Family benefits in Åland

Børnefamilie i køkken
Photographer
Yadid Levy/norden.org
Here you can read about family benefits if you move to Åland with children, including maternity grant, parental leave with parental allowance, child benefit, home care allowance and other benefits for families with children. You can also find information on child support and child maintenance allowance, social assistance, if your child falls ill, benefits for rainbow families as well as family benefits for adoptive parents.

To some extent, the same rules apply in Åland as in Finland. But there are also many differences, for example you apply for maternity grant from KST in Åland, parental allowances from Kela and home care allowance from your municipality of residence in Åland. In Åland, child benefits are financed by the Government of Åland. But Ålanders also have to apply for child benefit via Kela. The rules are the same as in Finland, but the amounts are different. Child benefit is higher in Åland than in the rest of Finland.

Maternity grant

If you live in Åland, starting from 2021 you apply to KST (Kommunernas socialtjänst) for the maternity grant. If you are an expectant mother or have recently become a mother and you live in Åland, you are entitled to the maternity grant. You can choose between having the ‘maternity package’ containing baby clothes and care products or a cash alternative. Read more about this here:

Parental leave and parental allowance

Once your child is born, you can apply for maternity, paternity and parental allowances via Kela. Parents can get the following benefits: maternity allowance and special maternity allowance, paternity allowance, parental allowance and partial parental allowance. 

Note: Following the reform of family benefits, maternity allowance is now called pregnancy allowance.

Child benefit

In Åland, child benefits are financed by the Government of Åland. But Ålanders also have to apply for child benefit via Kela. The rules are the same as in Finland, but the amounts are different. If you are a Nordic citizen working in Åland and you are covered by social security in Åland, you can get child benefit for your children. Read more about child benefit in Åland: 

Home care allowance

If you live in Åland, you apply for home care allowance from your municipality of residence. Home care allowance consists of a fixed amount, care allowance, and a possible care supplement that depends on the family’s income. The care supplement is only paid for one child. There are also municipalities that pay extra allowance from the municipality to persons receiving home care allowance.

Benefits for families with children if you are moving to or from Åland

Find out more on Kela’s webpages on moving to Finland/Åland and about the various situations where family benefits are co-ordinated. Are you moving to Åland from another Nordic country? Are you moving from Åland to another Nordic country?
 

Other situations

Here you can read about benefits in other family situations such as child support and child maintenance allowance in Åland, social assistance in Åland, if your child falls ill or if your child has a disability, family benefits for adoptive parents and benefits for rainbow families.

Child support and child maintenance allowance in Åland

Child support is paid by one parent to the other if the parents do not live together. Child maintenance allowance is a fixed amount that Kela pays each month to the parent who the child lives with permanently. For child support in international situations, the legislation of the country of residence of the child entitled to the support is applied.

Social assistance in Åland

In Åland, social assistance is administered by KST (Kommunernas socialtjänst). If your family’s income is not enough to cover your daily expenditure, you can apply for social assistance from KST in Åland.

If your child falls ill

You can apply to Kela for support if your child falls ill or has a disability.

Benefits for adoptive parents

The family benefits for adoptive parents are largely the same as for biological parents. Read more about this and what differences there are on Kela’s page on family benefits for adoptive parents. You can also find out about adoption in Åland on KST’s page.

Benefits for rainbow families

You can find the family benefits available for rainbow families on this Kela page.

More information

Contact the authority

If you have questions about benefits for families with children in Åland, you can contact Kela or KST.

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NB! If you have questions regarding the processing of a specific case or application, or other personal matters, please contact the relevant authority directly.

Info Norden is the information service of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Here you can find info and tips if you wish to move, work, study, seek support or start a business in the Nordic region.