Is vocational school free in Finland? Tuition fees for non-EU students from 2026
From 1 August 2026, Finnish vocational and upper secondary schools charge new non-EU students. Who pays, who is exempt, and what Omnia, Sedu and OSAO charge.
Topic
Finland, Finest Future and the law
What Finest Future did for Finland's schools, the law that ended it in Finland, and what international students pay now.
What did Finest Future do in Finland?
Finland's small towns were running out of young people, and their upper secondary and vocational schools were at risk of closing. Finest Future brought motivated students from Asia into those schools. Our first customers were Finnish municipalities, and the network grew to more than 100 partner schools in Finland and Estonia.
What changed?
In December 2025 Finland's parliament passed a law, government bill HE 143/2025, that made new students from outside the EU and EEA pay tuition in upper secondary and vocational education from 1 August 2026. The Finnish company did not survive the change. Finest Future continues outside Finland.
Where to start reading
- Finest Future vs. Finland's tuition-fee law: five years with the state, with the documents.
- Is vocational school free in Finland? Who pays the new fees, who is exempt, and what schools charge.
- How we bootstrapped Finest Future to €9.3 million: the business behind it.
Every post on finland and education
We built a $10M business. Our own government killed it.
Five years between Finest Future and the Finnish state, with the documents: the press, two questions in Parliament, the 2025 tuition-fee law and what survived.
How we bootstrapped an education company from zero to €9.3M in four years
No investors, no loans. First revenue from Finnish cities, seven deals in six months, a partner network with no marketing spend, then our own sales team.
Want this applied to your company?
A keynote for your event, coaching for the next stage, or consulting for a market entry. Tell me what you are trying to move.