Agreement concluded by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden on Admission to Higher Education

Article 1

The parties undertake a reciprocal obligation to grant to applicants domiciled in another Nordic country admission to their respective public courses of higher education on the same or equivalent terms as applicants from their own countries. An applicant who is qualified to apply for admission to higher education in the Nordic country in which he/she is domiciled is also qualified to apply for admission to courses of higher education in the other Nordic countries. The parties further undertake the obligation to adopt the most appropriate measures to introduce similar provisions covering officially recognised courses of higher education provided by private institutions of higher education financed from public sources. For the purposes of this Agreement, the term "higher education" shall be taken to mean:

In Denmark: courses of education at institutions of higher education and courses of higher education at other educational institutions which require completion of upper secondary school education or comparable qualifications;

In Finland: courses of education conducted at universities, institutions of higher education, upper vocational schools, and corresponding courses of education where admission to the course requires the upper secondary school leaving certificate or other courses of education which confer study competence;

In Iceland: all courses of education for which admission requires the upper secondary school leaving certificate or equivalent qualifications;

In Norway: courses of education at universities and institutions of higher education or equivalent courses of education where admission to the course requires completion and recognition of education at upper secondary school level or completion of a comparable education conferring study competence;

In Sweden: courses of education at universities and institutions of higher education or equivalent courses of higher education where admission to the course requires completion of the national programme at upper secondary school or comparable qualifications, and which are covered by the provisions governing higher education.

The Agreement does not apply to postgraduate research studies.

Article 2

The provisions of this Agreement do not imply any exemption from the currently valid residence permit regulations in the respective countries.

The provisions of this Agreement do not in any way preclude the conclusion of bilateral agreements between the parties on the purchase of - or comparable arrangements pertaining to - places in specific courses of education.

Article 3

If specific qualifications or attainments in a specific subject or subjects are required for admission to certain courses of higher education, applicants from other Nordic countries shall meet such requirements on terms corresponding to those required of applicants from the host country.

Article 4

If admission to courses of higher education is limited, the selection of applicants from the other Nordic countries shall be conducted in accordance with the same or equivalent rules as those applied to applicants from the host country. The parties shall thereby endeavour to apply admission rules which, to the greatest extent possible, accord applicants from the other Nordic countries parity with applicants from the host country.

Article 5

The parties agree that an applicant who has completed part of his/her higher education in one of the Nordic countries and attained results recognised by one the parties, shall have such part of his/her education recognised for a corresponding course of education in another Nordic country. The assessment of the qualifications referred to above (i.e. part-qualifications) shall be conducted by the institution of higher education for which recognition of such qualifications is required.

Article 6

The parties undertake the obligation to provide information on the courses of education available at the various institutions of higher education in the entire Nordic region.

Article 7

Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden shall pay, per calendar year, to the host country (i.e. the country in which the courses are taken) an amount in respect of their students attending courses of education in another Nordic country. Iceland shall be exempt from the above provision.

The Nordic Council of Ministers shall approve the size of the amount to be paid by each of the four countries referred to above.

For the courses of education conducted in another Nordic country covered by Article 1, payment shall be made in respect of 75 per cent of the number of students who receive student grants from the country in which the relevant student has his/her permanent residence and in accordance with the regulations laid down in that country. The annual reimbursement per student is DKK 22,000. The reimbursement per student is increased from DKK 22,000 to DKK 26,000 in 2013, and to DKK 30,000 in 2014. To the 2014 reimbursement should be added an indexation according to the Danish Index of Consumer Prices. The indexation is made by the Nordic Council of Ministers' Secretariat based on an estimate from Statistics Denmark on the price trend in Denmark from January 2013 to January 2014. Thereafter the reimbursement shall be indexed in the same way the following year. The payments from one country to another shall be settled in the form of a reduction or an increase of the share of the annual budget for Nordic co-operation levied on the relevant country.

Article 8

Statistical data on student grants compiled annually for the Nordic Council of Ministers by the Nordic authorities shall serve as the basis for calculation of the number of students. Students who come from or study in the Faroe Islands, Greenland or Åland shall be excluded from the calculations. This provision also applies to students undergoing researcher training, students covered by Article 2, second section, and students covered by the Nordic Programme for Teachers, Applicants for places at educational institutions and Students (i.e. the NORDPLUS scheme) or by any other corresponding exchange programme.

For the calendar year in which the Agreement comes into force, payment shall be calculated on the basis of statistical data for the academic year 1994/95. The number of students attending non-specified courses of higher education shall be excluded from the calculations. For the following two calendar years, payment shall be calculated in accordance with the statistical data for the 1995/96 and 1996/97 academic years, in the absence of any decision to the contrary by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Article 9

The parties shall jointly monitor the implementation of this Agreement and implement such measures as are required by developments. In this regard, the Nordic Council of Ministers will appoint an advisory committee, which, if necessary, shall report to the Nordic Council of Ministers on the implementation of the agreement and may submit proposals for amendments and additions to the agreement.

Final provision to the agreement of 17 May 2018 to amend the Agreement.

Article 1

The Agreement shall remain in force until any alternative arrangements are agreed upon and implemented.

Article 2

This Agreement shall come into force thirty days after the date on which all parties have notified the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs that they have approved the Agreement.

This Agreement ceases to be in force when the agreement ceases to be in force.

For the Faroe Islands and Greenland and, respectively, Åland, the Agreement shall not come into force until thirty days after the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lodged notification that the Agreement shall be valid for the Faroe Islands and Greenland and, respectively, Åland.

The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall notify the other parties of the receipt of these notifications and of the date on which the Agreement shall come into force.

Article 3

The original of this Agreement shall be deposited at the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which shall deliver confirmed copies of the Agreement to the other parties.

This Agreement has been signed by the education ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Copies have been signed in Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish. All versions have the same validity.