Intercountry adoption of a child without a service provider

In order for the authorities in Finland to assess whether the decision issued in another country corresponds to adoption in accordance with the Finnish Adoption Act, a content review of the original decision is required. 

For example, a guardianship decision is not equivalent to adoption in the Finnish legal system. 

The kafala system in common use in Islamic countries is also not equivalent to adoption in the Finnish legal system. Unlike adoption, kafala is a contractual relationship that does not permanently change the legal relationships and rights of inheritance of the child and their biological family. Kafala is a fixed-term agreement valid until the child becomes an adult. Adoption is a permanent arrangement, not a fixed-term agreement. Kafala can be revoked; adoption cannot be revoked. 

Under Finnish adoption legislation, adoption cannot take the form of an agreement between the parties, it cannot be temporary in nature and it cannot be revoked. An adoption decision can only be made by a competent authority in accordance with the adoption legislation. The decision must be based on the adoption legislation of the child’s country of origin. 

Habitual residence determines where your matter will be processed.  

1. If your habitual residence was in Finland immediately (at least one year) before the adoption, you must apply for an adoption permit in Finland. First seek adoption counselling and then apply for an adoption permit.
2. If your habitual residence was outside Finland, and living abroad was based on circumstances other than adoption purposes, (for at least one year) immediately prior to the adoption, the possibility of recognition of the adoption decision will be assessed by the Helsinki District Court. Read more on the District Court website.

All the conditions for a permit under the Finnish Adoption Act must be met: 

• Adoption is in the best interests of the child and the child needs adoption. 
• The authorities of the child’s country of origin have provided a clarification of the child’s situation and that the child does not have the opportunity to stay in their family or that no family is found for them in their country of origin. 
• The child is a close relative or the child has been in the care or upbringing of the applicant in an established manner. According to the Adoption Board’s established practice, a close relative refers to a grandchild or child of a sibling in the descending line, not a more distant relative. 
• Joint adoption is only possible for married couples.  
• The applicant meets all other requirements for an adoption permit in accordance with the Finnish Adoption Act. 
• The applicant is responsible for compiling, translating and legalising of all the documents required for the application for an adoption permit. 

The Adoption Board warns of risks associated with independent adoption. Read more in the following section “Warning: Independent adoption involves risks”. 

Finland is a signatory of the Hague Adoption Convention, one purpose of which is to prevent risks to children inherent in independent adoptions. 

The Adoption Act of 2012 introduced stricter criteria for adoption in Finland. The purpose of the Act is to combat risks inherent in independent adoptions, such as trafficking in children. Another purpose is to ensure that prospective adoptees have a true need for intercountry adoption. Arranging an adoption through a licensed intercountry service provider is the best way to safeguard the child’s best interests. Intercountry adoption services are provided by Interpedia ry.

Under the Adoption Act, any person resident in Finland, regardless of citizenship, who wishes to adopt a child from abroad must have an adoption permit from the Adoption Board, must receive adoption counselling and must use intercountry adoption services. 

Adopting a child independently, bypassing the statutory process, involves many uncertainties and risks. These include but are not limited to the following: 

• The adoption will not be legally valid in Finland. 
• The Helsinki District Court will not confirm an adoption for which permit should have been applied for. 
• The child will not be issued a travel document or entry permit to Finland. 
• The child will not be given Finnish citizenship. 
• The child’s background has not been investigated and/or involves abuse. 

When an applicant applies for a permit to adopt without an adoption service provider, the applicant must provide all clarifications required by the Adoption Board. 

The Adoption Board requires documents including but not limited to the following: 

• necessary documents concerning the applicant 
• documentary evidence of the relationship between applicant and adoptee (close relative) 
• a DNA test may be commissioned to prove a family relationship if necessary, 
• child’s birth certificate 
• report from the social welfare authorities in the child’s country of origin explaining why the child cannot remain with their biological family 
• report from the social welfare authorities in the child’s country of origin affirming that the child’s biological parents have received adoption counselling and understand what adoption means 
• any other documents and clarifications requested by the Adoption Board. 

Appropriate documentation is required for the adoption permit process, for applying for a residence permit for the child and for entering the child in the Population Register at the Local Register Office (assuming that an adoption permit has been granted). Documents in foreign languages must be provided with an authorised translation into Finnish, Swedish or English. The applicant may be required to travel to the country of origin to rectify any inadequately legalised documents.  

The applicant is responsible for obtaining, translating and legalising all documents and the related costs. The applicant is also liable for the costs of any other clarifications that may be required (e.g. DNA tests).

In order for a document issued abroad by a foreign authority to have the intended legal effect in Finland, the document must be legalised. Legalisation of a document is a procedure that safeguards the legal rights of the parties concerned and ensures administrative reliability, i.e. it confirms that the party issuing the document is authorised to issue such a document pursuant to the legislation of the country in question. 

Legalisation may be performed in one of two ways, depending on whether the country in question is a signatory to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents of 1961 (the Apostille Convention): 

1. If a document was issued in a state party to the Apostille Convention, its legality may be confirmed with an apostille certificate issued by the competent authority in that country. An apostille certificate confirms that the signature on the document, the official position of the signatory and, if necessary, the seal or stamp on the document are legally valid. 
2. In non-Apostille countries, documents must be legalised by the foreign ministry of the country in question, after which the competent Finnish mission in that country must legalise the document by attaching a certificate verifying that the foreign ministry official in question is authorised to issue such a legalisation. If there is no Finnish mission in the country in question, and the country in question does not belong to the domain of any Finnish mission, it may be possible in some cases to legalise documents at the mission of another Nordic country (except Norway). 

As forged documents are common in western Africa, the authenticity of any document from that region must be confirmed before it can be legalised. The applicant is responsible for verifying the authenticity of any document and is therefore required to deliver the document to a law firm monitored by the Finnish mission and by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to have the authenticity of the document verified. The applicant is also liable for the costs of verifying authenticity. As not all Nordic countries require a certificate of authenticity for documents from the region of western Africa, it is not possible to legalise documents from that region destined for Finland at the mission of another Nordic country. 

Further information on the legalisation of documents in various countries is available on the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

For further information on legalisation and verification procedures for western African documents, please visit the website of the Finnish Embassy in Abuja.

All documents must be submitted in Finnish, Swedish or English. For documents in any other language, an authorised translation must be provided. Authorised translators in Finland can be found through the online service of the National Agency for Education. For any documents that have been translated abroad, the translation must also be legalised.

Intercountry adoption means that you and the adoptee reside in different countries. The citizenship of your or your child does not affect adoption. The law applicable for purposes of adoption is determined by your or the child’s habitual residence.  If your or your child’s habitual residence is in Finland, Finnish law applies.  

If you want to adopt a child internationally, you are always obligated to apply for an adoption permit and obtain adoption counselling from your wellbeing services county or an adoption agency (Save the Children Finland) before that. You need an adoption permit, even if it concerns an intrafamily adoption or the adoption of a relative’s child from another country to Finland. You also need a permit even if the adoption was carried out in another country and your habitual residence was in Finland at the time of the confirmation of the adoption.

1. Always ask your wellbeing services county or adoption agency for adoption counselling first.
2. Obtain a clarification of the child’s circumstances and background from the authorities of the child's country of origin. 
3. Fill in the application for an adoption permit and submit it and the necessary documents translated and legalised or apostilled to the Adoption Board.