Financing your studies in Finland
Students that have Finnish citizenship and, under certain conditions, citizens of other countries, are entitled to student financial aid paid by Kela (The Social Insurance Institute of Finland). Check the criteria for eligibility on Kela’s webpage.
Student financial aid consists of a study grant and a state guarantee for a student loan. If the student completes a study unit abroad, he or she is also entitled to housing supplement.
Students living in mainland Finland can apply for general housing allowance.
In order to receive financial aid, the studies must be full-time. That entails satisfactory academic progress, in other words the student must complete at least 5 credits on average for each month of financial aid and at least 20 credits in each academic year.
In addition, the student’s income will affect whether he or she is entitled to financial aid.
To find more information on financial aid for students, visit Kela’s webpage.
Benefits for adult students
Some adult students can apply for adult education allowance from the Employment Fund (Työllisyysrahasto). For more information on adult education allowance, please visit the Employment Fund webpage.
Student meals
As a degree student of university of applied sciences, you are eligible for discounted meals in student restaurants that participate in the meal subsidy programme.
Read about how to prove your student status on Kela’s webpage.
You are entitled to the meal subsidy if you are based in Finland and are completing a bachelor’s or master’s level degree. You can qualify even if you are not a Finnish citizen.
If you are attending a higher education institution in Finland as an exchange student, you qualify for the meal subsidy for the duration of your exchange.
For more information on the meal subsidy, go to Kela’s webpage.
News on financial aid
News on financial aid and general housing allowance are tagged ‘financial aid’ and/or ‘housing allowance’ on Diakle. The news are also published in Tuudo.
Further information
For more information, please contact Kela, tel. +358 (0) 20 634 2550.
You can also ask advice in matters related to financial aid at opintotuki@diak.fi.