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The Kela card in Finland

Kela card Finland proves your membership in the national health insurance scheme and enables reimbursement at private clinics.

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The Kela card in Finland proves that you belong to the national health insurance scheme and can claim the reimbursements that come with it. It is not an identity document, and Kela states that no electronic version of it exists, so the card sent to your address is the only form it takes. You need it in one situation: at a private doctor, dentist or physiotherapist whose reception cannot look up your entitlement electronically, where showing the card gets the Kela share deducted from the bill on the spot.

Who this applies to

  • People moving to Finland permanently, from any country, once Kela decides they live here permanently.
  • People working in Finland who earn at least 800.02 euros per month from that work, even if Kela does not treat them as permanent residents.
  • Third-country nationals in either group, but only after their residence permit has been granted.
  • EU, EEA, Swiss and UK visitors on a temporary stay use their home country's European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) instead.
  • Newborns, who receive a card after DVV tells Kela about the birth.

Automatic issue and the coverage behind it

You do not apply for the card itself. Once you are covered by Finnish national health insurance, Kela sends it automatically, and a newborn receives one after the birth is registered with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (Digi- ja väestötietovirasto, DVV). For a person arriving from abroad, the step before the card is a decision on coverage. Kela's moving-to-Finland page states that work-based coverage requires earnings of at least 800.02 EUR per month. The application goes through the OmaKela e-service or by post on form Y 77e, and you need a Finnish personal identity code and a bank account before filing.

A lost card is replaced free of charge by submitting form SV 157e by post or through OmaKela. If Kela approves a special medication reimbursement rate, a note about it is added to the card.

Post is the weak point in this chain. The card goes to the address in the population information system, so a move that has not been registered or a name missing from the postbox is the reason a card fails to arrive. Public health centres do not ask for the card, and pharmacies accept an official ID or driving licence because they check entitlement electronically.

Private healthcare reimbursement rates

The reimbursement is the part people misjudge, in both directions. Kela's reimbursement page for private medical care lists the rates in force from 1 January 2026.

Appointment typeReimbursement
General practitioner or specialist, in-person, video, phone or chat8 EUR
Psychiatrist, in-person50 to 60 EUR (depending on duration)
Psychiatrist, video40 EUR
Psychiatrist, phone or chat12 EUR
Obstetrician or gynaecologist, in-person70 EUR
Obstetrician or gynaecologist, video30 EUR
Obstetrician or gynaecologist, phone or chat12 EUR
Physiotherapy, per appointment (max 4 visits per calendar year; no reimbursement after the 4th, even with a referral)15 EUR

Against what a private GP visit costs, the 8-EUR reimbursement is small. The gap between the ob/gyn in-person reimbursement of 70 EUR and the GP reimbursement of 8 EUR is the widest in the table, so the speciality you book changes the bill more than the clinic does.

One structural point matters more than any single rate. Private medical and dental care have no annual ceiling on what you pay out of pocket, while public healthcare fees are capped at 815 EUR per calendar year. A year of private specialist visits can cost several times what the same year in the public system would, and the card does not change that arithmetic.

Medicine costs and the annual deductible

Prescriptions work on a different logic. Kela's medicine expenses page lists the 2026 figures.

Item2026 figure
Annual initial deductible (age 19 and over; children exempt)70.33 EUR
Basic reimbursement rate40% of the sales or reference price
Lower special reimbursement rate65%
Higher special reimbursement rate100% minus a 4.50 EUR copayment per purchase
Annual out-of-pocket ceiling636.12 EUR
Copayment per medicine after ceiling reached2.50 EUR

You pay the first 70.33 EUR of reimbursable medicines yourself each calendar year, and reimbursement starts after that. Once your own share reaches 636.12 EUR in a calendar year, you pay 2.50 EUR per prescribed medicine for the rest of that year. The pharmacy applies all of this at the counter by checking your entitlement electronically, which is why an ID is enough there and the card itself is secondary.

Travel cost reimbursement

Kela reimburses travel to healthcare appointments with a one-way copayment of 25 EUR (50 EUR for a return trip) and an annual out-of-pocket ceiling of 300 EUR, after which eligible trips are free for the rest of the calendar year. The private-car rate is 0.33 EUR per kilometre. Claims go through OmaKela within six months of travel.

The European Health Insurance Card

The Kela card is a domestic document and does nothing outside Finland. For medically necessary treatment in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or Great Britain, you need the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), a separate card ordered free of charge. Cards ordered on or after 15 January 2026 are valid for five years, while cards ordered earlier keep their two-year validity. Order through OmaKela, by phone at 020 634 2650, or by post on form SV 193e. Delivery takes about two weeks. You do not need the EHIC in other Nordic countries; a Finnish passport or ID card is enough there.

Lapsed coverage

Entitlement can end while the card stays in your wallet. Coverage stops if you move abroad permanently, if it rested on employment that has ended, or if a residence permit is not extended. The reimbursement is checked against Kela's electronic records at the point of service, so an expired entitlement surfaces the moment the clinic looks it up, regardless of whether the card is still in hand.

The coverage gap at a private clinic

The plan breaks on the day a private clinic deducts the Kela share from a bill and Kela's system shows no current entitlement, because the patient then owes the full amount and files a claim that Kela rejects. Check your coverage status in OmaKela before your first private appointment after a job change, a move or a permit renewal. The gap between losing employment and establishing residence-based coverage is one window where this happens; the guide to health insurance for foreigners covers the three layers in detail.

The Health Insurance Act

The Kela card and the reimbursements it represents are governed by the Health Insurance Act (sairausvakuutuslaki, 1224/2004). The Act sets out eligibility for national health insurance, the reimbursement categories for private care and medicines, the annual deductible and ceiling, and the rules for the European Health Insurance Card. The rates in force from 1 January 2026 are enacted under decrees issued pursuant to this Act.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get a Kela card in Finland?

There is no separate card application. Notify Kela of your move or your work in OmaKela or on form Y 77e, and once it decides you are covered it posts the card, as Kela's card page describes.

Is the Kela card an ID card?

No. Kela says the card cannot be used as official identification. Its only job is to show your right to Kela reimbursement at a clinic.

Is there a digital Kela card?

No. Kela does not issue an electronic version. At a pharmacy your right to reimbursement is checked electronically, so you show an official ID or a driving licence there.

How much does Kela reimburse for a private doctor visit in 2026?

A general practitioner or specialist visit brings 8 euros back. Kela's 2026 rates are higher for some specialities, such as 70 euros for an in-person gynaecologist visit.

What does it cost to replace a lost Kela card?

Nothing. Send form SV 157e, and Kela issues the new card free of charge.

Sources

healthkelaregistration

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