Ordinary men and women who are balanced individuals, in good mental and physical health, willing to help others and who get along with different types of people are welcome to join the Finnish police.

The applicant must meet the application requirements before the end of the application period. The qualification requirements for the Diploma in Police Studies are laid down in the Act on Police Training.

» Finnish citizenship
» Educational background
» Physical condition and personal characteristics
» Driving licence
» Work experience
» Entrance examination

Applicants/students selected for the Diploma in Police Studies must meet the following requirements:

1. Finnish citizenship

• Only Finnish citizens can be appointed to the post of a police officer.
• Exceptions to the citizenship requirement can be made in special cases. Specifically, an exception can be made if the applicant’s citizenship application is being processed and it is likely that he/she will receive Finnish citizenship before the start of the supervised work practise period, when students will be appointed to a fixed-term position as temporary constable. 

2. Completion of at least a vocational qualification or upper secondary school studies or the matriculation examination

• Exceptions to the educational background requirement can be made in special cases. An exception is possible if the applicant has not received his/her education in the Finnish school system. An exception can also be made if the applicant has completed training that partially fulfils the educational requirements after comprehensive school and also has some other form of education and several years’ work experience. 

3. Good state of health and otherwise suitable for police work

• Applicants must have a visual acuity of at least 0.2, measured separately for each eye, without glasses and contacts, and a visual acuity of at least 1.0, measured separately for each eye, with glasses or contacts.
• Applicants must have normal hearing and cannot use hearing aids.
• Applicants who have a medical condition that diminishes or limits their working ability will be rejected.
• Applicants must have the ability to cooperate and learn, to communicate and generally have a temperament suitable for police work. Suitability will be assessed in a statement from the police district and at the various stages of the entrance examination.
• Applicants must have a lifestyle that complies with the demands of police work. The Security Police will perform a basic security check of the applicant. Matters considered in the statement from the Security Police include penalties and convictions, arrests for drunkenness, racist attitudes and security and other risks. Convictions for Road Traffic Act violations or other minor offences may not necessarily be an obstacle to the applicant being selected, if the applicant can be generally considered suitable for the occupation of police off icer in terms of his/her lifestyle and taking into consideration the type, number or ti me of the offences in question. 

4. Possession of at least a class B driving licence

• Applicants must possess at least a short-term driving licence by the end of the application period. 

5. At least one year’s work experience by the end of the application period

• Work experience may consist of several short employment relationships.
• A maximum of nine months of military service, women’s voluntary military service or non-military service will be counted as work experience. Applicants are also required to have at least three months’ work experience in other areas.
• An exception to the work experience requirement can be made if the work in question has been of a kind for which no work certificate can be obtained (e.g. self-employed and housewives).

6. Successful completion of the entrance examination

• Applicants will be accepted onto the training programme in the order of precedence indicated by their scores in the entrance examination and after undergoing a physical check-up and drug test.