Treatment costs when you seek treatment in Finland

You are primarily responsible for the costs of treatment if you travel to Finland to seek treatment. You will also be liable to pay the travel costs related to the treatment, along with the expenses of possible overnight accommodation and interpretation or document translation services. You can claim reimbursement retroactively from your own health insurance institution, which will reimburse the costs according to the local legislation.


EU and EEA countries are liable to reimburse treatment provided in Finland. Other countries may reimburse treatment provided in Finland if it is provided in their national legislation.

The treatment provider may charge you for treatment costs beforehand as an advance payment. The amount of this payment may not exceed the estimated treatment costs.

You can contact the treatment provider to inquire about the prices of treatment.

If you have prior authorisation, you can receive treatment with the client fee

If you have been granted prior authorisation (form S2) for treatment provided in Finland, and another EU or EEA country, United Kingdom or Switzerland is responsible for your treatment costs, you will only need to pay the same client fee as residents of Finland. Prior authorisation constitutes a payment commitment through which the body granting the permit undertakes to cover the treatment costs.

Prior authorisation is always applied for from the country of residence. Deliver the prior authorisation directly to the treatment provider.

The prior authorisation is usually only applicable in Finnish public health care. However, if you have received treatment covered by the prior authorisation through Finnish private health care, you can claim reimbursement for treatment and medicine expenses as well as travel costs in Finland from Kela.

You can claim reimbursement later on

In some cases, you can receive reimbursement from Kela for treatment costs incurred in Finland even if you do not reside in Finland. Kela will reimburse private health care costs and medicine and travel costs related to treatment provided in private or public health care, if

  • you are covered by health insurance in Finland, or Finland is responsible for your health care costs in accordance with EU legislation
  • you have received medically necessary treatment during a temporary stay in Finland, and another EU or EEA country, United Kingdom or Switzerland is responsible for the costs of your medical care
  • you have travelled to Finland for treatment under a prior authorisation granted by your country of residence (form S2).
  • you have come to Finland for work from another EU or EEA country, United Kingdom or Switzerland and you have an employment pension insurance policy in Finland but you live abroad
  • you have come to Finland from Quebec, Canada as a posted worker, researcher or student, and you have registered yourself with Kela.

If you come to Finland with the intention of using health care services and do not have prior authorisation (form S2) from your country of residence, you can claim reimbursement for costs arising from the treatment from your own health insurance institution.

Kela does not reimburse the costs you pay for public health care.

In the event that you have received medically necessary treatment in Finnish private health care during your temporary stay and another EU or EEA country, United Kingdom or Switzerland is responsible for the costs of your medical treatment, you can claim retroactive reimbursement from Kela or your own health insurance institution.

Kela’s direct reimbursement

You can receive the Kela reimbursement as a direct reimbursement for the following:

  • Ambulance transport if you have a European Health Insurance Card granted by another EU or EEA country, United Kingdom or Switzerland. You will only need pay the deductible.
  • For private clinic visits, medicine purchases at pharmacies and ambulance transport if you have the European Health Insurance Card for pensioners
  • Medicine purchases at pharmacies, if you have a Certificate of entitlement to treatment in Finland (website in Finnish) granted by Kela, which separately confirms the right to direct reimbursement.