Healthcare fee for students in higher education

The purpose of the FSHS (Finnish Student Health Service) is to provide student health services, as stipulated in the Health Care Act, for those studying for a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree at a university or other institution of higher education.

What is FSHS? 

Students attending a traditional university or a university of applied sciences must pay a healthcare fee to Kela. The fee must be paid for each term. Kela does not send a bill for the fee, so students must make sure to pay it on their own initiative. The obligation to pay the healthcare fee for students in higher education only depends on the degree/qualification pursued, registration as attending, and the country in which you have social security coverage. No other factors are relevant. 

You must pay the fee even if you do not receive student financial aid or if you use occupational or other health services instead of the FSHS.

You do not have to pay the healthcare fee if:

• you have registered as non-attending for the term
• you have come as an exchange student to Finland from another country and you are not completing a degree or qualification at a Finnish higher education institution
• you study at an open university of applied sciences
• you study at an open university
• you study at Högskolan på Åland
• you study for a postgraduate degree (for instance licentiate or doctor’s degree)
• you study to become an officer at the National Defence University
• you complete non-degree oriented studies at a higher education institution (for instance continuing education or specialisation studies or a separate study module)
• you participate in a tailor-made, customer-specific training programme
• you complete a master’s level degree at the Police University College
• you have social security coverage from another EU/EEA country, Switzerland or Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The fee is paid to Kela for both the spring and the autumn term. You are not billed for the fee, but are expected to pay it unprompted. The amount that must be paid is defined in a Government Decree and may vary from year to year.

In 2023, the student healthcare fee in higher education is EUR 36.80 per term.

• You can pay the fee even if you have not yet registered as attending.
• If you have been granted access to education in the form of vocational rehabilitation provided by Kela, you can be granted reimbursement for the healthcare fee for students in higher education as a necessary educational expense. 

For the autumn term, the due date is 30 September provided that you have registered as attending by then. If you register as attending for the autumn term on or after 1 October, the due date is 31 December.

• If you do not pay the healthcare fee by the due date, Kela will send you a reminder. If you pay the fee after the due date, Kela will charge a fixed late-payment fee of EUR 5. If you still do not pay the healthcare fee after having received a reminder, Kela can withhold the fee and the late-payment fee from your study grant payments without first consulting you. If the fee cannot be withheld from the study grant payments, the healthcare fee will be referred to the enforcement authority for collection.

More information how to pay the fee

How should I proceed if I have social security coverage in another EU/EEA country or in Switzerland or in Great Britain and Northern Ireland?

If you have social security coverage in another EU/EEA country or in Switzerland or in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, you do not have to pay the healthcare fee. Read more why are students who have social security coverage from another EU/EEA country or from Switzerland or from Great Britain and Northern Ireland exempt from paying the student healthcare fee?

If you cannot use the e-service for instance because you do not have Finnish online banking credentials, please pay the fee to Kela as a bank transfer.

Do this:

Send Kela a copy of your valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). If you have social security coverage in Great Britain or Northern Ireland, you can send a copy of your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC). Send it well in advance of the due date for the fee, or contact Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre (About Kela section).

Despite not paying the fee, you can use the FSHS’s services. When you visit FSHS, be prepared to show your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or your Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC).