Information for immigrants and foreign-language speakers
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How social services and healthcare work in Finland
In Finland, wellbeing services counties are responsible for public social and healthcare services. The Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa, known as Pirha, is responsible for providing public social and healthcare services for residents of Tampere and other municipalities in the Pirkanmaa region. Municipalities are responsible for early childhood education and care, schools, and guidance and counselling related to housing, employment and integration. If needed, benefits such as unemployment allowance, housing allowance and basic social assistance can be applied for from Kela.
You can use public social services if you have a municipality of residence in Finland. If you do not have a municipality of residence but are staying in the wellbeing services county, you have the right to receive social services in urgent situations if you are at risk of being left without essential care or means of support. Services are always based on a social welfare professional’s assessment of what your situation requires.
You can use public healthcare services
- if you have a municipality of residence in Finland, or
- you are under 18 years old, or
- you have a certificate of entitlement to medical care, or
- you have insurance that covers medical care.
In urgent situations, you can always contact public social and healthcare services.
If you wish, you can also use private healthcare services. Private services cost more than public services. You must pay for private services yourself. Kela may reimburse part of the cost. It is advisable to check the price of the service in advance, for example before visiting a private doctor.
If you are employed, you may be entitled to occupational healthcare. You can get more information from your employer.
See Kela’s website to find out who is entitled to care in Finland and how to apply for the right to care if you do not have a municipality of residence in Finland: Right to medical care in Finland
Social and healthcare services in Pirkanmaa
You have the right to urgent healthcare and social services even if you are not a Finnish citizen and do not have a municipality of residence in Finland or a certificate of entitlement to medical care. The costs of treatment may be charged to you afterwards.
Urgent care and the Emergency department
In an emergency, always call the emergency number 112. Emergencies include, for example, severe chest pain, difficulty breathing, symptoms of paralysis, a fire or a traffic accident.
If you need urgent help and advice related to child welfare services, other social work, a family crisis, domestic violence, life management, housing, mental health or substance abuse, contact the social and crisis emergency services. The social and crisis emergency services are open 24 hours a day.
If you have a municipality of residence in Finland, you can use public healthcare services, that is, the services of the Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa (Pirha). Your local health and social services centre (sote centre) is your place of care when you fall ill. At sote centres, you are assisted by, among others, doctors, registered nurses and public health nurses.
Health and social services centres
Dental and oral health is treated at dental clinics.
You can handle many health-related matters at the Digital Clinic. The Digital Clinic is a remote service available via a mobile app or online. There, our nurses answer questions every day from 8 to 22.
If you do not have a municipality of residence in Finland, you may still have the right to public healthcare services. In that case, you must prove your right to care with a certificate of entitlement to medical care or present a document showing that you have insurance covering medical care.
Entitlement to medical care in Finland (Kela)
If you are a refugee, an asylum seeker, or have come to Finland as a family member, you may be eligible for an initial health examination for immigrants. As an asylum seeker, the reception centre will provide your healthcare services.
Immigrants under the age of 18 always have access to the same healthcare services as children and young people who have a municipality of residence in Finland.
If you have a municipality of residence in Finland, you can use public maternity clinic services. At the maternity clinic, the progress of your pregnancy is monitored. The delivery unit is located in Tampere at Tays Central Hospital.
Äitiysneuvoloiden yhteystiedot (Contact details for maternity clinics)
If you do not have a municipality of residence in Finland, you still have the right to use maternity clinic and delivery unit services, but in that case, you will usually have to pay the full costs yourself, or you can prove your right to the services with a certificate of entitlement to care.
Asylum seekers can also use maternity clinic and delivery unit services: Synnytysyksikkö (Delivery unit)
Immigrants under the age of 18 always have access to the same healthcare services as children and young people who have a municipality of residence in Finland.
Health check-ups for children under school age are carried out at child health clinics.
Health check-ups for those under 18 are carried out through school healthcare services or student healthcare services.
If you are studying in comprehensive school, upper secondary school, a vocational institution or other upper secondary education, you receive healthcare through your educational institution:
If you are completing a degree at a Finnish university or other higher education institution, you have the right to use student healthcare services. The Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) is responsible for healthcare services for higher education students.
You must first pay the healthcare fee to Kela. If you come from an EU or EEA country, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland or Switzerland, you do not need to pay the healthcare fee.
If you are in Finland as an exchange student, you cannot use FSHS services. Your right to use public healthcare services depends on the country from which you come to Finland to study.
You can find more information about student healthcare on the InfoFinland website.
You may be entitled to social assistance if your income and assets are not sufficient to cover your essential everyday expenses. Social assistance is intended to be a short-term benefit. Basic social assistance is applied for from Kela.
The wellbeing services county may grant supplementary and preventive social assistance in addition to basic social assistance. Before applying for supplementary or preventive social assistance, you must first apply for basic social assistance from Kela. You may apply for supplementary or preventive social assistance even if Kela’s decision on basic social assistance is negative. The granting of supplementary and preventive social assistance is discretionary, and eligibility is assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Täydentävä ja ehkäisevä toimeentulotuki (supplementary and preventive social assistance)
In Finland, older people and persons with intellectual disabilities and other disabilities may receive, for example, home care, assistance with mobility, or a place in a residential care home.
An employee of the wellbeing services county will assess what kind of support the client needs. Services can only be granted if the eligibility criteria are met. The need for services is reviewed regularly.
You can also visit your nearest Lähitori service point to discuss what kind of services you may need and what would best suit your situation.
Lähitorit (Lähitori service point)
Social services
The social services of the Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa assist foreign nationals staying in Pirkanmaa who do not have a residence permit or a municipality of residence in Finland. You may receive urgent and essential social services, as well as guidance and advice related to services for undocumented individuals. If you wish, you may also use the services anonymously.
Contact our service advisors: 040 806 2771, Mon, Tue, Thu and Fri 9–11 or sostyokotoutujat@pirha.fi
You can also contact us via advice services for working-age people.
Healthcare services
Undocumented adults have the right to necessary and urgent healthcare.
Undocumented persons under the age of 18 have access to the same healthcare services as children and young people who have a municipality of residence in Finland.
If you are undocumented, you are required to pay the full cost of your treatment yourself.
A guide produced by the Physicians for Social Responsibility presents services intended for undocumented people in the Pirkanmaa region. The guide is available in Finnish, English and Arabic.
Oletko paperiton? Tarvitsetko apua Suomessa?
Are you undocumented? Do you need help?
The guide in Arabic
Interpreting and translation
You can use an interpreter when accessing services provided by the wellbeing services county.
Please indicate your need for an interpreter in advance.
- When booking an appointment, say that you need an interpreter. Please indicate which language or what type of interpreter you need.
- We will arrange an interpreter for your appointment. The interpreter will join either by phone or in person.
- If we arrange the interpreter, it will not cost you anything.
Do you need an interpreter for a phone call?
- We can often arrange an interpreter for phone calls as well.
- At the start of the call, say which language interpreter you need.
- Wait until the interpreter joins the call.
Do you need an interpreter at Lähitori service point or customer service desk?
Follow these instructions if you need an interpreter when visiting a Lähitori service point or the customer service desk at a health and social services centre.
- When you arrive, please let us know what language you need an interpreter for.
- We will arrange an interpreter who will interpret the conversation over the phone.
The Pirha.fi website includes a text-to-speech tool, which opens when you click the “Listen” button in the top right corner of the page. You can use it to listen to the website content read aloud.
The ReadSpeaker tool also includes Google Translate, which can translate the page content into different languages.
The text can be translated into the following languages: Arabic, English, Spanish, Hebrew, Hindi, Dutch, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Greek, Latvian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Polish, French, Romanian, Swedish, German, Finnish, Danish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Russian and Vietnamese.
You can also listen to the translated text. Note: On mobile devices, a bar with a “Translate” button will appear at the bottom of the screen.
Translations are produced using Google Translate. The translations are indicative only. No guarantee is given as to their accuracy or reliability.
Good to know!
Customer fees in public social and healthcare are based on legislation.
A fee may also be charged for a service that was not used or cancelled. A fee can be charged if a client fails to cancel an appointment without an acceptable reason.
If you are undocumented, you are required to pay the full cost of your treatment yourself.
Public primary healthcare services are available at the wellbeing services county’s health and social services centres, local stations and local service points, dental clinics, maternity and child health clinics, and school and student healthcare units.
Health and social services centres provide, among other things, general practitioner and nurse appointments, mental health and substance use services, dental care and rehabilitation services. Free maternity and child health clinics monitor the health of young children and expectant parents.
The Digital Clinic is a public primary healthcare service: it is an easy and fast way to manage health-related matters. You can use the Digital Clinic via a mobile app or through the website.
You can contact primary healthcare services yourself, for example by phone or via the Digital Clinic chat service. A nurse will assess your need for care over the phone or chat service and, if necessary, book you an appointment.
Mateas video: Perusterveydenhuolto (Primary healthcare), YouTube, language: easy Finnish
Specialised healthcare refers to treatment provided by a specialist doctor. You need a referral to access specialised healthcare services. The referral is issued by a doctor in primary healthcare or occupational healthcare.
Specialised healthcare is usually provided in a hospital. Public specialised healthcare services are available at Tays Central Hospital, Tays Hatanpää, Tays Sastamala, Tays Valkeakoski, as well as at outpatient clinics and rehabilitation wards of local hospitals.
Examples of specialised healthcare include:
- Emergency care and intensive care
- Surgery
- Imaging
- Cancer treatment
- Psychiatric care
Customer fees are charged for public specialised healthcare services.
Mateas video: erikoissairaanhoito (Specialised healthcare), YouTube, language: easy Finnish
When you contact healthcare services, it is common for a professional to ask you to confirm the following information:
- your home address and current phone number
- your consent to the processing of your health data When you give your consent, healthcare professionals can access your health data if it is necessary for your care.
Please avoid using strong fragrances when visiting, for example, a health and social services centre. Strong fragrances may cause allergic reactions in other clients.
Remember to bring your Kela card to your appointment or when visiting a pharmacy.
When your prescribed medication is running out or your prescription is about to expire, you can request a prescription renewal.
You can renew your prescription at a doctor’s appointment or request a renewal through your health and social services centre, a pharmacy, or digitally via the MyKanta service.
Laboratories analyse samples such as blood, urine, and cell samples. An electrocardiogram (ECG) can also be taken there.
The Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa purchases laboratory services from Fimlab Laboratoriot Oy.
If a doctor or nurse refers you for laboratory tests, you must book an appointment at a Fimlab service point yourself.
You can book an appointment on Fimlab’s website or by phone.
MyKanta: Your health and social care data online
MyKanta is a national online service where you can, at any time:
- view your health records
- renew your prescriptions
- view laboratory results
- create a living will.
You will also gradually be able to view your social services client data in MyKanta.
To use MyKanta, you need a Finnish personal identity code and a means of identification, such as online banking credentials or a mobile certificate.
Always log in to MyKanta via the kanta.fi website: MyKanta
Do you need more information?
Do you need more information about the social and healthcare services of the Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa?
Ask for advice from Service Advice:
- telephone: 040 733 3949, weekdays 8–16.30
- a chat window opens when you click the pink speech bubble in the lower right corner of the page
You can also visit a Lähitori service point. There are Lähitori service points throughout the Pirkanmaa region: Lähitorit
You can use an interpreter both in Service Advice and at Lähitori service points.
If you cannot find the phone number of the service you are looking for, you can call the wellbeing services county switchboard: 03 311 611, every day 7–23.
Last modified 27.4.2026
Social services offer help and solutions to everyday problems. Do not hesitate to contact social services, for example, when
For families with children
If you need help with the situation of your child or family, contact services for families with children. You can reach us via a form, which you can also complete in English:
Fill in the “Ask for help” form
More information on how to get in touch: Help and support for parenting
For adults aged 18–64
Advice on social services for working-age people is available Mon, Tue, Thu and Fri 9–15, Wed 12–17.30.
You can also submit a concern notification online.
Social services for adults
For older people
Ask for advice from Service Advice:
You can also visit a Lähitori service point. There are Lähitori service points throughout the Pirkanmaa region.
Services for elderly people
Urgent situations
Contact the social and crisis emergency services if you need urgent help and advice related to child welfare, other social work, a family crisis, domestic violence, life management, housing, mental health or substance use.
The social and crisis emergency services are open 24 hours a day.
Emergency social and crisis services