Loans and grants for adult students

Applicable to students aged 30 years and older. You can find examples of how much you might receive in total in loans and grants at the bottom of this page.

You may be eligible for a loan for part-time or full-time courses

You may be eligible for loans and grants if you study part-time or full-time, regardless of whether you will be completing e.g. 30 or 7.5 credits per semester. How much you will receive depends on how many credits you will be completing.

Adult students in Norway

As an adult student, you may be eligible for loans and grants from Lånekassen. This is also the case if you are working alongside your studies.

The only difference in terms of what young people and adult students can receive is that students over the age of 30 may be eligible to borrow more.

Basic support and tuition fees

Like all other students, adult students can also apply for basic support.
The basic support for the 2024–2025 academic year is NOK 151,690. This amount applies for those who receive disbursements for 11 months of the year. You can also apply for an additional loan to cover tuition fees if you attend BI or another educational institution in Norway. The maximum amount you can apply for to cover tuition fees during an academic year is NOK 77,192.

You may be eligible for an additional loan if you are over the age of 30

If you are 30 years of age or older and will be completing higher education as a full-time student, you may be entitled to an additional loan of up to NOK 115,880 in an academic year, but limited to a maximum of NOK 231,760 in total. If you are taking fewer credits, you will be given an offer to borrow a smaller amount.

You may be eligible for more if you have children

Students with children under the age of 16 years may be eligible for additional loans and grants. As a full-time student, you will be entitled to an additional grant of NOK 2,028 per child per month. This amount will be decreased proportionally if you are studying part-time. In order to qualify for the child grant, you or your spouse/cohabitant cannot have income or assets exceeding the specified limits. See how much you could receive in child grants and what the income limits are.

There is also an additional loan available that students with children can apply for. The additional loan is up to NOK 57,940 per academic year, but limited to a maximum of NOK 115,880 in total. Please note that you cannot receive this loan while also receiving an additional loan for students over the age of 30.

You can get a loan regardless of how much you earn

If you are working alongside your studies, your income will not affect the loan amount you will receive. But it could affect how much of the loan can later be converted to a grant. The income limits differ depending on whether you have received support from Lånekassen during both the spring and autumn of 2024 or whether you have received support only during the autumn of 2024.

  • Income limit for those who have received support during both the spring and autumn of 2024: NOK 214,213
  • Income limit for those who have received support only during the autumn of 2024: NOK 535,532

If you have an existing student loan

If you are studying full-time, your loan will be interest-free and you do not have to make repayments towards the loan while studying. If you are a part-time student, you will need to continue making repayments while studying. You can defer repayment of the loan if you wish.

Examples of how much you may be eligible for

The examples below assume that you are studying full-time. This means you are completing 30 credits per semester.

Students with children

If you are 30 years of age or older, you can apply for:

  • basic support of NOK 151,690
  • an additional loan of up to NOK 115,880
  • a child grant of up to: NOK 2,028 per child per month if you have children under the age of 16.

Full-time students could therefore receive a total of NOK 289,878 in one academic year. You can also apply for a loan to cover tuition fees.

Students without children

If you are 30 years of age or older, you can apply for:

  • basic support of NOK 151,690
  • an additional loan of up to NOK 115,880.

Full-time students could therefore receive a total of NOK 267,570 in one academic year. You can also apply for a loan to cover tuition fees.