Domestic adoption

Adopting a child in Finland always requires adoption counselling. Any person wishing to adopt a child in Finland who is not a family member must apply to the Finnish Adoption Board for permission to adopt. The adoption counselling provider submits to the Adoption Board a report prepared on the basis of the adoption counselling regarding the suitability of the prospective adopter(s) and any other required information. A permission to adopt is granted by the Finnish Adoption Board for a fixed term of no more than two years at a time. The validity of a permission may be extended on application.

Permission to adopt is not required in domestic adoptions when a spouse adopts the child of his/her spouse during their marriage or after the death of his/her spouse or adopts a child who has been cared for and brought up by the applicant on an established basis, originally without intent to adopt.

An ‘intra-family adoption’ is an adoption where a spouse adopts the child of his/her spouse. The same procedure applies when a person in a registered partnership adopts the child of his/her partner. No permission from the Adoption Board is required for an intra-family adoption; the report prepared on the basis of the adoption counselling will in this case be delivered to the applicant himself/herself.