Supported study programmes

Degree study allowance from 1 January 2024.

Who is eligible for a degree study allowance?

You are eligible for the degree study allowance if you are registered as unemployed or are employed and meet at least one of the following conditions:

• you do not have professional or vocational education and:
  • at least five years have passed since acquiring or suspending basic or general secondary education, or
  • basic education was obtained in non-stationary form (in a so-called upper secondary school for adults) or
  • general secondary education was obtained in a non-stationary study form (in a so-called upper secondary school for adults) and at least eight years have passed since you obtained basic education.

NB! Please note that in the implementation of the aforementioned conditions, the most recent highest education obtained/suspended by the applicant will be taken into account;

• At least 15 years have passed since you have obtained your vocational or higher education;
• You are unable to continue your current job due to health reasons.

In the case of health-related issues, evidence of both the existence of the health problem and the fact that the health condition prevents you from continuing in your current position is required. A decision from an occupational health doctor, or any other doctor, can be used as evidence (e.g. an excerpt from the Health Portal).

If you are employed, you must be between the ages of 16 and retirement age, working based on an employment contract or a contract under the law of obligations, or in public service. Additionally, you must have an unemployment insurance record of at least 12 months within the 36 months preceding the submission of the application under the Unemployment Insurance Act.

NB! Please note that the requirement for an unemployment insurance period does not apply to incarcerated employees.

The allowance is paid to employed and unemployed persons who, at the time of applying for the allowance, are not enrolled in vocational education, professional higher education or Bachelor's studies and have not been enrolled in such studies for more than 60 calendar days.

The allowance is paid for the acquisition of one vocational or higher education. The allowance will not be paid if your studies in vocational education, professional higher education or Bachelor's studies have been suspended in the 12 months preceding the application, except if you were studying at an educational or training institution where you had to cover the tuition costs yourself.

NB! Please note that the choice of vocation study programme is not considered a vocational education programme.

What study programmes are supported?

You can receive the allowance only if you enrol in a study programme that is supported by the Unemployment Insurance Fund. If you are unable to continue your current job due to health reasons, we will provide study allowance for your enrolment in a study programme that, based on your health condition, will enable you to work after completing your studies.

The list of supported study programmes includes programmes that prepare workers for professions in which there is a growing need for workers and the demand for workforce exceeds supply according to the OSKA applied research surveys on sectoral needs for labour and skills conducted by the Estonian Qualifications Authority. The list of supported programmes is updated based on the results of OSKA studies.

The allowance is paid upon commencing vocational or professional higher education or Bachelor's studies in a state-commissioned study place.

How to apply for the allowance?

To be granted the degree study allowance you must submit an application and agree with your counsellor in the action plan on entering into degree studies within 12 months.

In order to obtain the allowance, you must take the following steps.

1. Apply to the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund for the allowance.

Bear in mind that your eligibility to receive the allowance will be assessed as of the date of submission of your application. You can submit the application via e-töötukassa, send an e-mail or a letter to your nearest Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund office, deliver it to the office yourself or submit it at a meeting with a counsellor.

You will find the application form on the fund’s website.

The application must be submitted before the date of enrolment in the educational institution or withing 60 calendar days of enrolling according to the records of the Estonian Education Information System.

NB!

• If you need to acquire new skills to continue working due to health reasons preventing you from continuing in your current job, make sure that the necessary information is available in the Health Portal before meeting with a counsellor. This includes confirmation from a doctor that your health problem prevents you from continuing in your current job or that your work capacity has been evaluated by the Unemployment Insurance Fund. During the visit, inform the doctor about the limitations that the health problem places on your ability to work and how they affect your ability to do your current job. Ask the doctor to enter the results of the visit into the health information system. You can also verify your health data in the patient portal: https://www.terviseportaal.ee/.
• The application must be submitted either before the date of enrolment in the educational institution or within 60 calendar days from the date of enrolment according to the Estonian Education Information System records.

2. Agree on an action plan for enrolling in a degree study programme.

• If you are working, visit the career counsellor at the Unemployment Insurance Fund. We have counsellors in every county, and you can book a session via e-töötukassa (log in with your ID card or Mobile-ID) or by contacting a career counsellor at your nearest Unemployment Insurance Fund office. The contact details can be found here.
• If you are registered as unemployed, you can obtain information from your job mediation consultant or case manager.

The counsellor can advise you in choosing the right degree and explain which degrees will make you eligible for the allowance. Additionally, they will make sure you are part of the target group for the allowance and agree with you on support for participation in degree studies and the deadline for commencing studies in the action plan. The allowance is paid if you apply for and start studying in a free study place at a vocational, applied higher education or undergraduate institution no later than 12 months from the date of agreement to participate in the degree study in the action plan.

3. Making the decision on degree study allowance.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund will verify through the Estonian Education Information System whether you have commenced your studies, and if you meet the eligibility requirements, the fund will make a decision on the payment of the allowance and inform you of this decision.

NB! Please note that if you are registered as unemployed and you have not been employed for at least 180 days in the 12 months before being registered as unemployed, your status as unemployed will be terminated due to you commencing degree studies.

Amount and payment of the allowance

The amount of the degree study allowance per month is the daily rate of unemployment benefit established by the state multiplied by 31. In the year 2025, the amount of the allowance is 410,13 euros per month. The allowance is subject to income tax.

If you wish for basic exemption to be deducted from the allowance, you can submit an application for the calculation of basic exemption. If you have already submitted an application for basic exemption when applying for other unemployment insurance benefits or subsidies, then no other application is required. Read more here: basic exemption.

• The allowance is paid from the time marked in the Estonian Education Information System as the beginning of your studies and throughout the nominal duration of study.
• The allowance is paid once a month for the previous month.
• Before the allowance is paid, each month it is checked whether you are on the list of students.
• The allowance is paid for the acquisition of one vocational or higher education.
• You will not receive the allowance while you are on academic leave.

If you suspend your studies, the payment of the allowance will be terminated, except in the case where you resume studying within 30 days from the date of discontinuation as indicated in the Estonian Education Information System, and the new study programme you have chosen meets the conditions for receiving the allowance. In this case, the duration for which you received the allowance in the past will be deducted from the nominal duration of the new degree study programme.

In the case of you suspending your allowance-supported studies, the Unemployment Insurance Fund may provide you with one more allowance for acquiring vocational or higher education.

If you interrupt your studies, the Unemployment Insurance Fund will ask the school about your participation in studies and progress in your studies. If it turns out that you did not participate in the study without a valid reason, the Unemployment Insurance Fund has paid you a allowance without a basis, and the Unemployment Insurance Fund has the right to reclaim the allowance paid to you.

If it turns out that you have not started to study the curriculum on which the allowance is based, the Unemployment Insurance Fund has the right to invalidate the decision to pay the allowance for participation in advanced education and to reclaim the allowance that was unjustly paid from you.

Rights of the recipient for the allowance

Rights of Registered Unemployed Persons

If at the time of submitting the application you were registered as unemployed, you are entitled to degree study allowance even after termination of registration as unemployed.

Rights of Employed Persons

If at the time of submitting the application you were employed, you will still be entitled to degree study allowance after leaving employment or reaching retirement age.

Reclaiming the allowance

If it turns out that you were not entitled to degree study allowance, the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund will demand the unjustly paid allowance back from you.

From 1 January 2024, the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund provides degree study allowance based on Regulation no. 90 of the Government of the Republic of Estonia “Employment Programme 2024-2029”, dated 29 September 2023.