By Desh Tv News,Katja S
Copyright dailyfinland
The four-party alliance government led by Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party-NCP) has taken an initiative to bringing amendments to the Act on Child Home Care Allowances and Private Childcare Allowances with the provision for minimum three years’ residence in Finland.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health sent out the draft proposal for comments and the deadline for submitting comments is November 20, said the Ministry in a press release on Wednesday.
According to the proposal, child home care allowance could in future be granted after a minimum of three years’ residence in Finland.
The proposed provisions would introduce a three-year residence requirement for both parents in a family as a condition for receiving child home care allowance.
In single-parent families, the requirement for a minimum period of residence would apply to the parent residing with the child.
The residence requirement would also have to be met by any other person who has custody of the child and resides with the child as well as by the spouse or cohabiting partner of the child’s parent or other custodian.
In practice, child home care allowance would not be paid, if any custodian belonging to the child’s family or the spouse or cohabiting partner of such a person has resided in Finland for less than three years after reaching the age of 16.
The amendment would apply to situations where any of the persons referred to above has moved to Finland after the entry into force of the proposed act.
In addition, it is proposed that the definition of care provider in the Act on Child Home Care Allowances and Private Childcare Allowances be amended to reflect the amendments made to the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care.
The government said that the proposal aims to contribute to the faster integration of parents of small children who have recently moved to Finland and to promote children’s learning of Finnish or Swedish and their participation in society.
The objective is that parents of small children who have resided in Finland for less than three years would more often choose for their children to participate in early childhood education and care, said the government, adding that it would encourage more parents to enter the labour market and make use of integration services.
The proposed act is scheduled to enter into force on July 1, 2026.