Language skills

• The National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) in Finnish or Swedish completed at level 3 or higher (intermediate level). Read more about taking the test for the National Certificate of Language Proficiency.
• Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate with at least satisfactory oral and written skills in Finnish or Swedish.
• For further information on language examinations and how to participate in them, see the website of the Finnish National Board of Education.

A leaving certificate issued by a Finnish comprehensive school or a certificate of completing the entire syllabus of basic education. The certificate must show that you have passed the examination in Finnish or Swedish as your native language or as a second language.

• A leaving certificate issued by a Finnish upper secondary school or the Finnish matriculation examination showing that you have passed the examination in Finnish or Swedish as your native language or as a second language.
• A certificate that you have completed the upper secondary school syllabus in Finnish or Swedish as your native language or as a second language.

• From 1 January 2018 onwards:
  • A vocational upper secondary qualification, a further vocational qualification or a specialist vocational qualification that has been achieved through studies in Finnish or Swedish (qualification according to act 531/2017).
• Before 2018:
  • A vocational upper secondary qualification that has been achieved through studies in Finnish or Swedish (qualification according to act 630/1998)
  • Further vocational qualification or specialist vocational qualification, including competence-based qualifications, that has been achieved through studies in Finnish or Swedish (a qualification according to act 631/1998)
• Please note that only certificates issued for full completion of a qualification are accepted as proof of meeting the language skills requirement. You cannot use certificates issued for education undertaken in preparation for a qualification, or certificates for partial completion of a qualification, as proof of your language skills, even if the certificate in question refers to the acts mentioned above.

• A degree certificate of studies in Finnish or Swedish for civil servants completed at a university or university of applied sciences (the level of Finnish or Swedish language skills necessary for jobs in bilingual areas of Finland that require a higher education degree).
• A certificate of approval of a maturity test in Finnish or Swedish for the purpose of attaining a degree at a university or university of applied sciences.

A certificate issued by the Finnish Association of the Deaf of at least satisfactory proficiency in the Finnish or Finland-Swedish Sign Language. The association tests the sign language skills of a person through an interview.