Welcome Office - Information and Guidance
Are you new in Finland?
Welcome Office provides information on matters such as immigration, public services, Finnish society, language courses, working life and leisure activities.
If you need any information or guidance, you can contact the Welcome Office. We help all newcomers and immigrants. We provide general guidance and give advise on how you can settle in the city on a step by step basis.
Our low-threshold service is free of charge and our drop-in service does not require an appointment. We can also advise by phone, email or chat. You can also book an appointment for one-on-one or remote guidance with advisor or visit during drop in hours (scroll further down to see opening hours). Book an appointment through this link. (You will automatically receive a link to the Teams -meeting).
Whatever your question or matter: Welcome, free of charge!
Welcome_Office_brochure
You can get advice and help with:
- official paper work & applications
- making appointments
- immigration matters
- working life
- public and government services and the Finnish society
- language courses
- education and training possibilities
- day care
- social and health care services
- housing
- leisure activities
Welcome_Office_brochure
You can get advice and help with:
- official paper work & applications
- making appointments
- immigration matters
- working life
- public and government services and the Finnish society
- language courses
- education and training possibilities
- day care
- social and health care services
- housing
- leisure activities
Service schedule in all languages
Welcome Office is open Monday – Friday.
In the table below you can view specific opening times from April 2024.
Group visits to get to know the service
If you want to familiarize yourself with the Welcome Office guidance and the Tammipiha joint service point as a group, arrange a visit by e-mailing to petra.winberg@vaasa.fi or by telephone 040 569 6046
Resurssirengas - a network for promoting integration activities
Resurssirengas – Resursringen is a network for specialists and actors who work with integration-promoting activities in the Vaasa region. The network shares information through a mailing list and discusses issues related to immigration and integration at meetings approx twice/year. Within the network we spread information about e.g. courses or events aimed at immigrants.
If you want to reach other specialists and actors or receive information from others, contact welcome.office@vaasa.fi and we will add your contact information to the e-mail list.
Anyone with relevant information for the network, should send the e-mail to welcome.office@vaasa.fi, and it is forwarded to the members of the network. The list reaches about 200 specialists and actors in integration promoting matters.
Welcome Office background as a project
- Welcome Office is an information and guidance service that began in 2012 as a project funded by the European Social Fund (granted by ELY, the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of Ostrobothnia) and the European Regional Development Fund (granted by the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia).
- Twelve municipalities in Ostrobothnia took part in the project. The project had three workers and one project manager.
- During the project, Vaasa, Vörå and Korsholm Welcome Offices were governed by the City of Vaasa through the Social and Healthcare sector’s Immigration office.
- Welcome Office’s customer service desk opened in Vaasa in 2012 at the Public Information Centre in the Library building.
- Welcome Office has been a part of the joint services at the City of Vaasa Administrative and Management sector within Corporate Administration from 2015 onwards.
- Welcome Office advises in Vaasa and Vörå.
- There are also other Welcome Offices in different municipalities in Ostrobothnia and Central Ostrobothnia.
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The project develops better multilingual services at Welcome Office and makes it digitally more accessible. Initial assessment and career advice makes customer service more versatile.
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Did you know that on the streets of Vaasa, every fifth passerby is a student? Get to know more about Vaasa as a student city and find information about studies, jobs, living and student life in Vaasa.
