How long you can receive support for

There is a limit to how long students may receive support for.

This limit applies to the qualifications you take after completing upper secondary education with statutory rights as a young person.

Changes to the rules from autumn 2021

How long you can receive support for depends on when you first received support from Lånekassen.

As of the 2021–2022 academic year, the basis for how long you can receive support will change and will now be based on credits rather than the duration of your studies in years. From autumn 2021, the studies you have received support for, measured in credits or equivalent, will be the determining factor and not how long you have received support for. You can therefore receive support for more than eight years if you study part-time.

This rule change is not retroactive. This means that if you received support for part-time studies before the autumn of 2021, these periods will be counted in the same way as if you were receiving support for full-time studies.

If, for example, you received support for part-time studies at 50 per cent for three years before the autumn of 2021, this will be counted as though you have received three full years of support. But the 300 credits you can still receive support for can be distributed between as many years as you wish.


Support for a total of 480 credits

You can receive support to take a total of 480 credits. This is the equivalent of eight years of full-time studies.

If you study part-time, you can receive support to study for longer than eight years.

Limits for support for folk high school and primary and lower secondary education

You can receive educational support for two years at folk high school. You can receive educational support for four years of primary and lower secondary education.

The limits on how long you can receive support for to attend folk high school and primary and lower secondary education are not part of the rule change that comes into force from the 2021-2022 academic year.

This means that if you are studying part-time, you will still only receive support for four years of primary and lower secondary education and two years of folk high school.

Exceptions from the limits

If your studies have been delayed because you were ill, had children or because you have a disability, this limit may be increased. This means that you could still receive support for more than 480 credits.

The limit cannot be increased if you are delayed because you failed an examination. The limit also cannot be increased if you have several years of studies left but you have used up the number of credits for which you can receive support.