29 / 79
28
3.6 Governmental Aid for Studies
There are two main criteria that need to be
fulfilled in order to be eligible for Finnish
governmental aid for studies:
•
The residence in Finland needs to be
permanent
•
The reason for the residence in Finland
needs to be
some other than studies
Additional eligibility criteria depend on the
applicant’s nationality:
Citizens of a Nordic Country
The governmental study aid will be granted
from the student’s home country. In order to be
eligible for Finnish governmental study aid, the
Nordic citizen has to reside in Finland for some
other reason than studying and the person’s
municipality of residence needs to be registered
to Finland.
Citizens of the EU/EEA -countries
Generally, Finnish governmental study aid is
not granted to citizens of the EU/EEA countries.
However, if they originally have come to Finland
to work, they are entitled to governmental study
aid under certain conditions. The same applies
to their family members.
Citizens of Non-EU/EEA Countries
Finnish governmental study aid may be granted
to citizens of non-EU/EEA countries if the person
has a permanent residence permit (code P),
a continuous (A) residence permit, or a P-EY
permit (for non-EU/EEA citizens who have lived
in Finland for a longer period). A person with a
residence permit for students (B) is not eligible
for Finnish governmental study aid.
When you apply for governmental study aid,
remember to fill in and enclose the “Appendix
for foreign residents”-form with the application
form. For more information about Finnish
governmental study aid, and to get the
application forms, please contact the local Kela/
Fpa office and visit the website
www.kela.fi. See
also chapter 3.3 for more information about
Kela/Fpa.
Please note that if you are eligible for Finnish
governmental study aid you should be aware
of the different conditions concerning working
alongside your studies and taxation of the grants
received.