Residence permit for adoption

Get ready

Check that you have all the necessary attachments and information before you begin. You must have the child's valid passport and

• birth certificate with information on the parents of the child (legalised)
• adoption decision taken in the child's home country (legalised)
• permission for foreign adoption of the Finnish adoption board or confirmation of foreign adoption by the Helsinki Court of Appeal

Official certificates, such as birth and marriage certificates, must be legalised if they are not issued by authorities in one of the Nordic countries or in an EU Member State. If the documents that are attached to the application are not in Finnish, Swedish or English, they must be accompanied by a translation into one of these languages by an authorised translator. The original documents and their translations must be presented when the applicant visits a service point to prove his or her identity.

Fill in the application and choose your service point

Complete the application form and attach all the required documents. Select a service point. The service point is where your child proves his or her identity. You will find more information at migri.fi/en/identification. When you choose the service point, please remember that the child must reside legally in the country where he or she visits a service point in order to prove his or her identity. If the child is applying for a residence permit abroad, he or she must visit a Finnish embassy (or consulate). If the child is already in Finland, he or she must visit a Migri service point. Please take into account that the service points can be very busy. You can book an appointment before submitting an application in Migri's appointments system. If the child is abroad, contact the embassy or consulate directly.

The guardian of the child does not need to accompany the child at the embassy, but if the person who accompanies the child is not the child's guardian, he or she cannot represent the guardian without power of attorney from the guardian.

Pay and submit the application

The processing of an application is subject to a fee. You can pay the processing fee with most credit cards, or use the online banking services provided by Finnish banks. You can also pay the processing fee at the embassy or at the Migri service point during your visit to prove your identity.

Visit the selected authority to prove your identity

When you have submitted your child's application via the e-service, you and your child must visit the service point you selected in order to prove your and your child's identity and to present the original copies of the attachments required for the application. If the child is six years old or older, his or her fingerprints are also taken. Remember to take your child's passport photo with you. Passport photo guidelines can be found on the website of the Finnish police.

If you cannot visit the service point together with your child, the child can be accompanied by some other person, for example a relative.

Submit the application

It is difficult to estimate the exact processing time of an individual application made on the basis of family ties. For example, if further clarifications are needed for the application and if the required information cannot be obtained from documents but an oral hearing must be arranged, this will affect the processing time. According to the Aliens Act, residence permit applications made on the basis of family ties are processed, as a rule, within nine months. Applications for residence permits for adoption are always processed with urgency.

You can follow the processing of your application in the e-service. If further information or documents are required for your application, we will send you a request first and foremost through the e-service.

The authorities can also contact your family member who lives in Finland.

You will receive a notification when a decision has been made and can be read online.