Sweden proposes ending intercountry adoptions – No immediate impact on Finland
Sweden has published a report following a national adoption inquiry. The inquiry commission recommends ending intercountry adoptions in their current format. In the commission’s estimation, continuing intercountry adoptions would require a complete overhaul of the system. The Finnish Adoption Board considers the Swedish report to be significant, as Sweden has historically been one of the top receiving countries for intercountry adoptions in the world. Similar inquiries have also been carried out in other European countries. The findings of these inquiries are also important for adoption operations in Finland. The Finnish Adoption Board does not draw direct conclusions from the findings of national inquiries in other countries, but it does examine all new international information carefully.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, which oversees adoption operations in Finland, will decide whether a national inquiry should also be conducted in Finland. The Finnish Adoption Board has communicated to the Ministry that the Board and the Finnish adoption operators who are represented on the Board are all keen to support any such inquiry. A national inquiry could also help to identify weaknesses in the current adoption system. Several European countries have found it necessary to tighten adoption controls and increase the provision of direct support for adoptees. The Finnish Adoption Board recognises the need to do the same in Finland.
Finnish Adoption Board advocates for the right of adoptees to access information and support
News of a national inquiry can be upsetting for adoptees and their families. In Finland, all parties to an adoption have the right to receive psychosocial support in the form of adoption counselling whenever they have questions or concerns about the process. Adoption counselling is available from the family law departments of wellbeing services counties and through Save the Children Finland. In addition, adoptees from abroad need post-adoption service from the intercountry adoption service providers when they have information requests to their countries of origin.
The Finnish Adoption Board emphasises that the rights of adult adoptees to access information must be promoted in all circumstances.
‘I would very much welcome a national inquiry in Finland, as we have a lot of adoptees who have little or no knowledge of their background,’ says Irene Pärssinen-Hentula, Chair of the Finnish Adoption Board.
Finland also has a long history of domestic adoptions and was, for a time, a sending country in intercountry adoptions. These perspectives should also be explored as part of any national inquiry.
‘We at the Finnish Adoption Board encourage people to get in touch with us if they have the slightest suspicion that their own adoption process might not be legal. We will then liaise with the national adoption authorities in the country of origin and the Finnish adoption service provider to find answers. Unlike in other Nordic countries, there have been very few such cases in Finland so far,’ Irene Pärssinen-Hentula says.
Finland has significantly fewer foreign adoptees than Sweden
Finland passed a law on intercountry adoption for the first time in 1985, which was also when the Finnish Adoption Board was established. Between 1985 and 2024, a total of 5,019 children were adopted to Finland through Finnish service providers. There have been approximately 60,000 intercountry adoptions to Sweden.
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Contact details for adoption counselling and service providers
- Contact information of adoption counselling providers by wellbeing services county can be found on the website of the Finnish Adoption Board
- Interpedia: intercountry adoption
- Save the Children Finland: intercountry adoption services (in Finnish)
- City of Helsinki: adoption services
Enquiries
Irene Pärssinen-Hentula, Manager, Chair of the Finnish Adoption Board, tel. +358 (0)29 520 9247