Press release

Minors who come from Ukraine to Finland without their families can get benefits from Kela

Published 1/6/2023

Children and young persons under 18 who have fled the war in Ukraine may be entitled to social assistance, if they are permanently resident in Finland and their parents cannot provide for them and they have no other means of securing a living. The adult who cares for the child is entitled to child benefit.

Minors who have come to Finland from Ukraine on their own are primarily provided for by their parents. If the parents cannot provide for the child, the child may be entitled to basic social assistance if Kela considers that the child is permanently resident in Finland and the child has no other means of securing a living.

Children who do not live with their parents get a separate decision on social assistance

Minor children and young people who live on their own or with someone else than their parents constitute a separate family for the purposes of social assistance. This means that a separate application for basic social assistance is filed for the minor and that Kela issues a separate calculation and decision concerning the social assistance for the minor. The calculation takes into account the minor’s disposable income and assets as well as benefits that are paid to the minor himself or herself or to the adult who lives with the minor (for instance child benefit).

Kela can pay the basic social assistance either to the minor or to the adult who cares for the minor.

If the parents had been able to provide for the minor, Kela can recover the social assistance that has been paid to the minor from the parents. It is not significant whether the parents are in Finland.

Who can apply for social assistance on behalf of a minor

Social assistance can be applied for on behalf of a minor for instance by

the child’s guardian
the person who cares for the child
a foster caregiver
the municipal social services
a legal representative.

If a representative has been determined for the minor in accordance with the Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration, the representative can also apply for social assistance.

Kela recommends that the application is made together with the person who manages the minor’s finances, so that the minor’s entitlement to social assistance and financial situation are determined correctly. However, the minor can also apply for social assistance independently.

Minors who move to their own home can get general housing allowance

Minors who move to their own home may also be entitled to general housing allowance. The granting of housing allowance presupposes that Kela considers that the young person is permanently resident in Finland.

The other entitlement criteria for housing allowance must also be met. The young person must for instance have enough income for an independent life and he or she must also be responsible for his or her own housing expenses.

The adult who cares for the child is entitled to child benefit

The person who cares for the child is entitled to child benefit, if the child has been granted a residence permit and Kela considers that the child is permanently resident in Finland.

The person who has the principal responsibility for the care and upbringing of the child is entitled to child benefit. If someone else than the child's parent or legal guardian is responsible for the care and upbringing of the child, this person is thus entitled to child benefit, and not the parent or legal guardian.

Child benefit is not granted to the child himself or herself.

The child is taken into account in the family’s housing allowance and the housing expenses in the context of social assistance

If the family who cares for the child gets general housing allowance, the child belongs to the same household as the family if the child is considered to be permanently resident in Finland. Incomes of the minor child are not taken into account for the purposes of the housing allowance.