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Family benefits for those moving to Finland

If you move to Finland or work in Finland, you may be paid benefits for families with children on certain conditions.

Maternity grant

You can get the maternity grant if you are permanently resident in Finland or work here. For instance Finns who are resident abroad on a permanent basis or asylum seekers are not entitled to the maternity grant. 

In certain situations you may be entitled to the maternity grant even if you work in another country or have come to Finland as a family member of a person who works in Finland. Check your entitlement to the grant if

  • you are a family member of an employee from an EU or EEA country or Switzerland and you are permanently resident in Finland
  • you are a seaman and you are permanently resident in Finland but you work on board a vessel flying the flag of another EU or EEA country
  • you work in another EU or EEA country but you are resident in Finland on a permanent basis.

Pregnancy allowance and parental allowance 

You can be granted pregnancy and parental allowance if you are covered under the Finnish health insurance system.

If you move to Finland from another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom and your country of departure pays you daily allowances for parents, your country of departure will usually continue paying your daily allowances for parents until the end. You cannot receive daily allowances for parents from Finland for the same period.

After the parental allowance period of the other country has ended, you can receive parental allowance from Finland if you have more parental allowance days in Finland than in your country of departure.

An example of moving to Finland on parental leave

Anna and Erik have moved to Finland from Sweden with their 4-month-old child. Anna has received parental allowance from Sweden for a total of 100 days and Erik for 30 days. In Finland, both Anna and Erik would have the right to receive parental allowance for 160 days, minus the allowance paid from Sweden. Therefore, Anna can receive parental allowance from Finland for 60 and Erik for 130 days. They can receive parental allowances from Finland after the benefit payments from Sweden have ended.

If you move to Finland with a child after the child has reached the age of 1, you can receive parental allowance for a maximum of 160 working days. If a child has two parents, parental allowance is divided equally between the parents, i.e. each parent can get parental allowance for 80 working days. A parent can turn over up to 32 allowance days to the other parent. The parents of families with multiple births get half of the extension days for multiple-birth families as well.

The amount of allowance is usually calculated on the basis of your annual income earned in Finland.

The amount of allowance may be calculated on the basis of wage income earned abroad if

  • you have previously been covered by health insurance in Finland,
  • you have earned wage income in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom during the reference period for annual income, and
  • you do not have any income that counts as annual income in Finland.

Persons who do not have any earnings in Finland or wage income from abroad are granted the minimum amount of the allowance.

The child’s other parent does not have health insurance coverage in Finland

If the child’s other parent is not covered under the Finnish Health Insurance Act, they are not entitled parental allowance. If that is the case, you can use the full entitlement of 320 parental allowance days yourself. You can also use any additional days that may have been allotted to you on grounds of premature or multiple birth. You can turn over a maximum of 126 days of the 320-day entitlement to another person.  
If the other parent has already been paid Finnish parental allowance when they for example move outside Finland, you can use as many parental allowance days as are left over from their entitlement.

If the other parent is paid a foreign benefit corresponding to the Finnish daily allowances for parents, you can get pregnancy or parental allowance from Finland for the same period of time. The number of days that can be paid simultaneously is unlimited when the benefits are paid from two different countries. However, you should contact the authority, institution or other organisation paying the foreign benefit to check whether the Finnish benefit affects the benefit they are paying.

Child born abroad

If your child is born abroad, you can get parental allowance if you are the child’s parent and legal guardian. Learn more about who can get parental allowance.

Kela gets information on parentage and guardianship from the population data system. If your child is not registered in the Finnish population data system (and has not been assigned a Finnish personal identity code), include with your application for daily allowances for parents a document certifying that you are the child’s parent and legal guardian.

Paternity allowance 

You may receive paternity allowance if the estimated due date of your baby was before 4 September 2022.

You may be granted paternity allowance if you have been covered under the Finnish health insurance system for at least 180 days preceding the expected due date of your baby. There must be no break between the health insurance period and the birth of the child. If you come to Finland from another EU or EEA country, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or Israel, the time you were under health insurance according to the local law can be included in the required 180-day period.

If you move to Finland from another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom and your country of departure pays you paternity allowance, your country of departure will usually continue paying your paternity allowance until the end. You cannot receive paternity allowance from Finland for the same period.

After the paternity allowance period of the other country has ended, you can receive paternity allowance from Finland if the payment period in Finland is longer than the payment period in your country of departure. The amount of allowance is usually calculated on the basis of annual income earned in Finland.

In certain situations, your allowance may be calculated based on wage income earned abroad, if

  • you have previously been covered by health insurance in Finland,
  • you have earned wage income in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom during the reference period for annual income, and
  • you do not have any income that counts as annual income in Finland.

Persons who do not have any earnings in Finland or wage income from abroad are usually granted the minimum amount of the allowance.

Child benefit

You can receive child benefit if your child comes to live permanently in Finland.

You can also receive child benefit if you work in Finland even if your child lives in another EU or EEA country or Switzerland. In order for you to receive child benefits, you must be the child’s legal guardian and your wage must meet the minimum requirement. If there is a right to family benefits in two different countries either due to residence or a guardian’s employment, the family benefits will be coordinated in accordance with EU legislation.

If you come to work in Finland from outside the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, you can receive child benefit for a child you bring with you to Finland. You must have a permit for at least six months that gives the right to work, and your wage must meet the minimum requirement.

Child home care allowance

You can receive child home care allowance if your child moves to Finland. 

You can also receive child home care allowance if you work in Finland and your child lives in another EU or EEA country or in Switzerland. However, you cannot get the municipal supplement if the child does not live in Finland. If there is a right to family benefits in two different countries either due to residence or a guardian’s employment, the benefits will be coordinated in accordance with EU legislation. 
If you come to work in Finland from outside the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, you can receive child home care allowance for a child that moves to Finland with you. You must also have a permit for at least six months that gives the right to work.

Private day care allowance

You can receive private day care allowance if your child moves to Finland. Private day care allowance will not be granted if the child lives outside Finland.

Partial and flexible care allowances

Partial care allowance and flexible care allowance are paid only if the child lives in Finland. These benefits will not be paid outside Finland.

Child maintenance allowance

You are entitled to child maintenance allowance, if your child is permanently resident in Finland.
You may also be entitled to child maintenance allowance if you come to work in Finland from another EU or EEA country or Switzerland. In such a case, child maintenance allowance can be paid for the period of your employment. In addition, the child must live with you in Finland.
 

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