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Cantonal support
| Cantonal grants
| Other cantonal support
Cantonal grants
All Swiss cantons have an organisation responsible for awarding study or learning grants.
You should send your application for a cantonal grant to:
- The canton where you have your primary residence if you are over the age of majority and are financially independent, or
- The canton where your parents live, or
- Your canton of origin if your parents live abroad, or
- The canton to which you have been assigned.
In Vaud canton, the relevant body is the Office cantonal des bourses d’études et d’apprentissage (OCBE).
Please note that students in receipt of a study grant from the canton are not entitled to apply for a partial waiver of course enrolment fees at UNIL, since these are included in the amount of the cantonal grant.
Office cantonal des bourses d’études et d’apprentissage (OCBE)
Rue Cité-Devant 14
1014 Lausanne
Tel.: 021 316 3370
Fax: 021 316 3378
Other cantonal support
The Canton of Vaud can finance part or all of your compulsory health insurance premiums depending on your income and assets. This financial support is called a subsidy. It does not apply to supplementary insurance.
The purpose of the subsidy is to limit the cost of health insurance premiums to 10% of your qualifying income. The qualifying income is an amount calculated on the basis of income and assets. The reference premium is determined on the basis of the average cantonal premium, the household income and the premium region.
For more information, please visit the website of the Canton of Vaud.
Individual housing assistance (AIL) is granted in 11 communes in the canton. It provides direct financial support to families who :
- have sufficient means to meet their needs,
- have to pay too high a rent in relation to their income,
- do not receive either the "revenu d'insertion" (Vaud social assistance) or supplementary AVS/AI benefits.
The AIL is calculated on the basis of the household's family situation, income and rent. The criteria for granting the AIL are defined at cantonal level by its regulations (RAIL) and its decree (AMCAIL). Some communes have supplemented these legal bases with specific conditions.
AIL is granted for a renewable period of 12 months.
Complementary benefits (PC) to the AVS (old-age and survivors' insurance) and the AI (disability insurance) provide assistance when pensions and other income are insufficient to cover basic needs.
There are two categories of benefits:
- The annual supplementary benefit, paid monthly
- Reimbursement of sickness and disability costs
The Office for the Recovery and Advance Payment of Alimony (BRAPA) intervenes at the request of a separated or divorced person (or an adult child of separated or divorced parents) who is not receiving, or is only partially receiving, the alimony or child support due.
The support provided by BRAPA staff is entirely free of charge. BRAPA is attached to the Department of Health and Social Action of the State of Vaud. The person calling on BRAPA must be domiciled in the canton of Vaud and hold a residence permit.
