Exemption from tuition fees

Please note that the information on this page is for students studying at Aalto University. Information on scholarships and tuition fees for applicants can be found here.

Exempting documents

Certain residence permit types issued for residence in Finland exempt from tuition fee liability.
Tuition fees do not concern those non-EU/EEA students who have:

• a permanent residence permit card in Finland, type P permit
• a continuous residence permit card in Finland, type A permit, issued on other grounds than studying. 
  If you have a continuous residence permit card in Finland (type A) issued for studies, you are liable to pay tuition fees.
• an EU residence permit for third-country citizens with long-term residence permit card in Finland (type P-EU permit)
• an EU family member's residence card in Finland. You must hold the residence permit yourself, i.e. being a family member of a person who has a residence permit in an EU country does not grant you a tuition fee exemption.
• an EU blue card in Finland
• a Brexit residence permit card, type SEU-sopimuksen 50 artikla = Right of residence under the withdrawal agreement, or P SEU-sopimuksen 50 artikla = Right of permanent residence under the withdrawal agreement 

Please note that if you have a continuous residence permit card in Finland (type A) issued for studies, you are liable to pay tuition fees.

More information about determining your liability to pay tuition fees can be found on Studyinfo. Information about the residence permits is available on the Finnish Immigration Service website.

Informing the student services of tuition fee exemptions

To prove your citizenship, you are required to provide a valid passport or national ID card where your citizenship is indicated. To prove your residency status, you are required to provide a copy of valid residence permit or proof of right of residence in Finland.

You must present the new residence permit card or other exempting document to the student services as proof before the end of the enrolment period in order for the exemption to be valid from the beginning of the academic year / term. Enrolment periods can be found here. Changes in tuition fee liability made in the middle of term will be effective, as a rule, from the beginning of the following term.

If your residence permit type changes or you are granted a new residence permit card that extends the current exemption period, please send a message to [email protected].

Validity of tuition fee exemptions

The status of the exemption will be checked annually before the enrolment period begins. 

In order to be exempted for the whole academic year, your residence permit or right of residence has to be valid at the start of that academic year (i.e. 1 August). In order to be exempted for the spring term, in case the exemption starts in the middle of the academic year, your residence permit or right of residence has to be valid at the start of the spring term (i.e. 1 January). You must present the new residence permit card or other exempting document to the student services as proof before the end of the enrolment period in order for the exemption to be valid from the beginning of the academic year / term.

The tuition fee exemption is tied to the time that the exempting residence permit is valid. If the permit runs out and is not renewed, full tuition fee liability will normally start from the beginning of the following academic year, i.e. from 1 August. In some cases, as in the enrolment in January after non-attendance in autumn term, the liability will start from the term following the end of the exempting permit, i.e. from 1 January.

If you become liable to tuition fees in the middle of your studies due to a change in your residence permit type, you may be entitled to apply for a scholarship – please see more information on Aalto Reserve Scholarships.