Note that the you cannot receive student financial aid and unemployment benefits at the same time. As a full-time student your primary form of support is student financial aid. Kela is responsible for financial aid for students.
If you are unemployed and you would like to start studying, see if you could attend labour market training, study for a short-term or part-time, or study independently with unemployment benefits.
These are ways that you can study while receiving unemployment benefits.
Choosing your career and education
As a full-time student you are generally not entitled to unemployment benefits - not even during the holiday period.
Full-time studies are studies with the aim of completing
Upper secondary school studies comprising at least 75 courses are also considered full-time studies. In practice this refers to upper secondary school studies for young people as well studies in a boarding school at the same level.
Full-time studies include studies corresponding to the Act on Vocational Education aimed at
Studies other than the aforementioned are also full-time when
The TE office will confirm if your studies are part-time or full-time on a case-by-case basis.
Your studies are considered to be full-time until you show that they have concluded. If you are completing the full syllabus of upper secondary school or basic education, you are considered a full-time student through the end of the term. A higher education degree is deemed to have been completed on the date of the diploma.
If needed, you can show that your studies have ended by producing, for example,
Another indication of the conclusion of your studies is that they have been interrupted for at least a year. Interruption of studies means that you have no credits and you have not taken part in studies or, for example, prepared a final thesis under guidance.
TE Office telephone service for customers