Students attending a university of applied sciences who are entitled to use the services of the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) have been required since January 2021 to pay a healthcare fee to Kela for each academic term. All students who are registered as attending for the current term and are studying for a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree are entitled to FSHS services. 

If you are entitled to FSHS services, you must pay the student healthcare fee. You cannot get an exemption for example for using occupational health services instead of FSHS, or for not receiving any financial aid for students. 
You are not billed for the student healthcare fee but must make sure to pay it in OmaKela (Please note that our e-service is only available in Finnish and Swedish) for each academic term. 

How to pay the student healthcare fee

The due date for paying the student healthcare fee is determined based on the date on which you register as attending.

  • For the autumn term, the due date is 15 November provided you have registered as attending by 30 September. If you register as attending for the autumn term on or after 1 October, the due date is 31 December.
  • For the spring term, the due date is 15 March provided you have registered as attending by 31 January. If you register as attending for the spring term on or after 1 February, the due date is 31 July.

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.

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. More information by using this link.

If you have social security coverage from another EU/EEA country, Switzerland, Great Britain or Northern Ireland, you do not have to pay the healthcare fee. More information on how to proceed by using this link.

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