Student loans

Information on student loans

The student loan system provides for a loan to be granted for the duration of studies and to start repayment two years after graduation on convenient terms at a minimal interest rate.

Both students and doctoral students in doctoral schools can apply for the loan.

Persons entitled to a loan

A student loan can be obtained by:

• a student under the age of 30,
• a doctoral student under the age of 35.

An application for a loan can also be made by an applicant to either a university or a doctoral school, in which case the loan will be disbursed upon recevining of a student/doctoral student status by the applicant.

Submission of credit applications

The loan can be applied for throughout the year.

A decision concerning the loan should be made within 30 days of the application.

An application for a loan can be made on paper or via the ICT system at the following institutions:

• PKO Bank Polski S.A.,
• Bank PEKAO S.A.,
• Bank Polskiej Spółdzielczości S.A. (together with its affiliated cooperative banks),
• SGB-Bank S.A. (together with its affiliated cooperative banks).

The loan application shall be accompanied by:

• a statement of the applicant's income and the number of family members for the previous year,
• a certificate from a higher education institution confirming that the applicant is a student, a doctoral student, or a document confirming that the applicant is enrolled in a university or doctoral school,
• the documents required by the lending institution for the purpose of assessing the creditworthiness and securing the repayment of the loan.

The application should indicate one of the available loan amounts. The monthly student loan installment may be PLN 400, 600, 800 or 1000. During the course receiving the loan disbursements, the student can change the amount of funds received to suit their current needs.

Contract conclusion

The basic condition for entering into a loan agreement is meeting an income criterion. For the academic year 2021/2022, the maximum income per person in the family for loan eligibility has been set at PLN 3000 (net amount).

Loan term and conditions

The student loan can be paid out to students over a period of six years, and for doctoral students – over a period of four years. Loan instalments are disbursed over a period of 10 months during the academic year.

The detailed terms and conditions for the disbursement and repayment of the loan will be set out in the agreement, which will include, inter alia:

• the period for which the lending institution has granted the student loan,
• the starting date of the disburment of loan instalments,
• the way in which the crediting institution verifies the status of a student or doctoral student,
• the way in which the credit institution determines the repayment schedule,
• the amount of interest on a student loan.

Surety for loan repayment

If it is not possible to meet the banks' requirements for loan repayment security, when applying for a loan, the student may apply for a guarantee from the Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) and for a guarantee from the Agency for the Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture.

For the 2018/2019 academic year, the BGK can guarantee a loan of:

• 100% of the loan amount used (not including interest and other loan-related costs) for students who have been totally or partially deprived of parental care or placed in a foster family, a social, family or re-socialisation care institution, with the exception of re-socialisation institutions run on a 24-hour, day or periodical basis – irrespective of their income, but not exceeding the amount of income announced by the minister responsible for higher education, entitling them to a loan for the academic year in question,
• 100% of the loan amount used (excluding interest and other loan-related costs) for students whose income per person in the family does not exceed PLN 1500.
• 100% of the loan amount used (excluding interest and other loan-related costs) for students whose income per person in the family does not exceed PLN 2000.

Detailed information on the above-mentioned guarantees is available from all lending institutions.

Students residing in a rural area can apply for a guarantee from the Agency for the Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture. The agency can guarantee up to 80% or up to 100% of the loan amount used, depending on the income per person in the student's family. The Agency's 100% guarantee is available to students whose per capita family income, determined in accordance with the principles set out in the regulations on student loans and credits, does not exceed PLN 1000. Agency guarantees can be applied for at Bank Polskiej Spółdzielczości S.A. and SGB-Bank S.A..

Loan repayment term and conditions

Repayment of the student loan is made in equal monthly instalments and begins two years after graduation. The number of instalments is twice the number of disbursed student loan instalments.

The interest rate on a student loan is 1.2 times the rediscount rate of the National Bank of Poland.

The interest rate paid by the borrower is:

1. 0.5 of the rediscount rate of the National Bank of Poland.
2. 0.75% of the rediscount rate of the National Bank of Poland – in the event that the borrower has not completed their studies or the agreed repayment period of the loan has expired.

Reduction of loan repayment instalments and suspension of repayment

The monthly instalment can be reduced to 20% of the borrower's average monthly income. At the request of the borrower, in the event of a difficult life situation, repayment of the student loan plus interest may be suspended for a maximum of 12 months.

Redemption of loan repayment

At the request of the borrower, a student loan may be redeemed by the lending institution:

• in 50% – when the borrower has graduated or finished an education of doctoral training with a score placing them among 1% top students,
• in 35% – when the borrower has graduated or finished an education of doctoral training with a score placing them in a group of 1.01% to 5% top students,
• in 20% – when the borrower has graduated or finished an education of doctoral training with a score placing them in a group of 5.01% to 10% top students,

– of the first-cycle studies or second-cycle studies, or uniform Master studies, or doctoral schools, in a given academic year.

A relevant application must be submitted to the lending institution together with a certificate confirming that the borrower is among the specified group of the best graduates of the university or doctoral school respectively.

The loan may also be redeemed in part or in full in the event of a particularly difficult life situation of the borrower or a permanent loss of the borrower's ability to repay. Redemptions are made by the minister responsible for higher education at the request of the borrower.