Don't forget: The deadline for spring term's Kela healthcare fee is March 15

Undergraduate and graduate degree students who have registered as attending must pay a healthcare fee to Kela (The Social Security Institution of Finland) each term. The fee covers all services offered by the Finnish Student Healthcare Services (FSHS).

If you are a doctoral student or at the University of Helsinki as an exchange student, you are not entitled to use the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS). This also means that you do not have to pay the Kela healthcare fee.

The due date for the spring term fee is 15 March 2024. Please pay the fee at your own initiative before the deadline. Kela does not send you a bill for the fee.

The fee is paid once per term. When you pay the fee for the spring term, you can, at your own discretion, also pay the fee for the next autumn term in advance. In the autumn term, you cannot pay the fee in advance for the next spring term, because Kela decides on the sum of the fee annually and it can thus vary a bit from one calendar year to the next.

Please note that several exceptions apply to international students. Visit the Kela website for more information on how to pay the fee and the conditions that apply. If you have questions on the fee, please start by contacting Kela's own customer service.

Photo: Linda Tammisto (University of Helsinki)

(This bulletin was first published on January 4, 2024.)