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A student loan compensation is a form of financial aid offered by Kela to students who have taken out a student loan.
A student loan is one way to finance your life while studying. You can agree on the repayment schedule flexibly based on your circumstances and repayment capacity after you have completed your studies. You won’t need any collateral or guarantors for a student loan because the Finnish state will guarantee the loan for 30 years.
How much is the student loan compensation?
- The student loan compensation may amount up to thousands of euros, depending on how large your student loan is. At best, you may get significant relief on your loan repayments after you graduate. Check with Kela's calculator (in Finnish)Opens new window how much compansation you could get.
- If you qualify for the student loan compensation, Kela will usually pay the compensation directly to your bank as an extra repayment towards your student loan.
Who is eligible for the student loan compensation?
You are eligible for the student loan compensation if:
- you have started your first course of study at a university on or after 1 August 2014
- you complete your degree within the target time and
- you have an outstanding state-guaranteed student loan totalling more than 2,500 euros.
To qualify for the student loan compensation, you must complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree at a university or a university of applied sciences. You can only get compensation for the first degree you complete.
The applicable target time depends on the degree you are pursuing and its extent. In most cases, the target time is calculated by adding a maximum of one academic year to the standard time determined for completing the degree. If you can’t complete the degree within the target time, the target time may be extended if your studies have been prolonged for an acceptable reason (such as a military service, having a child, being ill etc.).
There is a maximum limit to the amount of the student loan compensation you can get, and it is determined based on the extent of the university degree you are pursuing. If you complete your degree abroad, the maximum loan amount counted towards the compensation is higher.
Getting the student loan compensation is easy: you don’t usually even need to apply for it separately, as Kela will make the decision automatically after you have completed your degree. Further information on exceptions and on how to apply for the compensation then is available from KelaOpens new window.
Visit Kela’s website to find many practical examples and a calculator for estimating the amount of the compensation you might qualify for. If you can’t find an answer to your question, you can contact Kela directly.
