Student exchange grants

The most popular exchange programme at Metropolia is Erasmus+ programme that facilitates diversity of possibilities and grants that support your stay and travel abroad, not to forget the possibilities for additional inclusion and green travel support structure. Erasmus+ students' rights and responsibilities are gathered in Erasmus Student Charter that also Metropolia follows. 

You can participate in Erasmus+ mobilities altogether for 12 months per study cycle (bachelor, master). This means that you can join both for student exchange semester and work placement abroad or short exchange for altogether 360 days during you study cycle. For any exceeding exchange duration you can receive Metropolia grants. You can apply and get Erasmus+ funding to your home country as long as it is not your current country of residence. 

For student exchanges in Erasmus+ the valid partnership agreement is required. Erasmus+ grants are divided per function and in long-term exchanges for country-specific categories that are defined by the host country's living expenses.

Erasmus+ grant for student exchange consist of the following components: 

• daily grant for the duration of the physical exchange abroad and travel days
• Travel grant based on the distance between Helsinki and your host city
• The number of travel days is 0-6. By default two travel days are added. If you travel with the green travel you are entitled for max. 6 travel days for a round trip.
• If applicable, additional Erasmus+ top up grants
  • Inclusion support 250 €/month

Daily grants in Erasmus+ country group 1: Programme countries with higher living costs

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden: 540 € /month or 18 €/day

Additionally: 

• United Kingdom for institutions with an Erasmus+ partner agreement with
  Metropolia. Student exchange only.

• Switzerland, in cases where a Swiss Mobility grant is not available, for
  institutions with an Erasmus+ partner agreement with Metropolia. Student
  exchange only

  540 € /month or 18 €/day.

Daily grants in Erasmus+ country group 2: Programme countries with medium living costs

Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Türkiye: 490 €/month or 16,33 €/day. 

Erasmus+ travel grant

As Erasmus+ exchange student you are entitled to the travel grant that will be calculated according to the distance between Helsinki and host city. You can check the distance with European Commission's Distance Calculator | Erasmus+ (europa.eu).

Furthermore, daily allowance for the travel days can be awarded, by default 2 days in a roundtrip. Green travel support can be up to 6 days for a round trip. 

Travel distance 0 - 90 km

• Standard travel support 28 €
• Green travel support 56 €

Travel distance  100 - 499 km

• Standard travel support 211 €
• Green travel support 285 €

Travel distance  500 km - 1999 km

• Standard travel support 309 €
• Green travel support 417 €

Travel distance  2000 km - 2999 km

• Standard travel support 395 €
• Green travel support 535 €

Travel distance  3000 km - 3999 km

• Standard travel support 580 €
• Green travel support 785 €

Travel distance  4000 km - 7999 km

• Standard travel support 1188 €
• Green travel support 1188 € 

Travel distance  8000 km ->

• Standard travel support 1735 €
• Green travel support 1735 €

Metropolia Schools have several bilateral exchange agreements are outside of the EU. Typically students do not have to pay tuition fees to the partner institutions (note - few exceptions). You can check the exchange destinations in your study field and degree programme in OMA (login required).

Metropolia grant for bilateral exchanges is 360 €/month or 12 €/day. 

Metropolia is member in several Nordplus networks. Nordplus programme supports student exchange in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Nordplus grant for long term exchanges is not very common, since often times these exchanges are supported by Erasmus+ grants. Nordplus grant consists of monthly grant 250 € and travel grant 330 €, 660 € (Iceland and Faroe Islands) or 1300 € (Greenland). 

Ask further information from your International Relations Adviser. 

Freemover exchanges are exchanges organised by you to a non-partner university exchanges. In these cases you will be responsible for all arrangements and costs, typically tuition fees are applicable. 

For these exchanges you will need to apply during the student exchange application periods and you will receive the exchange grant of 100 €/month.

• You have been selected for student exchange in Metropolia’s internal application process.
• You have been accepted by the host institution.
• You are a degree student at Metropolia for the entire duration of the exchange.
• Your studies abroad take place within the target duration of your degree:
  • 210 ECTS degree: target duration 3.5 years
  • 240 ECTS degree: target duration 4 years
  • 270 ECTS degree: target duration 4.5 years
• Your Learning Agreement has been approved by your degree programme.
• The studies you complete during the exchange must follow the agreed Learning Agreement, and you must complete at least 5 ECTS per exchange destination.
• The study period at the host institution must last at least 60 days.
• You must apply for the Metropolia grant before your studies abroad begin.
• The Metropolia grant can be paid at the earliest 3 months before the start of your studies abroad.
• You can receive only one grant at a time for the same study period abroad (for example, a Metropolia grant, Erasmus, Nordplus, TFK, etc.).
• A grant awarded by Metropolia requires that you travel to the host country. The host country must be a country other than your country of permanent residence or Finland.
• Metropolia grants are awarded for the official programme days.
• Any changes to the duration of the exchange or to the planned studies will affect the grant.
• If your studies abroad are cancelled or interrupted, you are obliged to repay the grant in full or in part. In exceptional cases, such as illness, you must provide a medical certificate, on the basis of which Metropolia will assess, case by case, the extent of any repayment obligation.
• Metropolia reserves the right to change the criteria, conditions and amounts of the grants. Changes will take effect from a date separately announced by Metropolia and will be published on Metropolia’s website.
• Erasmus+ grant for a maximum of 360 days per degree level

Grant for short term exchanges that are part of your studies is 350 € per exchange (exception Estonia 150 €). Get inspired about the opportunities and check the detailed criteria in the short-term exchange pages.

Erasmus+ BIP course grants and practicalities are listed in the dedicated pages. The upcoming BIP courses are informed in OMA workspace or general announcements. You can also check with your degree programme about the upcoming implementations. 

BIP courses are funded from the Erasmus+ programme funds, so please also check the general Erasmus+ programme guidelines and grant top ups above in this page. Erasmus+ programme supports accessibility and inclusion - therefore BIP courses are especially recommended for students who do not have the possibility to participate for long-term exchanges.

It is a good idea to improve your knowledge in the local language of your exchange beforehand either in Finland or host country. In cases like this, Metropolia can award you a grant to support the costs for max. 80 euros. You can find the language grant application form in these pages. Please fill in the application once the course is completed, attach necessary documents (payment receipt and certificate), then contact your International Relations Adviser.

Please note this grant is available only until the end of year 2026.

For future, please check the offering of the OLS language courses.

Students who are eligible for Kela student financial aid can apply for support for the duration of their student exchange. The financial aid includes a study grant, a housing supplement (usually €210/month), and an increased government guarantee for a student loan (€1000/month).

A requirement for receiving Kela student financial aid is full-time study: during the exchange period, this means at least 5 ECTS credits per month of support.

Apply for financial aid or submit a change notification through Kela’s online service. Detailed information about financial aid and funding is provided on the orientation platform for outgoing exchange students. It is recommended to submit the change notification after you have sent the official letter of acceptance to the international coordinator and completed the necessary exchange preparations in the Mobility Online system (Digital Learning Agreement and grant application).

In the change notification, you should indicate the start and end dates of the exchange period, not the travel dates. You do not need a separate certificate from Metropolia. For more detailed information, see Kela’s website: https://www.kela.fi/studying-abroad

It is advisable to search for external scholarships or grants for your exchanges. Typically these are provided by several foundations or organizations. You should actively and independently explore available funding opportunities. SYL (Suomen Ylioppilaskunnan Liitto / National Union of University students in Finland ) has a comprehensive grant database listing different grant organisations. 

Other tips for finding funding:

• Fulbright Center offers funding opportunities for studying in the United States.
• Svenska kulturfonden provides grants for students whose native language is Swedish.
• Tellervo and Juuso Walden Foundation (grant meant for students studying in Finnish only)

Your grant is calculated according to your exchange duration, exchange programme and host country.

The grant is paid for the period that you have to be officially present at the partner university. If you combine holidays or early/late travel to your exchange, they do not affect the grant sums. Typically the exchange starts with mandatory orientation or language course and finalises during the end of your exam period. 

The duration of all exchanges will be checked from Letter of Confirmation -document that you receive from the host organisation. If the duration is longer or shorter than anticipated, the grant may be re-calculated. 

Erasmus+ and Nordplus

In Erasmus+ and Nordplus programmes your grant consists of daily allowance and travel grant, and possible grant top ups are available. 

The minimum duration of long-term Erasmus+ exchange is 60 days and if your long exchange or work placement abroad remains shorter than that, the exchange will be cancelled in terms of Erasmus+ funding. 

Example

You participate for student exchange in Germany for one semester. You decide to travel to Germany sustainably by bus and train. You share the acceptance letter to your International Relations Adviser and your official exchange kicks off with a mandatory orientation and finishes after the first exam period, so being 162 days. Your travel takes 3 days per direction. 

Therefore your total grant is 162 x 18 € and your travel grant 417 €. Furthermore,  you can receive travel daily allowance for 6 days, (6x18 €). Your total grant is 3441 € and additionally you will be awarded Kela's student financial aid and a higher study loan guarantee. The details of exchange grant you will check in a grant agreement.

Metropolia informs the Finnish taxation office that you have received a grant for exchange, as exchange grants are not taxable income, KELA does not take them into account in the income control of study aids. Student exchange grants are tax-excepted for most students, but if a student receives other study grants each year (for about 20 000 euros), the student may have to pay taxes on their study grants. You can check more detailed information on Vero.fi service.

For example, on the 2025 pre-completed tax return, grants awarded by private entities may be shown as taxable income, even if their total amount is below €26,671.92. However, these grants are not taxable unless they exceed the above-mentioned limit, and no tax is payable on them if the limit is not exceeded. If the information is otherwise correct, you do not need to correct the grant details.

If you have taxable grant income, the pre-completed tax return will include the text “Total taxable portion of the grant” together with the taxable amount in euros. In that case, you will also be asked to report expenses related to the grant.

Metropolia has the right to reimburse the grant/part of the grant in the following situations:

• The exchange period is aborted
• The exchange is not happening physically in the host country
• The exchange period is shortened
• There has been a mistake in the calculation of the grant sum and you have been paid too big a sum
• Studies agreed on in the Learning Agreement were not completed.​​​​​​ or if you accumulate less ECTS than required
  • the normal workload for a student exchange period is 30 ECTS per semester, 60 ECTS per academic year or 10-20 ECTS per min. 2 months in social and health care placements.
  • An acceptable reason can be, for example, getting seriously ill during the exchange.
  • If you have problems with your studies during exchange, you are obliged to contact your International Relations Adviser at Metropolia as soon as possible. The International Relations Adviser will take necessary action to rectify the situation. Having been in contact with your International Relations Adviser immediately when problems arise is an important factor when the need to collect the paid grant is being assessed.

The grants are normally paid in the last banking day of the month (excluding July). In order to be awarded the grant, you must have the required steps completed in Mobility Online system, including grant application and confirmation of your exchange. Due to large volume of grants, they are only processed once a month.

For example, if you have all steps completed during August, you will receive the grant in the end of September. Therefore, it is recommended to complete the steps as soon as possible before your planned exchange. 

Once your grant is processed by Metropolia, you will receive a separate email that has the grant agreement attached. The document provides you useful information about the grant conditions and sums. In the email further information about the payment is shared. If you think you have everything completed, but you have still not received the grant, please consult your International Relations Adviser for further information.