Adoption of a child from abroad through a service provider

First, request adoption counselling from your wellbeing services county or adoption agency

Adoption counselling is mandatory in all intercountry adoptions. In adoption counselling, a social worker specialised in adoption issues will provide you with information on adoption, help you prepare for adoptive parenthood and prepare a report on your circumstances and suitability for adoption.  

Ask for adoption counselling from the family law services unit of your wellbeing services county or a licensed adoption agency (Save the Children Finland). The contact information for adoption counselling can be found here. Check with your wellbeing services county which operator provides the counselling. Adoption counselling is a free of charge social service.

Contact an intercountry adoption service provider

Once you have started adoption counselling and decided that you want to adopt a child from abroad, you must contact the intercountry adoption service provider. An adoption service provider is a Finnish operator with a licence granted by the Adoption Board to assist in the implementation of the adoption process from another state to Finland and a licence to contact the adoption authorities abroad. 

The adoption service provider provides up-to-date information on the adoption processes and prerequisites for prospective adopters in different sending countries. The adoption service is subject to a service fee. However, according to the Adoption Act and international agreements, operations must not aim for profit. More detailed information on fees can be found on the service providers’ websites. The Adoption Board monitors, directs and supervises the operations of service providers. 

There are three adoption service providers in Finland, of which only Interpedia ry accepts new applicants: 

• Interpedia ry (delivers new applications to the target countries) 
• Save the Children Finland’s international adoption services (does not accept new customers)  
• City of Helsinki’s Health and social services (does not accept new customers) 

As a rule, intercountry adoption service providers should always be used when adopting from abroad. In exceptional cases, the service provider cannot be used.

Apply for a permit for intercountry adoption from the Adoption Board

When your adoption counselling has ended and you have registered as a customer of an intercountry adoption service provider, you must apply for an adoption permit from the Adoption Board. The Adoption Board grants a permit for a maximum of two years at a time. If the adoption process is ongoing, you must apply for an extension for the permit before it expires. The applying for a permit is free of charge. 

If you do not have an adoption permit, you are not allowed to take a child with you for adoption purposes. The adoption counsellor may also not place a child with you for adoption purposes, nor may the intercountry adoption service provider transfer the child to you unless you have an adoption permit. 

However, an adoption permit is not required for the adoption of an adult over the age of 18 or for domestic intrafamily adoption. The Adoption Board does not process these adoptions, but the confirmation of adoption is applied for directly from the District Court.