Financial aid for students
The purpose of financial aid is to provide economic security for students. Financial aid is available in the form of:
- study grant
- government guarantee for a student loan
- housing supplement (available only to those who are studying and living abroad or in the Åland islands or are enrolled in a tuition-based programme at a folk high school or sports institute and living in the school dormitory).
Changes in housing benefits for students as of 1 August 2025
The majority of students can get the new student housing supplement from the beginning of the autumn term 2025. This means that general housing allowance will no longer be paid to students after 31 July 2025. You can apply for the student housing supplement in the OmaKela e-service in June 2025 at the earliest. The supplement will be paid from 1 August 2025 onwards. The change will not apply to students who live with their child or their partner’s child. Read more.
Use this financial aid calculator (in Finnish) to check if and how much financial aid you can get. The qualifying conditions for student financial aid are:
- admission to a school
- full-time study
- academic progress
- need of financial assistance.
Financial aid for studies pursued in Finland is available to Finnish citizens and, under certain conditions, to citizens of other countries. Read more about when you may be eligible for financial aid for studies abroad.
The qualifying conditions for financial aid differ in higher education and in secondary education.
Read about the benefits young persons can get from Kela.
