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Basic social assistance vouchers

A voucher is a document in which Kela promises to pay all or part of the cost of a product or service for you. The recipient of the voucher (e.g. a pharmacy or a grocery store) sends an invoice to Kela.

You or your family member can be granted a voucher. It is mailed to you along with the decision granting the voucher. Vouchers issued for the purchase of medication are transmitted electronically to the pharmacy.

The period of validity is shown on the voucher.

Vouchers may be granted for the following expenses:

  • food
    • included in the basic amount, reduces the amount of basic social assistance paid into your bank account.
  • medication
  • eyeglasses
  • travel costs
    • costs incurred by a non-custodial parent for seeing a child
    • travel costs arising from the use of public-sector medical services
    • any domestic travel costs related to obtaining personal documents
  • necessary ID, residence or travel documents
    • passport, identity card or comparable documents
  • heating costs (e.g. oil and firewood)
  • moving costs
  • rental security deposit
  • security deposit for the electric company
  • home insurance

How to use a voucher

The voucher is usually delivered to your home address by post.  You can use it to pay for purchases of goods or services. Prove your identity when you use a voucher. You get no money back when using a voucher.

If Kela considers your application to be urgent, it will be processed on the day on which the application arrived or on the following working day. In such situations, Kela will contact you by phone to agree on how the voucher will be delivered to you. In urgent situations, you can agree that the voucher can be picked up from one of Kela's customer service points during office hours (8:00–16:00) even if the customer service point is not open for customers at that time.

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Last modified 22/4/2021