Cost of Living

Every student who is applying for student residence permit before arrival must show to the Immigration Services that his or her income is secured either with a scholarship, a grant or other funds with which the student can support him- or herself during the academic year. Students must be able to prove that they have at their disposal at least EUR 500 a month or EUR 6000 for a year.  An income requirement for student’s adult family member is EUR 630 per month or EUR 7 560 for a year and student’s underage family member EUR 450 per month or EUR 5 400 for a year. All students should note that they need to also have a comprehensive health insurance. For more information on the student residence permit, please visit our Permit pages.

All students have to be able to cover their own living expenses while living in Finland. The living expenses usually cover monthly rent, food, transportation, clothing etc. With the Student Union membership, students receive discounts on e.g. university restaurant meals and domestic travel.

Meals

Being a member of Student Union, your student ID-card entitles you to inexpensive meals at the student cafeterias. The cost is around EUR 2.60 (for vegetarian meals, it is slightly less). If you have not yet received your student ID-card, you can get the discount by presenting a note issued by the Student Union office, once you have paid the membership fee. Please notice that the student discount only applies to full meals.

Examples of everyday Costs

All of the prices are approximate and may vary largely depending on location, brand and global prices (of coffee/gas/etc).

* All of the apartment buildings usually have a shared laundry room. The apartments offered by student housing foundation have a fixed internet-connection that is included to price, as is electricity.

Is a student allowed to work while studying?

Students are permitted to do a limited amount of paid work under a residence permit issued for studies if the work in question is practical training included in the studies or final project work. Part-time employment is also possible, if the working time comes to an average of 25 hours per week at most. There are no limitations on working hours in full-time employment during holidays, specifically the summer and Christmas holidays.

Earnings from part-time work during term-time may be included in the amount of disposable funds required for a residence permit at the discretion of the authorities. This is not, however, possible in the case of a first residence permit. All students should note that gaining employment in Finland is not easy.