Food Needs

Emergency food aid, up to a maximum of CHF 600 per month, can be granted to students living in a very precarious situation due to the effects of the current crisis. This aid is granted upon presentation of the documents establishing the student's budget.

Income replacement

If you have lost your job because of the restrictions put in place by the federal and cantonal authorities, and your income is not covered by the measures brought in by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), you can request emergency financial aid of up to CHF 600 per month. This aid may be granted on presentation of proof(s) of loss of employment as well as the last three pay slips and will be calculated on the basis of any other allowances received.

Medical expenses

You can request emergency aid of up to CHF 600 to cover medical expenses related to COVID-19. Other medical expenses are covered by the University's regular one-off aid. This aid may be granted on presentation of estimates or individual invoices.

IT equipment

If you don't have the material resources you need to take your classes online (e.g. a computer, internet connection or phone), you can request emergency aid of up to CHF 600. This aid may be granted on presentation of estimates or individual invoices.

Housing aid

If you are in financial difficulty (because, for example, you have lost some or all of your income, your housing does not offer suitable connection for remote learning or the exchange you are on has been affected by the coronavirus crisis), you can request up to CHF 700 per month to cover your rent. This aid may be granted on presentation of proof(s) of rental lease.

Those different types of aid can be combined.

Food Needs

Emergency food aid, up to a maximum of CHF 600 per month, can be granted to students living in a very precarious situation due to the effects of the current crisis. This aid is granted upon presentation of the documents establishing the student's budget.

Income replacement

If you have lost your job because of the restrictions put in place by the federal and cantonal authorities, and your income is not covered by the measures brought in by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), you can request emergency financial aid of up to CHF 600 per month. This aid may be granted on presentation of proof(s) of loss of employment as well as the last three pay slips and will be calculated on the basis of any other allowances received.

Medical expenses

You can request emergency aid of up to CHF 600 to cover medical expenses related to COVID-19. Other medical expenses are covered by the University's regular one-off aid. This aid may be granted on presentation of estimates or individual invoices.

IT equipment

If you don't have the material resources you need to take your classes online (e.g. a computer, internet connection, phone or other specific equipment), you can request emergency aid of up to CHF 600. This aid may be granted on presentation of estimates or individual invoices.

Housing aid

If you are in financial difficulty (because, for example, you have lost some or all of your income, your housing does not offer suitable connection for remote learning or the exchange you are on has been affected by the coronavirus crisis), you can request up to CHF 700 per month to cover your rent. This aid may be granted on presentation of proof(s) of rental lease.

Those different types of aid can be combined.

In addition to all the documents requested directly in the form, do not forget:

• A letter clearly stating «COVID 19 - Food» and explaining the nature of your financial difficulties and why you are requesting food assistance.

In addition to all the documents requested directly in the form, do not forget to add in the section "Other info":

• A cover letter clearly stating the subject "COVID-19 - Housing Aid".
• The payment slip for the rent(s) concerned.
• Proof of payment of the last rent you paid.

In addition to all the documents requested directly in the form, do not forget to add in the section "Other info":

• A cover letter clearly stating the subject "COVID-19 - Medical Expenses".
• Medical bills affected by the coronavirus
• The statement from your health insurance that shows that these bills are not covered (e.g. because of the deductible).

In addition to all the documents requested directly in the form, do not forget to add in the section "Other info":

• A cover letter clearly stating the subject "COVID-19 - Income Replacement".
• In the income section: at least your last three pay slips.
  If you were not working in the last months but had a planned contract, provide your 2019-2020 earnings and cancelled contracts for this period.
  Signed attestations from your employer are accepted when you cannot provide pay slips.
• Proof of job loss (e.g. email from employer).

In addition to all the documents requested directly in the form, do not forget to add in the section "Other info":

• A cover letter clearly stating the subject "COVID-19 - IT Equipment".
• An estimate for the equipment you wish to purchase
• For students of the HES-SO Geneva: under the Covid-19 emergency financial aid scheme, certificates signed by the schools are no longer required.
• A proof of purchase of the equipment will be asked you later and must be in your name.

Contact by e-mail the social worker who handled your application for a grant or other financial assistance. Do not forget to provide her with a PDF of the new documents concerning your new application for emergency assistance.

Under no circumstances will grants be stopped until the end of the semester.

No. The current Guidelines stipulate that persons enrolled in continuing education are not eligible for the emergency aid that has been put in place.

Use a tool to reduce the size of your pdf, e.g. smallpdf, which is a free online tool.
Rather than one large document, you also have the option of submitting several additional documents in the "Other Info" ("Autres infos") section.

Note: the maximum size for a pdf file accepted by the form is 1MB.

You can scan pdf documents from your smartphone using an app such as Adobe Scan (available on Android and Apple).

The form only accepts pdf documents. If you have taken a photo of your documents, you can convert them to pdf via the print options (on Mac: "Print", then choose "Save as pdf". On Windows: "Print", then choose the printer "Microsoft Print to pdf"), or by using a tool like smallpdf, which is a free online service.

Note: the maximum size for a pdf file accepted by the form is 1MB. If your pdf is too large, please see the FAQ entry above.

You can scan pdf documents from your smartphone using an app such as Adobe Scan (available on Android and Apple).

The form only accepts pdf documents. If you have taken a photo of your documents, you can convert them to pdf via the print options (on Mac: "Print", then choose "Save as pdf". On Windows: "Print", then choose the printer "Microsoft Print to pdf"), or by using a tool like smallpdf, which is a free online service.

Note: the maximum size for a pdf file accepted by the form is 1MB. If your pdf is too large, please see the FAQ entry above.

Contact by e-mail the social worker who handled your grant application. Do not forget to provide her with the new documents concerning your new application for financial aid in pdf format.

Under no circumstances will the grants be stopped until the end of the semester.

Grants will not be stopped during this period, even in the event of job loss.

Choose "Aide financière ponctuelle". The social worker will then define with you which assistance(s) are appropriate for your situation.

In order to avoid email exchanges during this busy period and to enable us to respond to requests as quickly as possible, please ensure that you submit complete applications.

You can merge multiple pdf's using a tool like smallpdf, which is a free online service. Note that the maximum size for a pdf file is 1MB.

You can also submit your other documents in the "Other Info" ("Autres infos") section.

You can attach additional pay slips using the green "+" button.

Yes, you must provide your parents' last tax notice in all cases. You can add it in the "Other info" ("Autres infos") section.

In the expenses section at the top of the page, you will see what the maintenance rate includes (e.g. food, telephone, etc.). If you have other mandatory expenses that you must pay that are not listed here, you can include them. Not all expenses are necessarily included (e.g. vehicle expenses).

We are currently receiving many requests and are doing our best to respond as quickly as possible. All requests will be addressed.

UNIGE students can view the status of their application on the Student Portal ("My Unige" tab). HES-SO Geneva students can view the status of their application here.

Your application has been received if the status of your application is "Submitted". Find explanations on the detailed process for processing your application.

Contact us at aides-financieres(at)unige.ch and send a screenshot of the error message that is displayed.

Contact us at aides-financieres(at)unige.ch and send a screenshot of the error message that is displayed.