Registering as absent

Register for each of your active study rights every academic year — either as present or absent. You do this in the Oili registration service during the registration period.

Make sure you register for all of your active study rights.

Find the registration instructions here:

Registration instructions for new students

Annual registration – enrolled students

On this page:

• What registering as absent means
• Registering as absent for a statutory reason
• Important information for first-year students
• Statutory reasons for absence and required documents
• You can change your registration from absent to present at any time during the academic year
• You can only change your registration from present to absent beforehand during the registration periods

What registering as absent means

You can register as absent if you do not plan to complete any studies at the university during that semester. You must still register during the registration period, even if you are registering as absent.

When you are registered as absent, you:

• cannot take any courses or sit any exams during that semester
• do not pay the Student Union membership fee or the healthcare fee for higher education students
• are not entitled to student benefits or the services of the Finnish Student Health Services (FSHS)
• have limited access to UEF’s electronic services — you can use Peppi (the study information system), your student email, and the library’s remote e-resources

You can find more information on the UEF account and user rights from the IT Services’ website (opens in a new tab).

How does registering as absent affect your study right duration?

You can register as absent for up to two semesters (one full academic year) without that time counting towards your study right duration.

If you register as absent for more than two semesters, the additional semesters use up the duration of your study right the same way registering as present does.

Here you can find information on the normative duration of studies.

Note: If your study right started before 1 August 2015, you can register as absent for up to four semesters without the time counting towards your study right duration.

Statutory absences may extend your study right

In addition to regular absence, the Finnish Universities Act defines specific statutory reasons for absence. If you register as absent for a statutory reason, your study right duration may be extended — even if you have already used up your regular absence semesters.

The statutory reasons for absence are:

• military service, non-military (civilian) service, or women’s voluntary military service under Finnish law
• maternity, paternity, or parental leave due to the birth or adoption of a child

Important exception: If you have been granted an extension to your study right (i.e., you are on additional time), registering as absent will not extend your study right further, but will use your study time — not even for a statutory reason.

How to register as absent for a statutory reason

1. Register as absent in the Oili registration service during the registration period.
2. Send or bring a document proving your statutory reason for absence to the Student and Learning Services’ customer service (contact information at the bottom of this page).

Deadlines for submitting your document:

• Full academic year or autumn semester only: 30 September
• Spring semester only: 31 January

If you know that you will receive your document only after the deadline, contact the Student and Learning Services by email before the deadline to let them know. This way, they will know to expect your document.

Keep in mind:

• You can register as absent for a full semester due to a statutory reason, even if the statutory reason covers only one day of that semester.
• Documents proving a statutory reason for absence can be in Finnish, Swedish, or English.
• You cannot register as absent after the registration period has ended, and your registration cannot be changed from present to absent after the deadline.
• If a statutory reason for absence arises after you have already registered as present, your registration will not be changed. However, the statutory reason may be taken into account if you later need to apply for an extension to your study right.

Here you can find information on how statutory absences affect the normative duration of studies.

Important information for first-year students

If you are a first-year student and want to register as absent, you must have a statutory reason for your absence. If you do not have a statutory reason as defined in the Universities Act, you must register as present for your first academic year.

Submit your document on time

Send or bring your document proving the statutory reason for absence to the Student and Learning Services’ customer service (contact information at the bottom of this page):

• Full academic year or autumn semester only: by 30 September
• Spring semester only (students admitted in the autumn intake): by 31 January

If you do not submit your document by the deadline, you will forfeit your study right. You can later apply to have your study right reinstated — this does not require you to go through the student admission process again.

How long can you be absent in your first year?

• If your statutory reason covers at least one day of the academic year, you may register as absent for the entire academic year.
• If the statutory reason covers only one semester, you can choose to register as absent for the full year, or register differently for each semester (e.g., present for autumn and absent for spring, or vice versa).
• However, only the semester that your statutory reason actually covers will be marked as statutory absence. For example, if your statutory reason covers only the autumn semester and you also register as absent for the spring semester, the spring absence will be recorded as regular absence, not statutory absence.

If you cannot travel to Finland to start your studies

If you do not have a statutory reason for absence but are unable to travel to Finland, you must still register as present. In this case, you complete the registration remotely by sending the following documents to the Student and Learning Services’ customer service (contact information at the bottom of this page):

• a copy of your passport
• the completed registration form
• a receipt of the Student Union membership fee payment

Statutory reasons for absence and required documents

1. Military service, non-military service, or women’s voluntary military service

This applies to service under Finnish law: the Conscription Act (1438/2007), the Non-Military Service Act (1446/2007), or the Women’s Voluntary Military Service Act (194/1995).

Required documents:

1. Before your service starts: Send or bring a copy or photo of your call-up order (Finnish call-up orders only) to the Student and Learning Services’ customer service. The document must show that the service takes place during the academic year in question.
2. After your service ends: Send or bring a copy or photo of your military passport or service certificate. Based on this, the actual dates of your statutory absence will be recorded in the student register.

2. Maternity, paternity, or parental leave due to the birth or adoption of a child

Required documents:

• A copy or photo of a decision from Kela (the Social Insurance Institution of Finland) regarding your maternity, paternity, or parental allowance period, or corresponding official documents from the authorities of another country regarding statutory parental leave.
• Paternity leave can only be verified with a Kela decision on paternity or parental allowance.
• International students: Submit a medical certificate regarding the pregnancy.

Childcare leave (hoitovapaa) beyond the statutory parental leave period is not statutory absence.

3. First-year student: illness or injury preventing the start of studies

This statutory reason applies only to first-year students.

Key difference from other statutory reasons: Registering as absent due to illness or injury gives you the right to be absent in your first year, but it does not extend your study right duration. This absence will count towards your regular absence semesters.

Required documents:

• A sickness allowance decision, or if no decision exists, a medical certificate. The medical certificate must state which illness or injury you have and confirm that it prevents you from starting your studies in your first year. A copy or photo is sufficient.
• If your absence is due to practical obstacles caused by your illness or injury (e.g., waiting for accessible housing), provide adequate documentation — for example, a certificate from the student housing foundation confirming that you are on a waiting list for an apartment required due to your injury. Your own statement alone is not sufficient. The documentation must also explain how the situation will be resolved. Since an injury is a permanent condition, you must demonstrate a temporary obstacle related to it.

Please note:

• If you register as absent on this basis, you cannot complete any studies during that period, even if you receive sickness allowance for students (which normally allows studying at approximately 40% of the regular credit load).
• Registering as absent due to illness or injury does not extend the study right. A first-year student may register as absent due to illness or injury but their study right will not be extended as is the case with the statutory reasons above. Registering as being absent due to illness or injury will use up regular periods of absence excluded from the normative duration of studies.
• This reason for absence applies only to first-year students.

Registration as absent can be changed to present at any time during the academic year

During the registration period:

• Change your registration in the Oili registration service (opens in a new tab) by paying the Student Union membership fee using your personal online banking codes.
• Tuition-fee-paying students (Bachelor’s or Master’s programmes): You may not be able to make this change in Oili. Contact the Student and Learning Services’ customer service (contact information at the bottom of this page) for assistance.

Outside the registration period:

1. Request the payment details for the Student Union membership fee from the Student and Learning Services’ customer service.
2. Pay the membership fee.
3. Send proof of payment to the Student and Learning Services’ customer service by email or in person.

You can only change your registration from present to absent beforehand during the registration periods

• Full academic year or autumn semester: 1 June – 15 September
• Spring semester: 1 November – 15 January

Contact the Student and Learning Services’ customer service to make this change — you cannot do it yourself in Oili. Changes from present to absent are not possible outside the registration periods.

Student Union membership fee refund: You can apply for a refund of the Student Union membership fee from the Student Union ISYY. Submit your refund application:

• For the full academic year or autumn semester: by the end of September
• For the spring semester: by the end of January

Find the refund application on the ISYY website (opens in a new tab).

Student and Learning Services’ contact information

If you have questions related to registering as absent, please contact the Student and Learning Services’ customer service.