Financial aid for studies abroad

You can also get financial help with studies that take place outside Finland, provided that they correspond to Finnish studies that would be covered by the student financial aid provisions or form a part of a Finnish degree programme.

Financial aid for a course of study which is conducted entirely outside Finland is only avail­able for citizens of Finland, other EU/EEA countries or Switzerland and their family members. You must have had a municipality of residence in Finland for at least 2 years out of the 5 years preceding the commencement of your studies and your stay abroad must be temporary. In other words, you do not qualify if you have lived abroad for more than 3 years before starting your studies.

If you are not a Finnish citizen, you must either have a right to permanent residence in Finland (as defined in the Aliens Act), be working in Finland (the intended course of study is expected to be closely related to your job), or be unemployed for no cause of your own. If you are a family member of an employed person, you are entitled to financial aid on the same terms that apply to Finnish citizens.

For those studying outside Finland, the Study Grant is paid at the same rate as it would be in Finland, with the exception that the grant for studies at a foreign vocational training institute is equal to the grant provided to students attending a higher education institute in Finland. Housing Supplement (usually EUR 210 per month) and the government guarantee for student loans (EUR 440 per month for higher education studies and EUR 360 per month for secondarly-level studies) are also available.

Updated 04/30/13