If your employer pays you a salary during your pregnancy leave, the pregnancy allowance is paid to your employer. However, you must still submit your application for pregnancy allowance to Kela.
Pregnancy allowance can only be paid to the parent giving birth. Aside from that, family structure has no impact on the right to pregnancy allowance.
The pregnancy allowance is not increased or extended, even if more than one baby is born into the family at the same time or the birthing parent is a single parent.
You can get pregnancy allowance if you live in Finland permanently or work in Finland.
If you move to Finland from another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom and your country of departure pays you pregnancy allowance or parental allowance, your country of departure will usually continue to pay your allowance until the end of the payment period. You cannot get pregnancy allowance from Finland for the same period of time.
After the payment of your pregnancy allowance from the other country has ended, you can get pregnancy allowance from Finland if the Finnish pregnancy allowance is paid for a longer period of time than the corresponding benefit in your country of departure.
Child born abroad
You can get pregnancy allowance even if your child is born abroad. However, you must live in Finland permanently or work in Finland.
In order to receive pregnancy allowance, you need a certificate of pregnancy. The certificate can also be issued by a doctor, midwife or nurse who has monitored the pregnancy abroad.
If you move abroad, let us know that you are leaving Finland. The length of your stay outside Finland and the country you go to affect whether you can receive benefits. We consider each customer’s situation on a case-by-case basis.
If you move abroad permanently before the payment of your pregnancy allowance would begin, you will usually not be entitled to pregnancy allowance. If you move abroad temporarily, you may be entitled to pregnancy allowance.
If you already receive pregnancy allowance and move permanently to an EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom, Kela will continue to pay your pregnancy allowance until the end of the payment period. Kela can do so if you have worked before the payment of your pregnancy allowance started or if you have received a daily allowance immediately after you stopped working, and that daily allowance was affected by your work. Such daily allowances include sickness allowance and unemployment allowance. If you move to an EU or EEA country or Switzerland and receive parental allowance immediately after pregnancy allowance, Kela will also continue to pay your parental allowance until the end of the payment period.
In general, pregnancy allowance will not be paid if you move abroad for more than 6 months. However, you can receive pregnancy allowance for a stay longer than 6 months if you are, for example:
a posted employee
an aid worker
a student or researcher
a family member of any of the above.
You can get more information about the payment of benefits by calling Kela at 020 634 0200.
For what period can you get pregnancy allowance?
You can start your pregnancy leave 14–30 working days before the expected due date of the baby.
Kela pays pregnancy allowance for 40 working days regardless of the actual date of birth of the baby. Pregnancy allowance days must be taken consecutively and cannot be postponed until later.
If your baby is born before you have started your pregnancy leave, payment of pregnancy allowance will start immediately on the working day following the day the baby is born.
If you are working, you must inform your employer of your pregnancy leave no later than two months before the start of your leave. Agree with your employer on when you will start your pregnancy leave. You should also find out if your employer will pay you a salary during your pregnancy leave.
Use the calculator to check when your pregnancy leave starts and ends
If the expected due date of your baby is before your previous child turns 3 years old, you can get pregnancy allowance on the basis of the same annual or earned income that was used to calculate the allowances for your previous child.
The annual earnings are adjusted by a wage coefficient when the annual income used as the basis for the previous daily allowance is used to calculate the new daily allowance. This may result in a slight change in the amount of the allowance, even if the annual income used to calculate the allowance remains the same.
You do not have to notify Kela that you want your daily allowance to be calculated on the basis of your previous income. We will automatically calculate whether it will be more favourable for you to receive daily allowances for parents based on the new annual income or on the same income as for your previous child.
You can use the calculator to get a more accurate estimate of the amount of pregnancy allowance on the basis of your annual income.
Estimate the amount of the pregnancy allowance using a calculator
Pregnancy allowance is paid in arrears every 25 days. You can check the exact payment date in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish) once you have received a decision on pregnancy allowance.
How to apply pregnancy allowance
First, visit the maternity and child health clinic and ask for a certificate of pregnancy indicating that your pregnancy has lasted for at least 154 days. You do not need to submit a certificate of pregnancy if you have already submitted it with your claim for the maternity grant.
You can apply for pregnancy allowance either on a form or in the OmaKela e-service. OmaKela is currently only available in Finnish and Swedish. Kela’s forms are also available in English.
Apply in OmaKela
Apply for pregnancy allowance in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish). With the same application, you can apply for the parental allowance paid after the pregnancy allowance.
Take photographs of the supporting documents and send them in OmaKela. From the application you can check which documents you should enclose with the application.
Visit the OmaKela e-service to see if your application has been decided, how much you will get and when your benefits will be paid. You can also see possible reminders concerning, for instance, any documents missing from your application. You will also get a decision by post if you have not given up paper mail.
If your employer pays you a salary during your pregnancy leave, you will not receive a decision on your application until your employer has submitted their separate application to Kela.
Log in to the OmaKela e-service to apply for pregnancy allowance
Enclose additional documents in support of the application as necessary. The application form includes information on which supporting documents you need.
Send the application and any supporting documents by mail. The address is Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
Visit OmaKela to see if your application has been decided, how much you will get and when your benefit will be paid. You will also see reminders of, for instance, supporting documents missing from your application. The decision notice will also be sent to your home address unless you have opted out of paper mail.
Things to remember when you apply for pregnancy allowance
You can claim pregnancy allowance once your pregnancy has lasted at least 154 days and you have received a certificate of pregnancy.
Claim the allowance within 2 months of the start of your pregnancy leave at the latest.
Check with your employer if you will be paid a salary during your pregnancy leave. You will need this information when you apply for pregnancy allowance.
If your employer pays you a salary during your pregnancy leave, your employer must submit a separate application for the pregnancy allowance. Kela does not issue a decision on pregnancy allowance until we have received applications from both you and your employer.
In general, an employer cannot submit an application until they have paid the salary for the pregnancy leave. You can take leave, as you have agreed with your employer. You do not have to wait for a decision on pregnancy allowance before you go on pregnancy leave.
You cannot get pregnancy allowance and parental allowance paid for another child at the same time. You can choose for which child you seek a benefit.
Certain benefits granted for the same period, such as rehabilitation allowance and pension, will be deducted from the amount of pregnancy allowance.
Sick leave before pregnancy leave
If you have to take sick leave before the start of your pregnancy leave, consult your employer to find out if you will be paid during your sick leave. If you are paid a salary, Kela will pay the sickness allowance to your employer. If you will not be paid a salary, you can apply for sickness allowance from Kela.
Even if your pregnancy ends in miscarriage or it is terminated, you can get pregnancy allowance if your pregnancy has lasted for at least 154 days.
Pregnancy allowance is paid for 40 working days. In addition, you are entitled to parental allowance for 65 consecutive working days immediately after the pregnancy allowance period.
However, pregnancy or parental allowance is not paid if you are working.
Pregnancy allowance is not paid for days when you are working. Even if pregnancy allowance is not paid, the pregnancy allowance days are still running and you cannot save days for later use.
Working means any gainful employment as well as such activities as
working from home
being on call or standby
working in a company owned by yourself or a member of your family
farming or forestry work
independent scientific work and holding an office of trust, if it is connected with your employment or you are paid a fee for it.
However, you are not considered to be working if you hold a position as an elected municipal official according to the Local Government Act. You are, however, considered to be working if you act in that position as a member of a municipal decision-making body. Read more in the Local Government Act (finlex.fi).
You are also not considered to be working if you are an informal caregiver or a family caregiver working under a service contract. This does not, however, apply to professional family care.
If you go to work while you are on pregnancy leave, you should cancel your application for pregnancy allowance in OmaKela. This will ensure that you are paid the correct amount of pregnancy allowance, and that you will not need to pay any of it back. You need not notify Kela of any salary details or about working on Sundays or midweek holidays.
You can get pregnancy allowance even though you are studying during your pregnancy. Receiving study grant payments does not prevent payment of pregnancy allowance.
You need not notify Kela that you are studying.
You cannot receive pregnancy allowance for a period when you are on paid annual leave or another form of paid leave in an employment relationship. During such a period, your employer will pay you a salary, so you do not incur any loss of earnings due to taking care of your child.
If your leave or your absence from work is unpaid, you can get pregnancy allowance during that period.
However, if you take paid annual leave during your pregnancy leave, your pregnancy allowance days are still running and you will not be able to save days for later use. Report changes in OmaKela. This will ensure that you are paid the correct amount of pregnancy allowance, and that you will not need to pay any of it back.
If you fall ill during your pregnancy allowance days, you cannot transfer the pregnancy allowance to the other parent. This is because pregnancy allowance is paid only to the pregnant parent.
If you are unable to care for your child because you are ill, the other parent may, however, be entitled to parental allowance. In such a situation, you should contact Kela.
You may also be eligible for various sickness benefits that provide compensation for costs and loss of income due to illness. You cannot, however, get sickness allowance and pregnancy allowance for the same period. You may be eligible for rehabilitation allowance, but the amount of the allowance will be deducted from your pregnancy allowance.
If you are employed and fall ill while receiving pregnancy allowance, you can ask your employer if your pregnancy or parental leave will be converted into sick leave. This may affect any salary that may be paid for the period of absence from work.
Report changes that affect your pregnancy allowance
The pregnancy allowance can be affected by changes such as starting work during pregnancy leave. When you report the changes, the benefit is paid at the correct rate and you also do not lose any benefit due to you. Read more about reporting changes.
The other parent who is staying at home caring for your child can also take parental leave. You can also work part-time and get partial parental allowance.
