Students in Finland receive school travel support as eligibility criteria clarified by Kela
Students in Finland have been eagerly awaiting a decision regarding school travel support. Piia Kuusisto, the Benefits Manager at Kela, has noted that around 85 percent of applicants have already been granted purchasing rights for monthly public transport tickets during the application phase. This right effectively allows students to buy their monthly passes immediately.
The school travel support program is available to full-time students living in Finland who have long commutes. Both public transport users and students who require their own vehicles can apply for the support. If a student has been granted purchasing rights but has not utilized them, Kela will not reimburse any travel expenses incurred.
Kuusisto emphasizes the importance of checking personal details in the Kela online portal, as it includes information on automatic eligibility for three monthly tickets. There is no need to wait for an official support decision in these cases. The decision indicates how long support is granted and the deadline for acquiring the last monthly ticket for the school year, which must be purchased 14 days before the academic year concludes. This often leads to confusion among students, particularly in the spring.
The automatic purchasing right applies to most students using public transport, which has helped reduce the processing time for applications involving personal vehicles or direct payments to students. The typical processing time for these applications is between 7 to 10 days.
Kela has also been surprised by the volume of inquiries about this automatic purchasing right, with hundreds of requests received. Annually, Kela processes about 70,000 school travel support applications. Delays can occur if applicants have inconsistencies in their travel details or do not meet the criteria for support. If students have had to buy their tickets out of pocket due to unavailability of purchasing rights, Kela will reimburse the costs.