Helsinki unveils an online platform created to facilitate the integration of newcomers

The welcome.helsinki website provides international residents with all the information and support that they will need to feel at home

When you move to a new country, you uproot your entire life. You face unthinkable challenges and obstacles as you struggle to learn how to survive in a completely foreign country. As one might expect, this is especially difficult for expats who do not know how to speak the language of the country they have moved to.

The perfect website for newcomers

Taking the above into account, the Finnish capital saw the need for a website that can welcome and help newcomers. As a result, it launched welcome.helsinki – an online platform that provides new residents with practical information in English. More specifically, the website explains everything one needs to know about public transport, healthcare, renting/buying property, and finding education for their children.

What is more, the website even has a specific programme for partners and spouses who have moved to Helsinki out of love. This programme allows people to join a group of partners and spouses like themselves to facilitate their integration.

In a press release on the municipality’s website, Communications Manager Jukka Jänönen commented on the new portal: “The city wants to share information better with the international residents of Helsinki. Everyone wins when we help newcomers take care of the paperwork they need, settle down, and feel at home. The new website will not only facilitate the migration process, but the site will also provide explanations for things that may be a matter of course for the local population. Sharing tacit information is really valuable.”

English-language development programme

Currently, Helsinki has a large international population as approximately 16% of the city’s residents speak languages other than Finnish or Swedish. According to the municipality, this percentage is expected to increase significantly by 2035.

For this reason, the Finnish capital has begun to focus on an English-language development programme that will improve the lives of the international population. Evidently, the welcome.helsinki website is part of this programme and it is a much-needed tool that will undoubtedly help thousands of people from all over the world.

It is worth noting that many people hesitate to move abroad as they feel overwhelmed by fear that they will be lost and alone. A platform like welcome.helsinki alleviates these concerns and makes it easier for people to relocate as it provides them with all the tools they will need to feel safe, secure, and supported.