Student loan compensation
If you take out a student loan while in higher education and you complete your degree within the target time, you may be eligible for a student loan compensation. It means that Kela pays back part of your student loan. The compensation is only available to higher education students who began their first course of study in higher education on or after 1 August 2014.
Use this calculator to estimate whether you qualify for a student loan compensation, what is the target time for completing your degree, and how large the compensation would be.
Eligibility for the student loan compensation
You are eligible for the student loan compensation if
- you began your first course of higher education study on or after 1 August 2014 (i.e., your first year of attendance was 2014–2015 or later),
- you complete your degree within the target time and
- you have outstanding government-guaranteed student loan student debt totalling more than 2,500 euros.
Degrees which qualify you for a student loan compensation are:
- bachelor's or master's level university degree
- degree from a university of applied sciences
However, you get the compensation only for the first higher education degree you complete in Finland or abroad. However, if you earn a bachelor's degree in a university, you can decide for yourself whether to apply for the compensation or whether to defer it until you have completed a master's degree.
You can be granted student loan compensation for a master's level degree attained at a university of applied sciences , but only if it is the first higher education degree that you attain.
You can get the compensation for the first degree you completed even if it is not the first one you started.
Example
A student is accepted to a university of applied sciences. This is the first time she qualifies for higher education, and the study programme begins in the autumn of 2018. In autumn 2019 she is accepted to a traditional university. She discontinues her studies in the university of applied sciences and enrols in university. She is eligible for a student loan compensation for a 300-credit university degree, if she graduates in six years (i.e., by 31 July 2024). This is calculated from the beginning of the term in which the student gains her first right to study.
Most graduates receive a written decision on the student loan compensation automatically.
However, if you want to get the compensation for a bachelor's degree earned in a university, you must apply for it within two years of completing the degree.
If you earn a university degree outside Finland, you should tell Kela about it within two years.
You must complete your degree within a target time
To qualify for the student loan compensation, you must complete your degree within a specified target time. The target time depends on the degree you are completing.
Kela considers your period of study to begin at the beginning of the term when you are first accepted to any higher education institution. The studies are considered to have started
- on 1 January if you are first admitted to to a programme that begins in the spring term (1 January-31 July)
- on 1 August if you are first admitted to a programme that begins in the autumn term (1 August-31 December).
The period of study ends on the last day of the term in which you complete a degree. The studies are considered to have ended
- on 31 July if you graduate in the spring term (1 January-31 July)
- on 31 December if you graduate in the autumn term (1 August-31 December).
The period of study also includes terms in which you register as non-attending or interrupt your studies.
If you accepted a place of study before 1 August 2014, but did not register as attending until or after 1 August 2014, your period of study is considered to begin on 1 August 2014.
| Extent of the degree programme | Target time |
|---|---|
| 300 credits | 6 academic years |
| 330 credits | 6.5 academic years |
| 360 credits | 7 academic years |
If you complete a master's level university degree exclusively, the target time depends on the combined extent of the bachelor's and master's programmes.
| Extent of the degree programme | Target time |
|---|---|
| 180 credits | 3.5 academic years |
| 210 credits | 4 academic years |
| 240 credits | 4.5 academic years |
| 270 credits | 5 academic years |
Extension of the target time
If you do not complete a degree within the target time, you may still be eligible for a student loan compensation if there is an acceptable reason for your failing to meet academic progress requirements. Such acceptable reasons are
- performing conscript, alternative or voluntary military service for at least one month during 30 day student for a student loan compensation
- providing care for a child, but only if you have received maternity, paternity or parental allowance for at least one month 30 day time qualifying you for a student loan compensation. Receiving child home care allowance payments is not an acceptable reason.
- a period of illness, but only if you have received sickness allowance, infectious disease allowance or rehabilitation subsidy, pension or compensation on account of full incapacity for work for at least one month 30 day time qualifying you for a student loan compensation.
- procedures for awarding diplomas at a foreign higher education institution or start and end dates for the terms that differ from those in Finland
- delays in the studies due to the coronavirus epidemic.
A period of service or payment of an allowance lasting at least 30 days during a single academic term extends the target time by 0.5 academic years. Term dates are 1 January - 31 July and 1 August - 31 December. The target time cannot be extended by more than 0.5 academic years even if you have had several acceptable reasons during a single term.
If the period of service or payment of an allowance lasts at least 30 days, but not within any individual term, the target time can still be extended by 0.5 academic years.
Due to child care, the target time can be extended without any limitations, but only for the time you have received maternity, paternity or parental allowance. For any other benefits or periods of service, the target time can usually be extended by a maximum of two academic years.
The target time to qualify for a student loan compensation can also be extended if your total degree completion time in a foreign institute of higher education was not more than three months too long because of one of the following reasons:
- a delay in awarding the diploma due to something beyond your control, or
- the fact that the term start and end dates differ from those applied in Finnish institutes of higher education.
Provide information about your actual time of study, the reasons for the delay in the granting of the diploma and the start and end dates of the term. Provide the information in a request for review or an application for the student loan compensation (OT 30e).
Did the coronavirus epidemic delay your graduation?
If your graduation was delayed because of the coronavirus epidemic, it is possible to extend the target time to qualify for a student loan compensation.
If you did not graduate within the target time to qualify for student loan compensation, you will receive a negative decision proposal from Kela. If your graduation was delayed because of the coronavirus epidemic, submit a request to Kela to review the decision. In the request, explain how the coronavirus epidemic affected the completion of the study units required for the degree and thus delayed your studies. State in the request
- what studies were affected by the delay and
- how the coronavirus epidemic delayed your studies.
You can write the request in your own words. You do not need to enclose any certificates with your request. The reasons for a delay in your studies may for have to do with the study arrangements, with travel restrictions or other government recommendations, or with you or your family member's health or general life situation.
The target time can be extended by up to 0.5 or 1 academic year because of the coronavirus epidemic:
- If you completed a higher education degree in the autumn term of 2020 (1 August 2020 to 31 December 2020), and your graduation was delayed because of the epidemic, you can get an extension of 0.5 academic years to your target time to qualify for the compensation.
- If you completed or will complete a higher education degree in or after 2021, and your graduation was delayed because of the epidemic, you can get an extension of 1 academic years to your target time to qualify for the student loan compensation.
If you wish to receive a student loan compensation on the basis of a bachelor’s level university degree that you completed, you will not receive decision automatically; instead you will have to apply for it. File your application for student loan compensation within 2 years of graduating. In such a case, state in your application for a student loan compensation (form OT 30e) that your studies were delayed due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Did you postpone the start of your studies due to the coronavirus epidemic?
If you have had to start your first period of higher education study late because of the epidemic, that too may qualify you for an extension of the target time. Kela considers you to have started your studies as follows:
- If you attend a Finnish institution of higher education and you have in preceding terms registered as non-attending due to the coronavirus epidemic, the period of study is considered to begin on the first day of the term in which you register as attending.
- If you study in a foreign higher education institution and you postponed the start of your studies due to the coronavirus epidemic, your studies are considered to begin on the first day of the term during which you actually started your studies.
If you do not graduate within the target time to qualify for student loan compensation, you will receive a negative decision proposal from Kela. Request a review of the decision proposal, if you postponed the start of your studies due to the coronavirus epidemic. Indicate in the request for review the government order related to the coronavirus epidemic or another weighty reason related to the epidemic that led you to register as non-attending. If you studied at a foreign higher education institution, also indicate in your request for review when you in fact started studying.
If you wish to receive a student loan compensation on the basis of a bachelor’s level university degree that you completed, you will not receive decision automatically; instead you will have to apply for it. File your application for student loan compensation within 2 years of graduating. In such a case, state in your application for a student loan compensation (form OT 30e) that you postponed the start of your studies due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Requesting a review
If you exceed the target time, you will receive a preliminary decision Kela telling you that you are not granted a student loan compensation. If you have an acceptable reason for taking longer than the target time, you can ask Kela to review your case again. You must ask for a review within 30 days of the date on which you received the proposed decision. Detailed instructions are provided in the proposed decision and the document enclosed with it.
The request for a review must be made in writing, but there are no other formal requirements. You can make the request by sending a message in the OmaKela e-service. Alternatively, you can mail the request and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
Do as follows:
- File a request for a review in the OmaKela e-service. Log in using your online bank credentials or a mobile ID.
- Go to Viestit (Messages). Under Aihe (Topic), select Opiskelijan asiat (Student matters) and then Opintotuki (Student financial aid). By selecting the topic accurately, you can help to speed up the processing of your case. You should not, for example, select ‘Liikamaksut ja perintäasiat’ (Overpayment and recovery) or ‘Muu asia’ (Other) as the topic of your message. Also do not select ‘Muutoksenhaku- tai valitusasia’ (Appeal or complaint).
- Scan or take a photo of any supporting documents and send them in the OmaKela e-service. You do not have to send documentation about benefits you may have received from Kela.
Kela will process your request for a review and give you a new decision. The new decision can be appealed to the Student Financial Aid Review Board.