Country fiches

No specific measures have been taken in Finland to remove legal obstacles that may hinder the mobility of minors, as there are no legal obstacles preventing IVET students or learners aged below 18 to participate in international learning mobility periods. The only requirement is the parental consent, and obtaining it is an easy formality, usually coordinated by the international coordinators or teachers in vocational institutions. Although the national statistics for international learning mobility in VET for the year 2021 (1), show that 16% of the outgoing Finnish students for a mobility period of minimum of two weeks are aged below 18, this rather low number is not due to legal obstacles, but rather to the fact that most IVET institutions see it as more pedagogically fit to send students in their later years of studies (when they are usually already over 18), as they can then utilise the learning mobility period better to enhance, for example, their employment prospects upon return to Finland. This share may change when Covid-19 no longer affects mobility.
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(1) The statistics can be found online at https://www.oph.fi/en/statistics/international-mobility-vet-students

Where apprenticeship is concerned, foreign minors (from outside the European Union) are exempted from the requirement to hold a valid residency permit and are consequently eligible for apprenticeship contracts (1). More generally, when these foreign minors are present on French soil, no distinction is allowed between them and minor students of French nationality when it comes to access to public education and vocational training.
Since January 2017, a minor living in France must again have an authorisation to leave the country to travel abroad without his or her parents. This authorisation to leave the country is compulsory and applies to all trips outside France, whether individual or collective: school trips, language-learning trips, etc.
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(1) DGEFP Letter dated 3.3.10, Art. L5221-5 of the Labour Code Law 2009-1437 ratified on 24.11.09, Art. 35 (25.11.09 Official Gazette)

Majority of VET institutions comprise equal participation of minor and adult students (more than 18 years) in international mobility activities. The minor can travel abroad alone, without parents or other accompanying persons, provided there is a parental authorisation. In practice, teachers or other adults accompany all IVET learner groups with minors.
It is important to note that from 2020, students of general education schools can study vocational training modules in VET institutions. In 2020 and 2021, as many as 1362 pupils of grades I-IV gymnasiums and grades 9-12 of general education schools concluded vocational training contracts. The vast majority of these students are minors, but they can participate in Erasmus+ Programme mobility like other VET institutions students.