How to pay the student healthcare fee in higher education

The amount of the healthcare fee for students in higher education is adjusted annually. The 2024 rate of the student healthcare fee is EUR 36.80 per term. You have to pay the fee to Kela for both the spring and the autumn term. You are not billed for the fee, but are expected to pay it unprompted.

You do not have to pay the healthcare fee if you have social security coverage from another EU/EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland. Find out how to proceed if you have social security coverage from another EU/EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland.

If you are not sure whether you have to pay the fee, see who must pay the healthcare fee for students in higher education.

1. You must pay the healthcare fee to Kela once per term, i.e. twice a year. No bill will be sent on the healthcare fee, and thus you have to pay the fee on your own initiative.

   • You can pay the fee even if you have not yet registered as attending.

   • You can now pay the healthcare fee for the autumn term of 2024.

   • If you are applying for basic social assistance towards the healthcare fee, make sure that you only pay the fee for one academic term at a time.

2. The due dates are determined based on the date on which you have registered as attending. There are four possible due dates in each calendar year.

   • The due date for the autumn term is 15 November, if you have registered as attending by 30 September. If you register as attending for the autumn term on or after 1 October, the due date is 31 December.

   • The due date for the spring term is 15 March, if you have registered as attending by 31 January. If you register as attending for the spring term on or after 1 February, the due date is 31 July.

3. You can pay the healthcare fee via the OmaKela e-service: Omat etuudet > Muut etuusasiat > Korkeakouluopiskelijan terveydenhoitomaksu. Please note that our e-service is only available in Finnish and Swedish.

   • In the OmaKela e-service, you will be directed to your online bank to effect the payment, or you can print the payment details for later use.

4. If you do not pay the healthcare fee by the due date, Kela will send you a reminder. If you pay the fee after the due date, Kela will charge a fixed late-payment fee of EUR 5. If you still do not pay the healthcare fee after having received a reminder, Kela can withhold the fee and the late-payment fee from your study grant payments without first consulting you. If the fee cannot be withheld from the study grant payments, the healthcare fee will be referred to the enforcement authority for collection.

If you cannot use the e-service for instance because you do not have Finnish online banking credentials, please pay the fee to Kela as a bank transfer.

1. Use the following payment details:

   • bank account number (IBAN): FI06 5000 0120 4657 77
   • BIC code: OKOYFIHH  
   • recipient: Kela
   • amount: EUR 36.80
2. If you make the payment from a foreign bank account, use the following payment details:

   • recipient: Kela
   • name and address of the bank: OP Corporate Bank plc, Gebhardinaukio 1, 00510 Helsinki, Finland
   • bank account number (IBAN): FI06 5000 0120 4657 77
   • BIC code: OKOYFIHH
3. Write the following in the message field:

   • given name and family name of the student
   • Finnish personal identity code or date of birth of the student
   • name or abbreviation (e.g. TAMK) of the educational institution
   • the term for which the fee is paid, i.e. spring 2024 or spring and autumn 2024
   • text OTH.

If all these details do not fit into the message field, please state at least the given name and family name as well as the Finnish personal identity code or the date of birth.

How should I proceed if I have social security coverage from another EU/EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland?

If you have social security coverage from another EU/EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland, you do not have to pay the healthcare fee.

Send a picture of your valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) to Kela. 

Send the picture well in advance of the due date for the fee, or contact Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre.

Send the picture in one of the following ways:

• Send the picture by selecting Lähetä liite (Send a supporting document) on the front page in OmaKela. Please note that our e-service is only available in Finnish and Swedish.
  1. Select Opiskelu (Studying) – Muu liite (Other supporting document) – Korkeakouluopiskelijan terveydenhuoltomaksu (Healthcare fee for students in higher education).
  2. Attach your supporting document and press Lähetä (Send).
  • If you are a EU citizen and you do not have Finnish online banking credentials, you can use eIDAS identification in OmaKela. Read the instructions for how EU citizens can log in to and handle matters in the e-service.
• If you cannot use the OmaKela e-service, you can also send the picture to the address ulkomaanperinta@kela.fi. Send the message via secure e-mail.
• You can also take a copy of your card and send the copy to the address Kelan perintäkeskus, PL 31, 00056 KELA.

You also do not have to pay the healthcare fee if you have social security coverage from the EU. In such a case, send documentation about this to Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre.

Despite not paying the fee, you can use the FSHS’s services. When you visit FSHS, be prepared to show your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or your Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC).

If you do not have a European Health Insurance Card, you can apply to your own country’s social insurance authority for one.

Read more about why students who have social security coverage from another EU/EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland are exempt from paying the student healthcare fee. 

Request for payment outstanding notice

You can request a payment outstanding notice from Kela regarding your liability to pay the healthcare fee. You can request a payment outstanding notice for instance if you do not agree that you are liable to pay the fee, i.e., that you are a degree student and registered as attending for the term in question.

Through the payment outstanding notice Kela determines whether you are liable to pay the student healthcare fee for the term.

If you disagree with the payment outstanding notice, you can file an appeal against it.

Do as follows

1. Request a payment outstanding notice either verbally or in writing.

   • You can request a payment outstanding notice in writing by sending a message in the OmaKela e-service, by submitting the request to one of Kela’s customer service points or by sending the request to the address Kelan perintäkeskus, PL 31, 00056 KELA.
   • You can make a verbal request by calling the customer service number of Kela's Overpayment Recovery Centre at 020 634 4940.
2. State your name and contact information in your request. Also state the term that the request concerns, the name of the educational institution, which degree you are studying for and when you registered as attending or non-attending with your school for the term in question. Further, indicate if you have social security coverage in another EU/EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland. In that case, send Kela a copy of your valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). If you have social security coverage in Great Britain or Northern Ireland, you can send a copy of your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC).

   • For example: “Spring term 2023, Turku University of Applied Sciences, bachelor’s level degree at a university of applied sciences. Registered as attending 5 January 2023.
3. Even if you request a payment outstanding notice, you must pay the healthcare fee by the due date. Kela will refund the fee to you if you pay it despite not having to do so for the term in question.

If you disagree with the payment outstanding notice, you can file a rectification request regarding the notice with Kela. Kela makes a decision on your request, and you can appeal against the decision with the Administrative Court.

Read more