Our Journey to Finland – Part 3
Sometimes, one opportunity can completely change the direction of your life.
For us, that opportunity appeared while I was casually scrolling through Facebook in Dubai in 2023.
At that time, Finland wasn’t part of our original plan. We had spent years thinking about countries such as Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
Then suddenly, there was Finland.
But seeing a job post on Facebook and actually moving your entire family to another country are two very different things.
Between those two moments was a recruitment process involving orientation, documents, interviews, Finnish-language studies, medical requirements, assessments, an employment opportunity, residence permit applications, and months of preparation.
The company that helped guide me through much of that process was then known as Silk Road Workforce Management.
Today, the company operates under the name Silkkitie.
This is not a sponsored post, and Pinoy Up North is not affiliated with Silkkitie. I simply want to document the role the company played in our own Finland journey – what I experienced, what support we received, what was expected from me, and what happened after we finally arrived.
Because without that Facebook post and everything that followed, our story might have turned out very differently.
How I Discovered Silk Road
In 2023, while my husband and I were still living and working in Dubai, I came across a recruitment post on Facebook offering employment opportunities in Finland.
My first reaction wasn’t immediately:
“This is it! We’re moving to Finland!”
Actually, we were cautious.
Like many people who see international recruitment advertisements on social media, we wondered whether the opportunity was legitimate.
Was it real?
Was it too good to be true?
Could we actually trust the process?
We knew very little about Finland at the time, especially when it came to employment opportunities for foreign healthcare workers.
Finland wasn’t even one of the countries we had seriously considered migrating to.
So naturally, we had questions.
But instead of immediately dismissing the opportunity, I decided to learn more.
And that eventually led me to an online orientation.
Our Biggest Hesitation: Finnish
There was another reason we weren’t immediately convinced.
The language.
We had lived in Dubai for almost ten years, where English was widely used in our workplaces and everyday life.
Then suddenly, I was being told that if I wanted to pursue a healthcare job in Finland, I needed to learn Finnish.
Not eventually.
Not after several years.
I needed to start learning it before coming here.
During the recruitment process, we were told that Finnish would be important in the workplace, particularly when communicating with patients, colleagues, managers, and other people involved in patient care.
That made sense.
But at the same time, it was intimidating.
I had never seriously studied another foreign language as an adult.
Now I had to learn Finnish while working full-time in Dubai, raising our daughter, completing recruitment requirements, and preparing for the possibility of moving countries.
There were definitely moments when I wondered:
“Kaya ko ba talaga ‘to?”
Can I actually do this?
But if Finnish was the challenge standing between us and this opportunity, then I decided I would at least try.
What Did Silk Road Offer Us?
Based on the recruitment pathway presented to us in 2023, Silk Road would help connect qualified healthcare applicants with Finnish employers.
In my case, I was applying as a Filipino nurse, but the initial work opportunity in Finland would not immediately mean working as a Finnish registered nurse or sairaanhoitaja.
The employment pathway available to me involved starting in a healthcare support role while continuing to develop my Finnish language skills and later working toward my professional nursing pathway in Finland.
Another major part of the program was Finnish-language training.
The language training provided to us was online and did not require me to pay a course fee.
Silkkitie’s current recruitment information still describes free online orientation and language training as part of its process, while its healthcare recruitment services include language preparation, recruitment, relocation, and support with starting work in Finland.
The agency also guided us through parts of the residence permit process and helped us understand what we needed to do before travelling to Finland.
At that point, it wasn’t simply:
“Here’s a job. Good luck.”
There were many steps before we could even think about boarding a plane.
Our Recruitment Journey Started in July 2023
Our process officially began for me on July 6, 2023, when I attended an online orientation with Silk Road Workforce Management.
The orientation explained what working and living in Finland could involve and what applicants could expect from the recruitment process.
After that, I completed a consent form.
Then, on July 24, 2023, I received access to the online learning platform and began studying Basic Finnish.
I also submitted my educational documents.
This was when Finland began shifting from:
“Maybe this could happen…”
to:
“Okay, this is actually starting.”
Finnish Studies Started Almost Immediately
The language-learning portion became a major part of the journey.
I received access to the learning materials through Moodle, where we could study the different lessons and units.
Later, I was assigned to a language-training group.
We also used Discord for communication and online activities.
As far as I remember, each unit usually involved an oral assessment.
The oral examinations were scheduled according to the availability of the student and teacher.
Sometimes it was one teacher and one student.
Other times, students could be assessed in pairs.
There were occasions when we needed to turn on our cameras during the assessment as well.
And yes, those oral exams could make me nervous!
😄
You could memorize vocabulary all day, but once someone suddenly asks you something in Finnish and expects you to answer immediately, your brain sometimes decides:
“Sorry, we’re closed.”
😂
But those assessments pushed us to actually speak rather than simply read and memorize words.
Little by little, Finnish started becoming less unfamiliar.
Studying Finnish While Working in Dubai
This part wasn’t always easy.
I was still working in Dubai.
I had family responsibilities.
We had our daughter.
Then I had Finnish lessons, homework, vocabulary, assessments, and recruitment requirements to complete.
I printed many of my learning materials because I found it easier to study when I could physically see and write on them.
Eventually, Finnish words started appearing everywhere around me.
Notes.
Printed materials.
Vocabulary lists.
Medical terms.
I had to make Finnish part of my daily routine because there was simply too much to learn by studying only once or twice a week.
And somehow, all that studying eventually started paying off.
The Interview
After submitting my curriculum vitae and required documents, I was invited for an interview.
My interview took place on August 7, 2023.
For me, it didn’t feel like a typical intimidating job interview where someone fires difficult questions at you one after another.
A large part of it felt like confirming my background, explaining the process, discussing expectations, and making sure I understood what I was getting into.
They also wanted to know whether I was genuinely willing to continue with the Finland pathway.
Two days later, on August 9, I received the wonderful news that I had passed the interview.
Another step completed.
And another reason for us to think:
Maybe this Finland thing is really happening.
What Documents Did I Have to Prepare?
One thing I want to make clear is that this list reflects my own recruitment experience in 2023.
Requirements can change depending on the job, country of residence, employer, recruitment program, and current regulations.
During my process, some of the important documents included:
- Valid passport
- Updated curriculum vitae
- Diploma
- Official Transcript of Records
- Employment certificates
- Medical or health-related documents
- Police clearance from the country where I was living
- Valid Philippine PRC identification as a registered nurse
- Other documents requested during the recruitment and employment process
I also signed or completed different forms and agreements during the process, including employment-related documents, acknowledgements, authorizations, and family-related forms.
However…
Silkkitie’s current healthcare recruitment requirements include a verifiable diploma or certificate, official Transcript of Records, CV, employment certificates, valid passport, and certain health requirements. Their current site also states that applicants generally need at least two years of relevant professional hands-on healthcare experience, although requirements for individual opportunities may differ.
So always check the current requirements directly.
From Language Training to an Employer
While we were studying Finnish, the recruitment process continued.
My profile was eventually considered for available employment opportunities.
One thing I want to make very clear, especially for readers who may not understand how recruitment agencies work:
Silkkitie was not my employer.
Silkkitie facilitated the recruitment process and helped connect me with an employment opportunity.
I was eventually hired directly by a Finnish public-sector healthcare employer.
For privacy reasons, I have chosen not to identify my employer publicly on Pinoy Up North.
My employment contract was directly with the Finnish healthcare organization, not with Silk Road or Silkkitie.
That distinction is important.
On November 6, 2023, I finally signed my employment contract.
That was one of the biggest moments in the entire process.
I had spent months learning Finnish and completing requirements.
Now there was an actual job waiting for me.
Choosing Where We Would Live
During the early part of the process, we didn’t yet know exactly where in Finland we would eventually live.
Finland was already a huge unknown to us, so not knowing the exact town added another layer of uncertainty.
Later in the process, I was given the opportunity to express a preference among some available locations and workplaces.
One thing mattered enormously to us:
our daughter.
She was only around two years old at the time.
Daycare availability became an important factor in deciding which location would work for our family.
Eventually, Kuhmo became the practical choice.
And looking back now, I find that quite amazing.
We had never heard of Kuhmo before this journey.
Today, it is our second home.
❤️
I was also given options involving different types of healthcare work.
Because of my nursing background, I preferred a more clinical care environment where I felt I could use and continue developing some of the skills I had learned from healthcare.
At the time, we were simply making the best choice we could with the information we had.
We had no idea how important that decision would eventually become.
Residence Permit Guidance
After I received my employment contract, the next major step was our residence permit applications.
Silk Road provided guidance about submitting the applications through Enter Finland, the Finnish Immigration Service’s online service.
My own application was based on employment.
My husband and daughter applied on the basis of family ties, with our applications connected to the family’s move.
One of my biggest concerns throughout the whole process was:
Could my husband and daughter come with me?
I was very clear about this.
I didn’t want to move to Finland alone while leaving my family behind in Dubai.
If my husband and daughter couldn’t come with me, I was seriously prepared to reconsider the entire plan.
During the process, I asked Silk Road about this and was told that we could submit our applications as a family and aim to travel together if the permits were granted.
That gave us the confidence to continue.
Current Migri guidance also confirms that a family member can apply for a residence permit on family-ties grounds at the same time as the family member who is moving to Finland. However, family reunification rules changed in 2025, so today’s applicants should always check the latest requirements.
Our Trip to VFS Global in Abu Dhabi
Because we were living in Dubai, we had to travel to Abu Dhabi for our in-person residence permit appointment.
That was another major milestone.
By then, the possibility of Finland no longer felt like something happening only on a computer screen.
We had submitted applications.
We had documents.
I had an employment contract.
Now we were physically attending the appointment required as part of the process.
We completed our identity verification as a family in December 2023.
Then we waited.
And thankfully, by the end of December, all three of our residence permits had been approved.
I shared the detailed dates and our slightly stressful New Year residence permit story in:
Part 3 is really about the recruitment journey behind those dates.
How We Actually Got to Finland: Our Recruitment and Residence Permit Journey
The One Thing I Needed to Hear
Throughout the process, my number one concern remained the same:
I wanted my family with me.
I was a wife and a mother before I was an applicant.
Moving countries might have been a good career opportunity for me, but I didn’t want that opportunity if it meant unnecessarily separating our family.
When I received reassurance that our family could pursue our applications together, I decided to trust the process.
And, of course, pray.
Maybe this was the opportunity we had been searching for all those years.
It wasn’t Canada.
It wasn’t the UK.
It wasn’t Australia.
It wasn’t New Zealand.
It wasn’t the United States.
It was Finland.
A country that had never been part of our original plan.
And still, something told us:
Try.
So we continued.
What Happened After We Arrived in Finland?
This is one of the parts of our experience that I appreciated most.
The support didn’t suddenly disappear when our plane landed.
Silkkitie’s current settling-in services describe support that may include housing arrangements, airport reception, local orientation, government registrations, workplace visits, and assistance with school or daycare arrangements for family members. Many of those things closely resemble what we personally experienced when we arrived.
Our arrival wasn’t simply:
“Welcome to Finland. Good luck!”
There were people helping us get started.
Transportation to Our New Home
Transportation was arranged for us from the final point of our journey to the town where we would be living.
After such a long journey, this was a huge relief.
We didn’t have a car.
We didn’t know the local transportation system.
We barely knew where anything was.
And we had luggage and a small child with us.
Knowing that someone was expecting us and helping us reach our new home made those first hours much easier.
A Home Was Already Waiting for Us
They also helped arrange our accommodation and introduced us to the landlord so we could complete the rental arrangements.
Some basic furniture and household necessities had already been prepared before we arrived.
Beds.
A dining table.
Chairs.
Cooking utensils.
Eating utensils.
Simple things.
But when you arrive in another country with only your luggage, those simple things suddenly become incredibly important.
The expenses for items purchased on our behalf were something we later needed to repay, but having them already available saved us from arriving in an empty house.
Imagine landing in Finland, with snow outside, a toddler, no car, and then discovering you don’t even have a bed.
😄
Thankfully, that wasn’t our situation.
Even Grocery Shopping Needed Help
During our first days, they also helped us get groceries.
That may sound like such a small thing.
But remember:
We didn’t have a car.
Our home wasn’t right in the town centre.
There was still snow outside.
We didn’t know the shops.
We didn’t know the roads.
We didn’t know which Finnish product was what.
Even buying food could feel like an adventure.
Those little bits of assistance made our first days easier.
Healthcare and Medical Requirements
We were also accompanied for some health-related requirements after arrival.
For me, this included additional tests and updating some medical requirements and vaccinations needed in connection with healthcare work.
Again, this wasn’t glamorous.
No tourist sightseeing yet.
😄
Our first days in Finland involved paperwork, registrations, medical matters, orientation, housing, shopping, daycare, and getting ready for work.
Real life started very quickly.
Helping Our Daughter Begin Daycare
Because we had our little one with us, her adjustment was just as important as ours.
We were introduced to the local daycare arrangements, and preparations were made so she could begin settling into her new environment.
This became one of the best things that happened for her.
Daycare wasn’t simply somewhere she stayed while we worked.
It became a place where she learned Finnish, made friends, became more independent, and slowly found her own place in our new country.
I’ve shared much more about that experience in my separate post:
Looking back now, helping her integrate early was one of the most important parts of our family’s adjustment.
Meeting Our Workplace
We were also introduced to our workplace and the people who would become part of our working life in Finland.
Imagine walking into a Finnish healthcare workplace after months of studying Finnish online.
Suddenly, the words from your Moodle lessons are no longer exercises.
Real people are speaking to you.
Fast.
In Finnish.
😂
That was when I realized:
Okay. The real Finnish-language course starts now.
Learning How Finnish Systems Work
We also received guidance about the practical government and everyday services we would eventually need.
Things such as:
- Personal banking
- Kela
- Vero
- Finnish identification documents
- registrations and other government matters (such as DVV matters)
We were given instructions to help us understand what needed to be done.
These things may sound straightforward once you’ve lived in Finland for a while.
But when you’re newly arrived?
Everything is unfamiliar.
Even figuring out which office does what can be confusing.
Having someone point us in the right direction was extremely helpful.
Finnish Lessons Continued After Arrival
Our Finnish training didn’t stop the moment we arrived.
The language classes continued after we started working.
In our case, we had online Finnish lessons twice a week, around 1.5 hours per session, including sessions during our working schedule.
Continuing the lessons made sense because arriving in Finland did not mean we had suddenly mastered Finnish.
Far from it.
If anything, living here made us realize how much more we still needed to learn.
Silkkitie’s current services also describe continued Finnish-language development after workers arrive in Finland, particularly for healthcare employees progressing in their work and studies.
And honestly, language learning never really stops.
Even now, there are new words.
New expressions.
New situations.
And sometimes new ways for Finnish grammar to surprise me.
😂
Did Everything Go Perfectly?
I don’t want this article to sound like an advertisement.
No migration process is perfect.
Moving countries is stressful.
Learning Finnish was difficult.
Waiting for permits was stressful.
Adjusting to a new workplace was challenging.
There were things we had to pay for ourselves.
There were uncertainties.
And there were moments when we wondered whether we had made the right decision.
But when I look specifically at our personal experience with Silk Road/Silkkitie, I can say that the support we expected from the recruitment pathway was generally there.
We received guidance through the process.
I was connected with an employer.
We were able to move as a family.
Housing preparations were made.
We received settling-in assistance.
Our daughter was helped toward daycare.
We received help navigating practical matters.
And the company continued checking in after our arrival.
That is our experience.
Other people’s experiences may be different, and recruitment programs can change over time.
But I can only write about what happened to us.
And for our family, things generally went well.
What Should You Ask a Recruitment Agency Before Signing Anything?
If someone reading this is considering an international recruitment opportunity, I think asking questions is extremely important.
Don’t be afraid of asking too many.
This is your career, your money, your family, and potentially your entire future.
Some questions I would personally ask include:
- Who will actually employ me? Is it the recruitment agency or another Finnish organization?
- Where in Finland will I be working and living? Don’t assume you will automatically be placed in Helsinki or another big city.
- What position will I actually have when I arrive?
- What salary and employment conditions will apply?
- What level of Finnish will I need before deployment and after arrival?
- Who pays for the language training?
- Which expenses will I personally need to pay?
- Are there any recruitment, processing, medical, residence permit, flight, housing, or furniture costs?
- Can my spouse and children apply at the same time?
- What support is available for daycare or school-age children?
- Who will arrange accommodation?
- What happens after I arrive in Finland?
- Will language training or other studies continue after arrival?
- Who should I contact if there is a problem after I start working?
- Can I see and understand the employment contract before making a final commitment?
And most importantly:
Read everything before signing.
If you don’t understand something, ask.
If something is promised verbally and is important to your decision, ask whether it is stated in writing.
And always independently verify immigration requirements with the proper government authority.
A recruitment agency can guide you, but your residence permit decision ultimately comes from the Finnish Immigration Service.
Today, the company operates under the name Silkkitie.
A Note About Bringing Family Members
I also want to be careful with this topic because immigration laws change.
Our own family applied together in 2023.
My residence permit was based on work, while my husband and daughter’s applications were based on family ties.
We were fortunate that the decisions came within days of each other, allowing us to eventually move to Finland together.
I know people whose family situations and waiting times were very different from ours.
So I would never tell someone:
“If you do exactly what we did, your family will definitely receive the same result.”
Every application is evaluated individually.
Current Migri guidance allows qualifying family members to apply at the same time as the person moving to Finland, but the requirements for family reunification changed in June 2025. Always check the current rules, income requirements, documents, and processing information directly from Migri before making plans.
Would I Do It Again?
Looking back now?
Yes.
Not because everything was easy.
It wasn’t.
Not because Finland turned out to be some perfect country without problems.
It isn’t.
And not because moving abroad magically solves everything in life.
It doesn’t.
But this particular opportunity gave our family a chance to begin another chapter.
It brought us from Dubai to Finland.
It pushed me to learn a language I never imagined myself speaking.
It introduced me to a completely different healthcare system.
It eventually led me further along my nursing pathway.
It gave our daughter the opportunity to grow up surrounded by another language and culture.
And it brought us to Kuhmo – a place we had never even heard of before, but one we now call our second home.
For that, I am grateful.
It brought us to Kuhmo – a place we had never even heard of before, but one we now call our second home.
Final Thoughts
When I think back to that Facebook post in 2023, I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had simply scrolled past it.
Maybe we would still be in Dubai.
Maybe we would eventually have moved to Canada, Australia, the UK, New Zealand, or somewhere else.
Maybe we would have gone back to the Philippines.
Who knows?
But I didn’t scroll past.
I stopped.
I became curious.
I attended the orientation.
I signed the consent form.
I opened those first Finnish lessons.
I struggled through the vocabulary.
I attended the interview.
I kept studying.
I signed an employment contract.
We applied for our residence permits.
And eventually, our family boarded a plane to Finland.
Silkkitie didn’t make every decision for us.
We still had to study.
We still had to complete the requirements.
We still had to take the risks.
We still had to leave our jobs.
We still had to say goodbye to Dubai.
And once we arrived, we still had to do the difficult work of adjusting to a completely new life.
But they helped us find and navigate a path that we might never have discovered on our own.
And for that part of our journey, we will always be grateful.
Sometimes the people who help us along the way don’t carry us to the destination.
They simply help point us toward the next step.
Then it becomes our choice whether we take it.
For us, we did.
And look where that one step eventually brought us.
Finland. ❤️
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” – Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)
There are moments in life when an opportunity appears and we don’t immediately know whether it will lead anywhere.
That Facebook post was one of those moments for us.
We could have ignored it.
We could have let fear of the Finnish language stop us.
We could have decided that leaving Dubai was too risky.
But instead, we decided to see where the opportunity would lead.
Along the way, people guided us, doors opened, challenges appeared, and we had to make difficult decisions of our own.
Looking back, I am reminded that help can come through many different people and circumstances.
We still have to do our part.
We still have to work hard.
We still have to make choices.
But sometimes God places people along our path who help us find the next direction.
And sometimes that next direction takes us somewhere we never imagined we would call home. 🧡
Catch Up on Our Journey to Finland
This is Part 3 of our Journey to Finland series.
If you’re new to the story, you can start from the beginning:
Part 1 – Moving to Finland: Why It Wasn’t Part of Our Original Plan
Read Part 1
Part 2 – How We Actually Got to Finland: Our Recruitment and Residence Permit Journey
Read Part 2
Next, I’ll share one of the biggest steps before our move – how we applied for our Finnish residence permits as a family and waited for those life-changing decisions.
Part 4 – Our Finland Residence Permit Journey: How We Applied as a Family
Read Part 4
Important Note
This article is based on our personal recruitment experience from 2023 to 2024. Recruitment programs, eligibility requirements, language requirements, fees, available jobs, employers, residence permit rules, and family reunification requirements can change. Please verify all current information directly with Silkkitie, Migri, and other relevant authorities before applying or making financial or migration decisions.
Pinoy Up North is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or paid by Silkkitie, formerly known as Silk Road Workforce Management. I am sharing this story only because the company formed part of our family’s personal journey to Finland.
For privacy reasons, I do not publicly identify my Finnish employer on this blog.
Hei!
Olen lukenut suurella mielenkiinnolla Teidän matkaanne Dubaista tänne Kuhmoon.
Olette olleet todella rohkeita.
Vaikeita päätöksiä olette joutuneet tekemään.
Monenlaista mutkaa on matkalla ollut.
Toivon, että viihdytte täällä. Teitä kohdellaan oikeudenmukaisesti. Otetaan sydämellisesti vastaan ilman ennakkoluuloja. Ollaan ystävällisiä ja auttavaisia.
Toivon teille kaikkea hyvää ja onnellista elämää Kuhmossa perheenä ystävien ja tuttavien kanssa.
Jumala on lähettänyt meille uudet, ihanat naapurit iloksemme.
🙏❤️🤗 Terveisin: naapurin Eija
Voi miten ihana kommenti, kiitos ihan valtavasti. Tuli kyllä tosi hyvä mieli tästä. Me ollaan oltu todella kiitollisia siitä, miten lämpimästi meidät on otettu täällä Kuhmossa vastaan. Ja meidän naapurit, erityisesti sinä, on ollut meille tosi ihania, ystävällisiä ja auttavaisia. Se on merkinnyt meille todella paljon. ❤️🤝
Kiitos kauniista sanoista ja kaikesta hyvästä, mitä toivotat meille. Toivotaan, että saadaan rakentaa tänne onnellinen elämä yhdessä perheenä. 🥰
Terveisin, Filippiiniläiset pohjoisessa (Pinoy Up North)