Healthcare fee for students in higher education

The Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) provides student health services for higher education students in Finland. Information about student health services is available on the website of the FSHS (yths.fi).

The primary service point for student health services is usually in the town or city where you study. You can apply to Kela for reimbursement for travel costs for trips that you have made to an FSHS service point. The digital e-services and remote services of the FSHS (yths.fi) are available to all students regardless of where in Finland they use the services.

The FSHS also promotes the health and the ability to study of the students as well as the wellbeing of the whole student community. All students benefit from this work. Read more about the student community work of the FSHS (yths.fi).

You do not have to pay the student healthcare fee if

• you have registered as non-attending for the term
• you have come as an exchange student to Finland and you are not completing a degree in a Finnish higher education institution
• you study in an open university of applied sciences or an open university
• you study in Högskolan på Åland
• you study for a postgraduate degree (for instance a licentiate or a doctor's degree)
• you study to become an officer in the National Defence University
• you complete non-degree oriented studies in a higher education institution (for instance further training or specialisation studies or a separate study module)
• you attend a tailor-made education programme
• you complete a second-cycle degree in the Police University College.

In these cases, you are also not entitled to use the services of the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS).

You also do not have to pay the healthcare fee if you have social security coverage in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the EU. In this case, you can use the services of the FSHS even if you do not pay the healthcare fee.

If you cannot use the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish) for instance because you do not have Finnish online banking credentials, you can pay the fee as a bank transfer.

1. Use the following payment details:

   • bank account number (IBAN): FI06 5000 0120 4657 77
   • recipient: Kansaneläkelaitos
   • amount: EUR 35.35 (per term)
   • BIC code: OKOYFIHH
   • If you pay the fee from a foreign bank account, you may need the name and address of the bank: OP Corporate Bank plc, Gebhardinaukio 1, 00510 Helsinki, Finland
2. Write the following in the message field:

   • your given name and family name
   • your Finnish personal identity code or your date of birth
   • full or abbreviated name of the educational institution (e.g. TAMK)
   • the term for which the fee is paid (for instance autumn term 2026)
   • text “OTH”.

If there is not enough space in the message field for all these details, state at least your given name and family name as well as your Finnish personal identity code or date of birth.

If you have social security coverage in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the EU, read more about these situations.

If you have any questions, please contact Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre.

The healthcare fee is payable per student, so it is enough that you pay the fee once per term. Thus you do not have to pay the fee several times even if you study in several institutions of higher education at the same time.

If you have social security coverage in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland, you do not have to pay the healthcare fee. However, you can use the services of the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) if you are completing a degree in Finland. 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.

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.

If you come to Finland as a student from another EU or EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland, do as follows:

1. Take a picture of your valid EHIC or GHIC card.
2. Send the picture to Kela well in advance of the due date for payment of the fee. You can send the picture in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish) under Lähetä liite (Send supporting documents). Select Opiskelu (Studying) – Muu liite (Other supporting document) – Korkeakouluopiskelijan terveydenhoitomaksu (Healthcare fee for students in higher education).
3. Attach your supporting document and press Lähetä (Send).

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 e-mail 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 Kela, Perintäkeskus, PL 31, 00056 KELA.

If you are enrolled in a degree programme in a Finnish higher education institution and have registered as attending, you must pay the healthcare fee. You must pay the fee even if you are studying in remote format and are not based in Finland. Read the instructions for paying the fee.

You must pay the fee even if you have taken out private health insurance for your residence permit for instance from Swisscare. If you have a private health insurance taken out for the purposes of obtaining a residence permit, that does not mean that you have social security coverage in the EU.

If you have any questions, please contact Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre.

If you come to Finland as an exchange student, i.e. you are not completing a degree in a Finnish institution of higher education, you do not have to pay the healthcare fee. You are then also not entitled to use the services of the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS). Typically, students who are EU nationals can visit the municipal health centre, while students from outside the EU should have private medical insurance that allows them to see a private healthcare provider.

You do not have to pay the healthcare fee if you are studying for a degree in a foreign higher education institution. You are also not entitled to use the services of the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS).

If you are enrolled in a degree programme in a Finnish higher education institution and have registered as attending, you must pay the healthcare fee. You must pay the fee even if you study for instance in remote format from abroad and you do not use the student health services.

If you go abroad as an exchange student and you have registered as attending at a Finnish institution of higher education, you must pay the healthcare fee. Check with your school whether you must register as attending at the Finnish institution of higher education while you are on student exchange.

You cannot use the services of the FSHS while you are abroad. However, you can use the services when you are visiting Finland.

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

If you are completing an international double degree, you are enrolled in a degree programme in a Finnish higher education institution and have registered as attending, you must pay the healthcare fee.

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

If you have registered as attending but you discontinue your studies or give up your right to pursue studies during the term, you must pay the healthcare fee. You can use the services of the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) until the end of the term.

If you discontinue your studies or give up your right to pursue studies before the start of the term, you are not liable to pay the healthcare fee.

If you graduate in the middle of the academic term, you can use the services offered by the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) until the end of the term. You must pay the healthcare fee for the whole term, so you cannot pay the fee only in part.

You do not have to pay the healthcare fee after you have graduated. Pay the healthcare fee up until the academic term in which you are issued your degree certificate. If you for instance graduate in the autumn term, you do not have to pay the healthcare fee for the spring term. You are then not entitled to use the services of the FSHS in the spring term. The FSHS will check whether you have the right to use the student health services.

If you have a decision on vocational rehabilitation from Kela for your studies, you must first pay the healthcare fee yourself. You can then claim reimbursement for the healthcare fee as a rehabilitation expense.

Kela will reimburse you for the healthcare fee as a necessary rehabilitation expense related to your studies. Claim reimbursement by sending a message in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish)​​​​​. If you cannot use OmaKela, you can claim reimbursement by calling Kela’s customer service number.

If you get social assistance, the healthcare fee can be counted as an expense for purposes of basic social assistance. Learn more about basic social assistance awarded for healthcare costs.

1. Request a payment outstanding notice by sending a message in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish). If you cannot use OmaKela, you can send the request by mail to Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre at the address Kela, Perintäkeskus, PL 31, 00056 KELA or make the request by calling Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre.
2. The message can be written free of form. State your name and contact details in the message and tell us

   • which academic term your request concerns
   • in which educational institution you study
   • which degree you are completing
   • when you have registered as attending or non-attending for the term that the request concerns.
     
     Also state in the request if you have social security coverage in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the EU. In that case, send a copy of your valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC).
3. Pay the healthcare fee by the due date even if you are requesting a payment outstanding notice. We will pay the fee back to you if you are not liable to pay the fee for the term in question.

If you disagree with the payment outstanding notice, you can appeal against it by filing a rectification request.

You can appeal against the payment outstanding notice by filing a rectification request with Kela. File the rectification request within 37 days of the date of mailing of the payment outstanding notice. The day the notice was sent is shown on the notice.

How to appeal against the payment outstanding notice

1. Appeal against the payment outstanding notice in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish) ​​​​​​under Muutoksenhaku (Appeal). If you cannot use OmaKela, send the rectification request by mail to the address Kela, Perintäkeskus, PL 31, 00056 KELA. You can also submit the rectification request to any Kela customer service point.
2. State your name, personal identity code, address and telephone number in the rectification request. Also provide the following information:

   • the decision you are appealing
   • how you want the decision to be changed
   • why you want the decision to be changed.

Someone else can file the rectification request on your behalf if you have issued a power of attorney concerning this. The power of attorney must be enclosed with the rectification request.

You will receive a decision on the rectification request from Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre.

If you think the decision by Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre on your rectification request is wrong, you can appeal the decision to the Administrative Court in your region. File the appeal in writing within 37 days of the date of mailing of the decision from the Overpayment Recovery Centre on your rectification request. The day the decision was sent is shown on the decision.

How to draw up an appeal

1. Send the appeal document and the supporting documents to the Administrative Court for the region where your municipality of residence is located (tuomioistuimet.fi). If you do not have a municipality of residence in Finland, you should send the documents to the Helsinki Administrative Court.
2. When the Administrative Court has decided the case, you will receive a decision. If you think the decision is wrong, you can request a leave to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court.

You can also use the e-service of the Administrative Courts and the special courts. Go to the e-service (oikeus.fi).

You may appeal decisions of the Administrative Court to the Supreme Administrative Court if the Court gives you leave to appeal. Instructions on how to request leave to appeal are provided by the regional Administrative Court that made the decision and by the Supreme Administrative Court (kho.fi).