: first by the foreign ministry of the issuing country, then by a competent Finnish Embassy or Finnish Consulate of that country.

Apos­tille

The Apostille Certificate (stamp or paper certificate) is necessary if the document has been issued by the authorities of a country that has ratified the Hague Convention of 1961. Information on the Hague Convention as well as an English language list of its member states can be found here:

The website also provides information about the authorities issuing Apostille Certificates in various countries.

Please make sure that the Apostille certificate is firmly and clearly attached to all the documents it is certifying as being official.

Leg­al­isa­tion

If the country issuing a document is not a signatory of the Hague Convention, a document is legalised by the foreign ministry of the issuing country, after which a competent Finnish Embassy or Finnish Consulate of that country legalises the document, certifying the competence of that foreign ministry official to issue such legalisation.
Submitting paper documents

You are always responsible for the arrival of documents at Admission Services by the set deadline. This is also the case if you do not deliver the documents yourself.

Documents cannot be delivered to the Admission services in person, but must be sent by post or courier, or dropped off in the designated letterbox. Admissions advisors do not assess the eligibility of individual documents for a specific purpose.

If sending documents by regular post, please use the following address:

Hakijapalvelut
PL 24
00014 HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
FINLAND

Do not send documents intended for Admission Services by post to any other address than the one above.

If sending documents by courier (UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc.), please use the following address:

Helsingin yliopisto
Hakijapalvelut
Unioninkatu 40
00170 HELSINKI
FINLAND

Do not send documents intended for Admission Services by courier to any other address than the one above.

If a courier service requests a phone number, please provide the following: +358 2941 911.

You can drop off your attachments in the letterbox located at Unioninkatu 40, on the corner of Unioninkatu and Yrjö-Koskisen katu streets in Helsinki. Attachments can be dropped off in the letterbox at any time, but please note that the attachments must be dropped off in the letterbox before 15.00 local Helsinki time to be considered as having arrived during the same day. If you drop off attachments in the letterbox after 15.00, the attachments are considered to have arrived on the following weekday.

NB! Do not give documents intended for Admission Services to porters or drop them off in any other letterbox than the one designated for this purpose.