For domestic and international adoption, you must take part in adoption counselling. The purpose is to find out if adoptive parenthood is what you would like to move towards.
When adoption counselling begins, you do not need to know whether you want to proceed with domestic or international adoption.
The counselling topics include the special nature of adoption, the effects of adoption on a child's life, and responding to the special health needs of the child.
At the end of adoption counselling, the social workers write a home report in which they take a stand on whether they recommend you and your spouse as adoptive parents.
The home report and its appendices are sent to the Finnish Adoption Board at Valvira (National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health), and the Board's adoption permission section then meets.
Under the law, couples seeking to adopt a child domestically or internationally must be married, but persons living alone can also receive adoption counselling and apply to adopt a child.
Adoptive parents must be between 25 and 50 years of age. The maximum age difference between the child and the parent is 45 years.
The District Court confirms intrafamily adoption. In the case of intrafamily adoption, all the parties receive adoption counselling.
During counselling, we discuss the situation of the family and the legal effects of adoption together. The consent of all parties is required for adoption.
The intrafamily adoption process usually takes a few months.
Please contact our social workers with any questions regarding adoption counselling:
Aulikki Haimi-Kaikkonen, tel. +358 9 3104 3006
Maria Jensen, tel. +358 9 3104 3179
Saara Leinonen, tel. +358 9 3104 3657