Become our member while completing your annual registration
This year, 2025, the annual registration is open from 1 April to 1 September. After this, you can still change your information for the spring term. Postgraduate students can become our members at any time. Exchange students must join us at the beginning of the academic year or semester.
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From non-attendance to attendance and vice versa
How to register as non-attending and how to register back as an attending student.
The membership fee entitles you to the student card and our member benefits and services
Student Union’s membership fee is paid in connection with the annual registration in the OILI system. The membership fee (€85 for basic-degree students for the whole academic year) can also be paid as a bank transfer. In addition to the membership fee, which is used to fund our services and benefits, you can participate in the development cooperation collection (€5.80) and pay the student nation membership fee (€12).
We offer our members many different benefits and services. With your student card you get many discounts, such as discounted tickets to public transport and all kinds of shops.
Payment instructions
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Every student pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree at the University of Helsinki is a member of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki and is obliged to pay the Student Union membership fee. The student union membership fee is paid when registering for the academic year in the OILI system. The enrolment period is from 1 April to 1 September 2025, during which the membership fee must be paid. The student union membership fee for undergraduate students for the academic year 2025-2026 is €85 for the whole year. For the university’s enrolment instructions, see the student instructions. As a new student, see the registration instructions in the New Student Guidelines.
The health care fee for university students is paid directly to Kela, i.e. it is not included in the student union membership fee you pay, and the student union does not forward the FSHS fees to Kela. See the Kela website for information on how to pay the health care fee for higher education students.
The OILI registration system is also available for the spring semester if you wish to convert your absence into attendance. See the University’s guidelines for changing your attendance in the middle of the academic year.
NOTE! The membership fee can only be paid to HYY’s account using a general reference if it is not possible to pay it when registering for OILI. In case of problems with the registration system, please contact the University’s Student Services (studentinfo@helsinki.fi). If you are unable to pay via OILI, you can also pay your membership fee to the HYY account using the reference 28 04990. Please see the summary below for account options. In this case, your enrolment will not be automatically registered, but you will need to submit a receipt for the paid membership fee to the Student Advice Service Office of the University of Helsinki to register your enrolment by e-mail or by visiting the office. The receipt must include the following information: name of the payer, name of the recipient, account number of the recipient, amount paid, reference number, if any, message, date of payment and filing reference.
Even if you have more than one right to study at the University of Helsinki, the membership fee is still paid only once. If OILI incorrectly offers you the option to pay more than once, please contact the University’s Student Services to avoid additional charges.
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As a postgraduate student (e.g. a doctoral or licentiate student), you can join the Student Union at any point during the academic year if you wish, but you are not entitled to FSHS services or many travel discounts. However, there are a wide range of other benefits and services available to you, such as VR’s student discount.
For the academic year 2025-2026, the graduate student membership fee is €85 for the whole year. If you have the right to pursue both an undergraduate and a postgraduate degree at the University of Helsinki, the undergraduate student membership fee is compulsory for you. Only as a member of the Student Union can you get a student card. Registration for postgraduate studies is also nowadays carried out through the OILI system, for which you will find instructions in the University’s student instructions.
If you are not sure whether you are eligible for HYY membership, please contact the HYY Services Office to check. Students on specialised training courses or those on paid complementary studies are not usually eligible for membership.
If you have more than one right to study at the University of Helsinki, you will still only have to pay the membership fee once a year. If OILI incorrectly offers the possibility of paying more than once, please contact the University’s Student Services to avoid additional fees.
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As an exchange student, you can join the Student Union if you wish, provided your studies at the University of Helsinki last at least three months.
However, you must join at the beginning of the semester or within 14 days of your arrival in the country. If you arrive in the country after the orientation week, please ask for proof of your arrival from the University’s Student Services before you come to pay your membership fees at the HYY Services Office.
Exchange students are not eligible for YTHS services, but can still join HYY and receive a student card and all the other student benefits and discounts that come with it.
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The enrolment period is from 1 April to 1 September 2025, during which the membership fee must be paid.
NOTE! The membership fee can only be paid to HYY’s account using a general reference if it is not possible to pay it when registering for OILI. In case of problems with the registration system, please contact the University’s Student Services (studentinfo@helsinki.fi).
Beneficiary of the payment: the Student Union of the University of Helsinki
Account options: Nordea FI80 1573 3000 0324 57 / Danske Bank FI80 8000 1500 0668 82
Universal reference number: 28 04990Membership fee:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree student (membership compulsory): full academic year: € 85 | autumn semester €45 | spring semester €40
- Postgraduate student (voluntary membership): full semester €85 | autumn semester €44 | spring semester €41
Voluntary fees:
- Nation membership fee: €12.00 (message with the abbreviation of the nation) NOTE: the fee can only be paid once a year, regardless of nation membership. You can only be a member of one nation.
- HYY’s development cooperation fundraising: €5.80
If you register as non-attending, your membership will be temporarily suspended
If you register as non-attending, you do not have to pay the Student Union membership fee. You will also not receive a year tag or be entitled to Student Union services or student benefits. As non-attending, you will also not be entitled to vote in the elections to HYY’s Representative Council. If you have paid your membership fee in vain, you can apply for a refund. In this case, please contact our Services Office.
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Membership fee refunds for the academic year 2025-2026
All refunds must be applied for no later than:
- 30.9.2025 for the autumn semester
- 31.1.2026 for the spring semester
Refunds can be applied for by sending a free-form application by e-mail to the HYY’s Services Office (info@hyy.fi). The applicant must include receipts for all payments made.
The reason for the refund can be one of the following:
- Change of the notification of attendance to absence
- Waiver of the right to take a degree
- Abandonment of studies
- Graduation during the autumn semester (refund of spring membership fee)
- A student going on exchange from Finland for a whole semester or year
- Incorrect amount of payment or payment made twice
- No right to become a member of HYY
The application must include the following information:
- The student’s first name and surname (same as the payee)
- Student number
- Account number in IBAN format (payment can only be returned to the student’s personal account)
- BIC code if the account is with a foreign bank
- Explanation of the reason for the refund
- Whether the refund is requested for the whole amount or for part of the amount
- The exchange student must present a certificate of his/her exchange studies
- Enclosing receipts for transactions, e.g. in pdf format
A transaction receipt printed in pdf format from an online bank will be accepted as proof of payment. A bank statement or Excel spreadsheet are not sufficient proof. When paying in automatic enrolment (OILI), the payee is Paytrail and the message field is HYY Toimintatalous.
In all other cases, the membership fee may be refunded in full or in part if there are very serious reasons to do so. In this case, the refund must be requested directly from the Student Union’s Chief financial and service officer (hallinto@hyy.fi).
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FAQ
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All Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students at the University of Helsinki are members of the Student Union. Graduate students and exchange students are also eligible to become members. You can find the Grounds for membership in HYY’s documents.
For more information, please contact our Services Office.
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The easiest way to prove your membership is with a traditional student card with a valid academic year sticker, or a digital student card on the Frank App. You can also prove your membership with a student certificate, which you can get from the university’s student services offices – but please note that this is only valid for UniCafe and YTHS benefits.
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Collecting a membership fee guarantees benefits and services for our whole community. Ylioppilaslehti (student magazine), childminding service, events, and legal advice are just some of the services covered by the membership fee. In addition, your membership fee entitles you to a valid student card and the benefits and discounts it provides.
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The development contribution supports HYY’s development cooperation projects and global education activities, which are managed by HYY’s Development Cooperation Committee.
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Student nations require their members to pay a membership fee, which they use to enable their own activities.
Please write the abbreviation of your nation in the message box or on your payment receipt. The membership fee is not automatically recorded in the student register if you pay by general reference, so please ensure that it is recorded at the registration desk. If you are a new member of a student nation, please register separately. Remember to take your payment voucher with you.
Please note that some student nations require annual registration in the nation to maintain membership (check your own nation’s policy). For more information on the activities of the student nations, please visit their website.
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You can visit our Services Office or contact us by email info(at)hyy.fi.