Funding your studies abroad

General information about the costs of studying abroad

The tuition fees of the host university are waived for the outgoing exchange students who go on exchange via the exchange programmes or bilateral agreements of University of Eastern Finland. However, the outgoing exchange students should be prepared for other costs (study materials, membership fees, other administrative fees set by the host university etc.)

In most student exchange programmes and the majority of bilateral host universities, the students are required to cover their own accommodation and living costs during the exchange. Students are also required to cover their own travel expenses (and travel arrangements) as well as insurance costs.

In the ISEP Exchange programme, the student will pay an ISEP fee to University of Eastern Finland and the fee covers the accommodation and meal plan of an incoming ISEP student at UEF. Correspondingly, this incoming ISEP student pays the ISEP fee to their home university and this is used to cover the accommodation and living costs of the UEF student going on ISEP exchange. The ISEP fee is not a tuition fee or administrative fee, but instead, it is used to cover some of the costs of the student exchange in advance. This may be more affordable than paying the costs of living at the host country.

Students must secure funding for their student exchange beforehand, because obtaining funding in the host country can be difficult, even impossible. Some countries want to confirm in advance the student’s ability to support themselves and require documentation on the sufficient funds with the student visa application. The student may use UEF Certificate, Kela’s financial aid certificate in English, and the bank statement of the student or a family member to demonstrate the sufficiency of the funds.

KELA financial aid for students

Financial aid from Kela can be granted for student exchange if the exchange studies are equivalent to Finnish studies eligible for financial aid or are included in a Finnish degree.

Outgoing exchange students may receive the normal study grant from Kela for the exchange period. The housing supplement is normally a fixed amount, but can be smaller for some countries with lower level of rent. An increased student loan can be obtained for exchange studies.

The progress of studies (a minimum of 5 credits/month of financial aid on average) is a general requirement for granting financial aid. After the student exchange, the student should make sure that the studies completed abroad are recorded for the time of the exchange period, i.e. the studies should be recorded for the academic year in which they were actually completed. The student exchange must fit within the maximum period of financial aid which cannot be extended due to exchange studies.

Financial aid for studies abroad is applied for with a Notification of changes form (OTm) stating the types of aid applied for. The notification can be filed through Kela’s online customer service. Additional information is available on Kela’s website (the link opens up to a new window).

Mobility grant

All the students who go on exchange via the exchange programmes or bilateral agreements of University of Eastern Finland receive a mobility grant. The purpose of the mobility grant is to help subsidise the extra expenses caused by the student exchange (e.g. travel costs). The mobility grant is not intended to cover the normal costs of living in the host country. UEF does not have fully funded exchange programmes.

Before the grant can be paid, the student needs to submit to UEF International Mobility Services 1) a mobility grant form and 2) a copy of the acceptance letter/email sent by the host university. The grant can only be paid after the student has been accepted by the host university and no earlier than one month before the beginning of the exchange period. You should allow approximately 4 weeks for the processing of the mobility grant form. Payments can be delayed in the holiday seasons.

The precise sums of the mobility grants vary by year, destination, and exchange programme. For the academic year 2024-2025, the grants are:

• Erasmus+: 490-540 € / month
• Nordplus/Nordlys: 540 €/ month
• YUFE (Erasmus+ funding): 490-540 € / month
• Bilateral: 1200-1800 € / one semester, 1700-2300 € / full academic year
• ISEP: 1200-1800 € / one semester
• north2north: 1500 € / one semester (Nordics), 2000 € / one semester (North America)

Please see the exchange programme sites on Kamu for more details on grants.

In addition to the UEF mobility grant, you should find out whether funding could be arranged from elsewhere. You may look for possibilities offered by various associations, foundations, funds, cities, municipalities, friendship societies etc. More information is available at the following sites, the links of which open up to a new windows: National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL) (new tab) and the Aurora database of the Council of Finnish Foundations (new tab). The websites of the Finnish National Agency for Education (new tab) and Fulbright Center (new tab) also contain information on mobility grants.

Additional support for students with fewer opportunities

If the outgoing exchange students or trainees have fewer opportunities on participating in mobility, they may be eligible for additional support for the exchange in addition to the mobility grant. Additional support can be granted to students who belong to the groups mentioned below. The grant sums vary with the exchange programme. Eligibility for the additional support can be proven with the declaration on honour signed by the student and the sending organisation. For more information on the additional support, please contact UEF International Mobility Services.

Social obstacles:

• Students with families (student has an underaged child or children). The additional support can be granted to the student regardless of whether the children accompany the student on the exchange or not.
• Students who are family carers (student has an agreement of informal care with the municipality)

Disabilities:

• Students with EU’s disability card or who have a right for the card
• Disabled students (at least moderate functional deficiency)

Health obstacles:

• Students having severe and/or chronic health problems (at least moderate functional deficiency)

Migrant background:

• Students who have received international protection (refugees, asylum seekers, students who have been granted international, subsidiary or temporary protection, or the student has a refugee’s passport)

Inclusion support

If the outgoing exchange student has a disability, illness, learning difficulty, or other special need, they may be able to get inclusion support for the exchange period. Inclusion support can be issued to the student if the disability/illness/learning difficulty/other special need causes extra expenses during the exchange – e.g. accessible housing or mobility, or special arrangements for studying, such as study materials. Inclusion support can be applied even if the student also applies the additional support for students with fewer opportunities. For more information on the inclusion support, please contact UEF International Mobility Services.

Travel support and green travel support (Erasmus+)

In Erasmus+ funded mobilities, the student is entitled to travel support and two grant-funded travel days. In the Erasmus+ program, you can also apply for green travel support if most of the travelled journeys to and from the host organisation or at least one way of the round trip is traveled with low-emission (bus, train, carpool). It should be noted that a ship/ferry is not considered as a form of green travel. When traveling green, the student is entitled to increased travel support and up to six grant-funded travel days. The amounts for travel support and increased travel support are presented in the table below. The travel distance is calculated as the crow flies between UEF’s home campus and the host university.