There will be number of changes to the National Certificates of Language Proficiency (YKI) from beginning of 2026 following the amendment to the respective Act, said the Finnish National Agency for Education in a press release on Friday.
Some YKI tests are becoming free of charge, the conditions for the test fee refund are being simplified and registrations for YKI tests can no longer be rescheduled from January 1.
According to the new amendment, from 1 January 2026 onwards, people can register for the advanced level YKI test in Finnish or Swedish free of charge, if the candidates meet at least one of the three conditions.
The examinees have to complete the Finnish matriculation examination or an equivalent qualification abroad or the examinees need to be a current student of a university or university of applied sciences degree in Finland or abroad or the examinees have completed a university or university of applied sciences degree in Finland or abroad.
If the examinees meet the conditions for the free YKI test, they do not need to pay the test fee for the advanced level YKI test in Finnish or Swedish. They can register for the test free of charge a total of three times.
Only the advanced level YKI tests in Finnish and Swedish are free of charge.
Basic and intermediate level YKI tests and all YKI tests in other languages are subject to a fee for everyone.
Meanwhile, if the examinees cannot participate in a YKI test that they have registered for, they may apply for a refund of the test fee from the Finnish National Agency for Education.
The agency will refund the test fee, if the applicants meet all the conditions laid down by law.
From 1 January 2026 onwards, the test fee will be refunded, if the examinees cannot participate in the YKI test due to own illness and have proof of illness, such as a medical certificate, if the examinees cancel registration for the YKI test no later than 8:00 on the morning of the test day and if the examinees send applications to the Finnish National Agency for Education within two weeks of the test date.
New instructions and the application form for the test fee refund will be published on the Finnish National Agency for Education’s website on 31 December 2025.
From 1 January 2026 onwards, registrations for YKI tests can no longer be rescheduled. The purpose of the change is to ensure that there are enough test places for as many people as possible.
Earlier in September, the authority brought changes to the registration system of the intermediate level tests for the National Certificates of Language Proficiency (YKI) following increasing number of applicants during the recent years.
In spring 2024, the agency reported that the places for the tests have been filled at an increasing rate and sought to increase the number of YKI test organisers and develop the registration system with input from applicants.
- YKI tests
- Changes
- 2026
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
