Recovery of debt arising from the government student loan guarantee
The student loan is a loan guaranteed by Kela. If you do not pay back your loan or pay interest to the bank on time, the bank will terminate the student loan and Kela will pay back your student loan to the bank. After that Kela will collect from you the full amount Kela has paid back to the bank. This is called debt arising from the government student loan guarantee.
Once Kela has paid your student loan back to the bank, you will get a request for payment asking you to pay your debt arising from the government student loan guarantee to Kela.
The interest levied on this debt is 4%.
If you cannot pay the entire amount at once, you can propose a payment plan
If you cannot pay your entire debt arising from the government student loan guarantee at once, you can ask us to set up a payment plan for you.
- Log in to the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish) and select Perinnät (Recovery matters) and then Ehdota maksusuunnitelmaa (Propose a payment plan) on the front page. You can also then see the size of the instalments that you can propose for your payment plan.
- If you cannot use OmaKela to propose a payment plan, you can call Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre at 020 634 4940.
You can also send your proposed payment plan to us by post. Send it to Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre, PL 31, 00056 KELA.
If we accept the payment plan you have proposed, we will send you the finalised payment plan. We will not send invoices every month. You can view the details of the payment plan in OmaKela.
Check the details of your recovery matters in the OmaKela e-service
Visit the OmaKela e-service to check the details of your debt repayment and the status of the recovery process. You can see this information by selecting Perinnät (Recovery matters) and then Katso perinnän tiedot (Status of the recovery process) on the front page of OmaKela.
If you do not pay your debt arising from the government student loan guarantee, it will go to collections
If you do not pay your debt arising from the government student loan guarantee or agree on how to pay it, Kela will refer the debt to collection through an enforcement order. Kela usually sends two requests for payment before referring the debt to collection through an enforcement order.
Your debt can be collected from you even if you live abroad. A collection agency or the enforcement authorities will carry out the collection abroad on Kela’s behalf.
Do you need advice?
If you have any questions about matters related to the repayment of debt, contact Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre at 020 634 4940. The Overpayment Recovery Centre answers calls from 10.00 to 15.00 on weekdays (Monday to Friday).
You can also send a message in the OmaKela e-service. Select Liikamaksut ja perintäasiat (Overpayment and recovery) and then Opintolainan takaussaatavan perintä (Recovery of debt arising from the government student loan guarantee) as the subject of your message.
If you need general debt counselling, you can contact the Guarantee Foundation (takuusaatio.fi) or a legal aid office (oikeus.fi).
Frequently asked questions about the repayment of debt
You can repay your debt at a faster rate than agreed in the payment plan. You do not need to tell Kela about it separately. However, you have to make sure you pay at least the amount agreed in your payment plan each month. When you make extra payments, you should use the same payment details as when making the agreed instalment payments. You can look up the payment details in the OmaKela e-service.
If you have not yet agreed on a payment plan with us, we can agree on how you can repay the debt also after you have received a request for payment.
If you have already agreed on a payment plan with us and you get a request for payment, you must first pay the amounts that have fallen due. After that, you can continue to pay the debt according to the previously agreed payment plan.
If you cannot pay the amounts that have fallen due, you can propose a new payment plan. Kela decides whether the payment plan you have proposed can be accepted.
If we have already referred the debt to collection through an enforcement order, we cannot agree on a payment plan with you.
Debt recovery can be postponed only for the duration of compulsory military service. Contact Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre by phone or by sending a message in the OmaKela e-service. Select Liikamaksu- ja takaisinperintäasiat (Overpayment and recovery) as the subject of your message.
If you cannot pay the whole amount by the due date, you can propose a payment plan to Kela.
Once you have paid off your debt, you can request a certificate stating that you have paid off your debt from Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre by sending a message in the OmaKela e-service. Select Liikamaksu- ja takaisinperintäasiat (Overpayment and recovery) as the subject of your message. You can also ask us to send the certificate directly to the credit information companies.
If your income is small, you can apply to be exempted from paying interest
If you have a low income and Kela has paid your student loan back to the bank, you can apply to be exempted from paying interest on your debt arising from the government student loan guarantee.
If you get the exemption, you do not have to pay the 4% in interest that Kela charges for the debt for the duration of the exemption. However, you still have to make payments on the principal of the debt as usual even while you are exempted from paying interest.
Kela can grant the exemption only for interest levied on a debt that Kela is recovering from you. Kela cannot grant you an exemption from repaying a loan that you owe to a bank or from paying interest charged by a bank. However, you can apply for assistance with student loan interest from Kela to help you pay back your student loan to your bank.
You can be exempted from paying interest for any period in which your average taxable income does not exceed the maximum income limit. The income limit is higher if you have children under the age of 18 or if your partner’s children, who are under the age of 18, are living with you.
As from 1 March 2024, the income limits are the following:
- no children – EUR 1,589 per month
- 1 child – EUR 1,835 per month
- 2 children – EUR 1,902 per month
- 3 children or more – EUR 2,015 per month.
The income limits are adjusted every other year in line with the increase in wages and prices.
If you know that your income will not exceed the maximum income limit, you can apply for the exemption in advance. The exemption is usually not granted in advance for more than one year at a time.
You can also apply for the exemption retrospectively for a maximum of one year. The exemption can be granted for a period that is longer than one year for a particularly compelling reason.
If you are unfit for work, you can apply to be exempted from repaying the entire debt
If you are unfit for work, Kela may grant you an exemption from repaying the entire student loan (both the principal and the interest) that Kela is recovering from you. You can get this exemption if you meet the following requirements:
- you are permanently incapable of working or you have been continuously incapable of working for at least 5 years
- your income does not exceed the income limit.
Kela can grant the exemption only for a student loan that Kela is recovering from you. Kela cannot grant you an exemption from a student loan you are paying back to a bank.
As from 1 March 2024, the income limits are the following:
- no children – EUR 1,589 per month
- 1 child – EUR 1,835 per month
- 2 children – EUR 1,902 per month
- 3 children or more – EUR 2,015 per month.
The income limits are adjusted every other year in line with the increase in wages and prices.
How to apply for the exemption from payment
- Save the application form Maksuvapautus opintolainan takaussaatavasta OG 6 (PDF, in Finnish) to your device and fill it in after saving it.
- Log in to the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish) and select Tee hakemus (File an application). Select Perinnät (Recovery matters) and then Opintolainan takaussaatava (Debt arising from the government student loan guarantee) – Hae maksuvapautusta (Apply for a payment exemption).
- Select the application form on your device and press Lähetä (Send). If you submit your application in OmaKela, you do not need to sign it.
- If you have supporting documents, send them via OmaKela after you have submitted your application. Kela gets information on your earned income and benefits paid to you from the Incomes Register.
Another option is to send the application by mail. Sign the application and mail it along with the supporting documents to Overpayment Recovery Centre, PL 31, 00056 KELA.
You can apply for the exemption also by calling Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre at 020 634 4940.
Once Kela has processed your application and issued a decision, you can view it in OmaKela. You will also get a copy of the decision by post unless you have opted out of paper mail.
What kind of support can you get for repaying your student loan to the bank?
If you are currently paying your student loan back to the bank and you have a low income, you can apply for assistance with your student loan interest (interest assistance).
We report debt arising from the government student loan guarantee to the positive credit register
Kela has a statutory obligation to report debt arising from the government student loan guarantee to the positive credit register. The positive credit register is a register managed by the Tax Administration, and it contains comprehensive data on the loans and income of private individuals. The aim of the register is to help lenders better assess loan applicants’ ability to pay.
Kela also reports any changes in the debt that occur during the recovery process to the register. In addition, Kela reports information on the termination of the recovery process. You do not have to report data to the register yourself.
Waiving the recovery of debt arising from the government student loan guarantee
In some situations, Kela may fully waive the recovery of debt arising from the government student loan guarantee. Kela will consider waiving recovery if the following criteria are met:
- the debt has been in collection for a long time without success
- all methods of recovery, including collection through an enforcement order, have been tried several times
- your financial situation has permanently worsened to the degree that the debt cannot be collected later either.
Kela can also waive recovery completely if the costs of the recovery would be unreasonably high for Kela compared to the amount of the debt arising from the government student loan guarantee.
Kela can waive recovery either at its own initiative or at your initiative. Waiver of a recovery is always decided on by Kela's Overpayment Recovery Centre.
Waiving recovery in the event of death
Kela will waive the recovery of student loan debt upon the borrower’s death. If the student loan is being recovered by Kela, Kela will be automatically notified of the borrower’s death and inform the decedent’s estate of the decision to waive recovery.
If the student loan is not being recovered by Kela, Kela will pay the loan back to the bank after Kela has been notified of the borrower’s death and then notify the decedent’s estate that Kela will waive the recovery of the student loan.
