Study at Cardiff

The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (KELA) - Residents of Finland Only. (Potential Funding Opportunity)

Reference Number: P234

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Key Award Information

Student financial aid is intended to provide an income to financially needy students whose parents are not under obligation to finance their studies and who are not eligible for aid under some other provisions. In order to qualify for student financial aid, you must be a full-time student, make satisfactory academic progress, and be in need of financial assistance. The amount of the aid depends on the type of school, age and marital status of the student, and the mode of accommodation. The student’s overall financial situation is also taken into account.

Your maximum eligibility period for financial aid is determined by reference to how long obtaining a degree in your line of study is normally considered to take. For each year of study (consisting of 60 credits), you are entitled to 9 months of aid, and for each term of study, to 5 months of aid. The maximum period of eligibility is equal to the number of years the degree is normally considered to take plus 10 months of aid.

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Funding

Study grant (usually €259/month), housing supplement (usually €201/month) and the government guarantee for student loans (€440/month for higher education studies) are available to successful candidates. For studies in an institute of higher education, financial aid is available for up to 70 months.

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Eligibility

Residency: 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. Appli­cants must have been resi­dent in Finland for at least two years within the five years preceding the course of study (in other words, they do not qualify if they have lived abroad for more than three years before beginning their studies). Further requirements which apply to citizens of EU/EEA countries and Switzerland are that they are work­ing in Finland and the intended course of study is closely linked to their job or that they are unwillingly unemployed.

Academic Criteria: Finnish citizens, who attend higher education and temporarily reside outside Finland, can apply for financial aid from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. Applicants must have been resident in Finland for at least two years within the five years preceding the course of study (in other words, they do not qualify if they have lived abroad for more than three years before beginning their studies).

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How to Apply

Application Form: Available from Kela offices (address below), Kela´s website, and educational institutions. Most new students get a pre-completed application form. If successful, the candidate will receive the grant from the beginning of the month in which grant/loan was applied.

Application Deadline: No specified closing date for application.

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Additional information

For further information please contact:

The Kela Centre for Student Financial Aid:
PL 228
40101
Jyväskylä

Telephone enquiries (In Finnish): 020 634 0110
Web: www.kela.fi.

Available to applicants from: