Admission and enrollment

• Whom should I contact if I have questions on admission, relevant documents or enrollment?

• Which university do I pay the semester fee to?

Finnish residence permit

• How do I apply for a Finnish residence permit?
• I haven´t received my Admission letter but I should submit it to my Finnish residence permit application.  When will I receive that?
• Can I have assistance from Metropolia International Services for my residence permit?
• I have waited for months for my Finnish residence permit and it is still in process. Could Metropolia speed up the processing of my application?

Start of studies

• Is it mandatory to study two semesters in Helsinki and two in Berlin?
• I am already in Helsinki, but my Orientation and studies will start next week. Where can I receive all the documents for student discounts?
• Do HTW Berlin and the Metropolia UAS, Helsinki provide any help with the preparing for my studies in Berlin and Helsinki?
• Do I have to speak German or Finnish to study the ConREM programme?
• How can I apply for a refund of the Berlin semester ticket?

Direct all your inquiries regarding admission and enrollment (incl. enrollment fees) to HTW Berlin. On the HTW Berlin, please contact with the Student Service Center (Ms. Julia Cadete La O) regarding all issues, that is relating to applications, admission and enrolment. Metropolia UAS has no role in admission/enrollment procedures, even though the studies start in Helsinki.

The semester fee is always paid to HTW Berlin — regardless whether you are currently studying in Helsinki or Berlin. This sum covers

• the membership fees for the AstA Student Union,
• a semester ticket fee for public transport in Berlin,
• and fees for the Studentenwerk Berlin.

Once you receive initial confirmation from the HTW Berlin Online Application System, fill in your residence application  online. To begin with, you have to apply only for a Finnish residence permit. After your time in Finland, you can enter Germany with your Finnish residence permit and apply in Berlin for a German residence permit.

• For the time in Finland non-Europeans must apply for a Finnish residence permit as soon as they have received their official acceptance letter from HTW and before entering Finland. Please consider that it can take up to 6 months to process your residence permit. Please ensure that the maximum period of validity is requested. Check the Finnish application form to obtain the Finnish residence permit. 
• Before arriving in Germany you should register in the HTW Berlin Moodle to check all relevant information for obtaining the German residence permit and to be able to use our Visa Service.
• When you check the visa regulation of both countries please be aware of the fact that you have to proof sufficient means for Finland as well as for Germany at the moment of applying for the residence permit.

Use the Notice of Admission letter from HTW Berlin in your residence permit application for Finland.

Direct all inquiries relating to your permit to the Immigration Services, since Metropolia has no role in processing residence permits.

Metropolia has no role in processing residence permits and it cannot speed up or affect the processing of your application in any way. Feel free to call the Immigration Services and ask!

Studying ConREM includes two semesters studying in Helsinki and two in Berlin. This is mandatory as each module is provided at only one of the two universities and is consequently depended on the study location.

As a start, freshly accepted ConREM students should primarily focus on preparing their stay in Helsinki,  as the ConREM studies starts in Finland (1. semester and 2. semester).  Meantime ConREM students in their 2. Semester should start to organize their arrival to Berlin, as the ConREM studies continues in Germany for the 3. and 4. semester.

You will receive your documents, student ID and travel discount forms during the Orientation days. You cannot receive these before the orientation, since your study right will start on the first day. 

Basic infromation about preparing your ConREM studies in both locations can be found in the Start of studies section and on the Metropolia website.

Once you have been admitted to the ConREM program, you will receive the necessary information concerning your arrival via email. We will also organize Q&A sessions where you can ask questions concerning the matters for which you need further clarification.

In the beginning of your studies in Metropolia, you will attend a course to help you get started with your studies and life in Finland. During your 1^st year, you will receive more information concerning the start of your studies in HTW Berlin.

Moreover, international students can obtain specific forms of help at the HTW Berlin and Metropolia UAS International Office.

Both International Offices:

• Provide information and support in a range of areas such as general questions relating to studying, private concerns and life in general in Finland, Germany, Helsinki and Berlin.
• They organise introductory events shortly before and after the start of the semester in which students can learn about life in Helsinki, Finland and Berlin, Germany.
• However, HTW Berlin and Metropolia UAS are not able to grant you a visa or help you with visa formalities. Therefore, for any questions concerning migration and visa, you should contact directly the immigration services of the country in question.  Please check whether you are eligible for a visa before applying. It would be a pity if you are awarded a university place but are not allowed to enter Finland or Germany.

All lectures are held in English. You are not required to demonstrate a command of either German or Finnish. We do however require proof of a sufficient command of English. As a basic command of German will be of great assistance in managing your everyday life in Berlin, HTW Berlin provides additional German language lessons.

There are several public and private institutions in Berlin that offer German courses, e.g.:

• VHS Berlin – Volkshochschule Berlin
• GLS – German Language School Berlin
• Deutsch-Akademie
• Goethe-Institut Berlin
• BWS Germanlingua

ConREM students can apply for a refund of the amount payable for the semester ticket. After paying the full semester fee  in order to be officially (re-)enrolled for the coming semester, you can apply for a refund of the semester ticket fee by sedning the relevant documents to the Student Service. The refund is provided upon surrender of your semester ticket. This procedure is valid for one semester only as the electronic system cannot save this data for several semesters in a row. This means that you have to re-do the whole procedure for every subsequent semester of studying in Finland. To sum up: Even if you are in Finland, you always have to pay the full semester fee to re-register for the upcoming semester, since your study semester abroad is an obligatory and integral part of your studies at HTW Berlin.