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How to claim parental allowance

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Do as follows if you wish to give up paper documents

Claim the parental allowance online

Send the application and supporting documents online. Log in to the e-service using your online banking codes or a mobile certificate.

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  1. Use the parental allowance application available in the OmaKela e-service. Please note that our e-service is only available in Finnish and Swedish. You can use the same application to apply for both full and partial days of parental allowance as well as the days of parental allowance that have been turned over to you. Each parent, parent's spouse or other guardian of the child who is applying for parental allowance must apply separately. Read more about daily allowances for parents.
  2. The start and end dates of the parental allowance must be indicated on the application. Use the calculator for pregnancy and parental allowance days to find out the dates (in Finnish).
  3. Use OmaKela to send the supporting documents for your application. You can scan them or take a picture. Enclose the following with the application:
  4. The amount of the parental allowance is based on your annual income. Kela usually receives the necessary information from the national incomes register and the insurance providers, so this information need not be reported to Kela separately.
    • If the estimated due date for your child is sooner than when your older child reaches the age of 3, or if you have been paid pregnancy or parental allowance for the same child, see how the parental allowance is determined.
    • If your employer pays you a salary during your parental leave, state in your application for what period you are paid a salary. The parental allowance is paid to your employer for that period, and your employer must submit a separate application to Kela.
  5. If you are not married to the child's other parent, the application asks if the child’s parentage has been acknowledged. The acknowledgement of parentage has an effect on both parents in terms of the number of parental allowance days available for them, so you should give it careful consideration before completing the application.
  6. You can claim pregnancy allowance on the same form.

Alternatively you can complete and print out the form Application for parental benefits SV 15e (PDF). You can use the same form to claim pregnancy allowance, parental allowance and maternity grant. Send your application by post along with the supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.

Visit the OmaKela e-service to see if your application has been decided, how much you will get and when your benefit will be paid. You can also see possible reminders concerning, for instance, any documents missing from your claim. A written decision on your application will be sent to you by post.

If you choose to save some of your entitlement until later, you can also see in OmaKela how many full days of parental allowance entitlement you have left.

If you wish to give up some of your entitlement in favour of someone else, learn more about how to do so.

The birthing parent can also claim a maternity grant. Either parent can claim child benefit.

When to claim

The birthing parent can claim parental allowance before the child is born, at the same time as the pregnancy allowance. It is also possible to file a separate application for parental allowance.

The other parent, the spouse of a parent or some other guardian can claim parental allowance before the parental leave begins, but not until the child is born.

If you are applying for parental allowance for days that the child’s other parent has turned over to you, you can file the application immediately when the child’s other parent has turned the days over to you.

Agree on the turnover of days directly with the other parent. Kela does not report separately any days of parental allowance that have been turned over to another person. The days that have been turned over to you do not appear in the e-service OmaKela until you have applied for parental allowance for these days and Kela has issued a decision on the parental allowances. You can thus apply for parental allowance for the days that have been turned over to you even though the number of days of parental allowance left to you according to the calculation in OmaKela is smaller.

If you take the parental leave in several parts, you can claim parental allowance for each part separately or all at once.

However, claim parental allowance at the latest within 2 months of the start of each period of parental leave.

Report changes in your circumstances

Remember to report any changes in your circumstances to Kela so that the parental allowance is paid correctly. The parental allowance can be affected by such changes as starting work during the parental leave.

You can report changes in OmaKela, by phone or at any of our service points.

Read more

Last modified 26/2/2024