Preamble to the agreement of 3 September 1996

The governments of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, hereinafter referred to as the parties,

who, in compliance with the provisions of Article 3, Sections e and g, of the Agreement on Cultural Co-operation concluded on 15 March 1971 concluded by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, will

• provide increased opportunities for students and other permanent residents of a Nordic country to receive education and take examinations at educational institutions in the other Nordic countries,

• establish reciprocal recognition of examinations, part- examinations and other descriptions/statements of educational attainment,

who emphasise the decision on the validity of Nordic examinations reached by the Nordic Council of Ministers on 12 June 1975,

who refer to the Nordic Co-operation Programme for Higher Education adopted on 27 March 1991,

who on 4 March 1992 concluded an Agreement on common Nordic education at upper secondary school level,

who agree that Nordic co-operation on higher education should be further extended with the aim of providing the greatest possible freedom of choice for applicants from the entire Nordic region and of improving the quality of higher education in the Nordic countries,

have reached agreement on the following:

Preamble to the agreement of 23 April 2009

The governments of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, (hereinafter referred to as the parties),

who have agreed to an amendment of the agreement of 3 September 1996 concluded by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden on admission to higher education (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement) by exchange of notes on 13 March 2000, as per the Nordic Council of Ministers’ resolution of 1 June 1999, by exchange of notes on 3 November 2006, as per the Nordic Council of Ministers’ resolution of 1 December 2000 and on 4 June 2003, and as per the Nordic Council of Ministers’ resolution of 1 November 2006;

who, considering that it is appropriate to once again prolong the agreement;

have reached agreement on the following:

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 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. With a view to achieving this, the Nordic Council of Ministers shall appoint an advisory committee which will report as required to the

Nordic Council of Ministers on implementation of the Agreement and which can submit recommendations on amendments and additional provisions to be included in this Agreement.

Preamble to the agreement of 3 September 1996

Article 10

This Agreement shall come into force thirty days after the date on which all five parties have notified the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs that they have approved the Agreement, although not earlier than 1 January 1997.

The Agreement shall remain in force until the end of 2012, in the absence of any other agreement prior to that date.

However, for the Faroe Islands and Greenland and, respectively, Åland, the Agreement shall not come into force until thirty days after the governments of Denmark and Finland have notified the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the governments of the Faroe Islands and Greenland and, respectively, the government of Åland have 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, and the Nordic Council of Ministers' Secretariat, of the receipt of these notifications and of the date on which the Agreement shall come into force.

This Agreement may be amended by agreements. The amended Agreement comes into force in accordance with the provisions in this Article's first, third and fourth sections.

___

1 New version, section two 2009. New fifth section 2009.

Article 11

A party can cancel the Agreement by notifying the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in writing of its cancellation. The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall notify the other parties of the receipt of such notification and of its contents.

The validity of the Agreement expires on the last day of the calendar year in which it is cancelled by one of the parties, insofar as the notice of cancellation has been received by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs not later than 30 June of that year, and otherwise on the last day of the following calendar year.

The cancellation of the Agreement shall have no consequences for the students who have already been admitted to courses of higher education in another Nordic country during the period of validity of the Agreement.

Article 12

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.

As confirmation of the above, the duly authorised representatives have signed this Agreement.

Done at Copenhagen on 3 September 1996 in a version in each of the following languages: Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish, with the same validity for all versions.

Final provisions of the agreement of 23 April 2009

Article 3

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 4

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.

As confirmation of the above, the duly authorised representatives have signed this Agreement.

Done at Grindavik on 23 April 2009 in a version in each of the following languages: Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish, with the same validity for all versions.