Quick guide for families with children
Parents are entitled to family leave and various benefits from Kela following the birth of a child. This checklist presents the most common family benefits in chronological order.
You can claim family benefits quickly and easily online. You may have to provide some additional documents in support of your claim. They can be sent at the same time, for example in the form of a clearly legible picture that you take with your phone.
Topics
Expecting a child
Visit a maternity and child welfare clinic and submit a certificate of pregnancy
When you are 154 days or about 5 months into your pregnancy, you can get a certificate of pregnancy from the maternity and child welfare clinic. You need it to claim maternity grant and maternity allowance from Kela.
Maternity allowance during the maternity leave
You can take a maternity leave 30-50 working days or about 5-8 weeks before your expected due date. The maternity allowance is paid for 105 working days, i.e., for about 4 months.
Read moreClaim the maternity allowance no later than 2 months before the expected due date
Find out if your employer will pay you a salary during the maternity leave. You will need this information when claiming the maternity allowance. If you wish, you can claim child benefit and parental allowance at the same time.
Apply now Read moreWhen your child is born
Paternity allowance during the paternity leave
Fathers can take paternity leave after the birth of their child. The paternity leave can last up to 54 working days or about 9 weeks. Fathers can choose to stay at home for a maximum of 18 working days at the same time as the child's mother while she is paid maternity or parental allowance. The rest of the paternity leave can be taken in a maximum of 2 separate periods after the parental allowance has ended.
Read moreClaim paternity allowance after the birth of your child
Claim paternity allowance once you have decided when you wish to take a paternity leave. Find out if your employer will pay you a salary during the paternity leave. You will need this information when claiming paternity allowance. You can also claim the paternity allowance retroactively before your child reaches the age of 2 years.
Apply now Read moreChild benefit
Kela pays a child benefit for children under 17 years of age who live in Finland. You can get the child benefit from the beginning of the month following childbirth.
Read moreClaim the child benefit
Parents can agree which of them will claim the child benefit. You can claim the child benefit at the same time you claim a maternity, paternity or parental allowance. The child benefit is payable retroactively for no more than 6 months as of the date of the claim.
Apply now Read moreYour child will receive a personal Kela card in the mail
When a child is born in Finland, information about this goes directly from the hospital to the population register and from there to Kela. Once the child has been named, Kela sends a personal Kela card for the child.
Get a postnatal checkup at the maternity and child welfare clinic
Mothers should get a postnatal checkup 5-12 weeks after childbirth. They will receive a certificate that must be submitted to Kela to qualify for a parental allowance.
Parental leave
Parental leave
The parental leave begins after the maternity leave. The child will be about 3 months old at this time. Parents can agree between themselves how to use the parental leave entitlement. During the parental leave, Kela pays parental allowance for 158 working days (a little over half a year).
Read moreChild care leave
Child care leave
Your child will be about 9 months old when your parental leave ends. After that, either parent can stay at home on an unpaid child care leave until your child is 3 years old. The child care leave is granted by the employer. A partial or part-time child care leave is possible as well.
Claim child care allowances
If your child does not attend day care arranged by the municipality, you can get financial assistance from Kela depending on your child care arrangements. Claim child care allowances online within 6 months of the date from which you wish to receive them.
Apply now Read moreChild home care allowance
If a father or mother takes care of a child under 3 years old at home, the parent can claim child home care allowance. The caregiver can also be someone else, such as a grandparent or a private day care provider.
Read morePrivate day care allowance
Private day care allowance can be granted to families with a child under school age who is looked after by a private day care provider or by a caregiver the family have hired.
Read moreFlexible care allowance
The mother or father of a child under 3 years of age can get a flexible care allowance from Kela if he or she works no more than 30 hours per week on average.
Read moreChild is 2 years old
Child starts school
Partial care allowance
You can receive partial care allowance if you work no more than 30 hours a week while looking after a child. Partial care allowance is paid for children who are in the first or second grade.
Read more