pregnant and moving to finland

fozzy · Post by **fozzy** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 7:51 pm

I was wondering if anyone can help? I am pregnant and am moving to Finland, I will recieve maternity pay from my firm when i leave my job but have been told I will recieve child benefits and stay at home benefits until the baby is three. I was also told I need to be in finland for a certain amount of time before baby is born to recieve those - does anyone know how long that is?? are can anyone give me any advice on this

**Sponsor:**

richard berman · Post by **richard berman** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 8:01 pm

Theres some information here http://www.expat-finland.com/living_in_ ... hcare.html and you have to live in Finland over 180 days to get any money , so if your 3 months gone you should be fine http://kela.fi/in/internet/english.nsf/ ... enDocument

Kristina2 · Post by **Kristina2** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 8:24 am

Hi! Our monthly child allowance and stay at home mother care allowance started from the date we received our residence permits. The permit was issued within about 1 month of applying and then we waited about 4-5 months before Kela came through but everything was backdated. I am married to a Finn and my son has a Finnish passport so maybe this is why we didnt have to wait 180 days...

I found the whole residence permit/benefit requesting processes pretty straightforward, very little stress compared to other countries we lived in.

Good luck with everything!

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 9:10 am

Maternity and parental allowance for you require that you have lived (with a residence permit) in Finland at least for 180 days before the due date http://www.kela.fi/in/internet/english. ... enDocument

Child benefit (tax free, for first child 100€/monthly) paid from birth until the child is 17 and the Child home care allowance (amount depends on other income and the city where you live, minimum for one child (before tax) is bit over 300€/month) that is paid after the maternal and parental leave periods have finished (whether or not you were entitled to any KELA money) until the child is three and taken care by their parent do not have the 180 day requirement.

fozzy · Post by **fozzy** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 6:30 pm

Thank you all so much for your help. I have dual nationality so i dont think I have to apply for a permit to live in finland but i have been a resident in the uk since birth so I think my situation would be return citizen (not too sure If someone does know please clarify). I presume my maternity allowance has to stop in england for me to claim any benefit in Finland?
I will have a look at the links - many thanks.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 10:46 pm

As a citizen you do not need a need a permit, you just go the local magistrate office soon after arriving to country and have yourself registered as a resident of city where you moved in from the date you arrived. Then you go to KELA and apply to be included in the social security system from that same arrival date.

Even UK (non double) citizens do not need a residence permit here thanks to EU, but they still have bureaucracy to pass and certain conditions for registration to meet.

I presume my maternity allowance has to stop in england for me to claim any benefit in Finland?

I'm pretty sure there is a condition on maternal/parental/home care benefit that you can not be getting the corresponding benefit from another country at the same time. The maternal pay you get from your company (as long as you can get it) must be better than the alternative Finnish benefits (as you have no work history HERE). The child benefit is paid for any child living here irrespective if the parent is collecting a wage, parental or unemployment benefit (or what ever) and you should not be an exception in that.

LottaP · Post by **LottaP** » Tue Jun 01, 2010 10:28 am

If you don't have 180 days until the due date when you move, then I would check with Kela anyhow. At least a couple of years ago it was enough you'd been living in an EU country even if it was less than 180 days to your due date. They may have changed it, but it's worth asking.

anaf505 · Post by **anaf505** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:51 pm

Well you need to have 180 days in finnish system (KELA) to get the allowance. I lived here before, but i only made register when i got married (i was pregnant alredy) and until the due date i had 171 days. But my baby born abt 182 days . Anyway, i dont get any money because the due date was x , even if he had born y day i dont have rights. That's all. 180 days, without questions. Anything contact Kela.

Regards

Finland Forum

Find information about moving to, living in and life in Finland