Stricter rules for adoption
Adoption will become more difficult in Finland as new rules take effect next month.
With more paperwork necessary, adoption is set to become an even lengthier process in Finland. Domestic adoptions of minor children will soon have to be green-lit by the Finnish Adoption Board—a practice currently only demanded for international adoptions. This permit will, however, not be necessary for internal adoptions within families.
The new law coming into force in July will also set the upper age limit at 50 for adoptive parents.
The revised rules will also enable open adoption, previously not possible in Finland. In open adoptions, children are able to retain contact with their biological parents, if agreed with the adoptive family.
The new law will also see the Finnish Adoption Board move under the jurisdiction of medical safety watchdog Valvira.
Latest in: News
Finland ranks mid-table in EU beach cleanliness
Finland ranks among the EU’s top 10 countries when it comes to purity of bathing waters – but just barely.
April unemployment at 8.8%
The unemployment rate in Finland declined slightly in April to 8.8%, down from March, but still higher than a year previously.
Company exploiting foreign workers up for Helsinki contract
Work-safety inspections this year at about 20 small and medium-sized cleaning companies that employ immigrant workers have discovered problems at every firm checked. Yle has found that the City of Helsinki is considering contracting services from a company that was determined to have employment rules violations.
Spanish nurses leaving Vaasa
Five of eight Spanish nurses recruited to work in Vaasa's city hospital have decided to quit the jobs they took up in October and leave the country. The reasons they cite include the high cost of living, the cold climate, and the difficulty of the Finnish language.
Toxic spill in Helsinki's Mätäjoki River
A chemical discharge into Helsinki's Mätäjoki River has killed fish and possibly wiped out years of efforts to revive spawning grounds for endangered species.
Sikh bus driver fights for right to wear turban
Managing diversity in Finnish workplaces is raising new issues for employers, unions and workers themselves. One Sikh bus driver in Vantaa is currently fighting to set a precedent allowing him to wear a turban.
Veolia drivers to return to work
Bus drivers working for the Veolia company will return to work on Tuesday, bringing their week-long work stoppage to an end.
Finnish traffic cops set to miss out on Gumball speeding fine jackpot
Several contestants in the Gumball rally were stopped for speeding on Monday, on the Turku-Helsinki leg of their unorthodox race. Police say that despite their concerns, the drivers are likely to escape Finland’s hefty income-based fines.
Yle News building its freelance database
Yle News is building up a database of freelance journalists for occasional work in radio, television and online news production.
Jolla to sell new phone this year
A mobile firm founded by former Nokia employees is set to put a new smartphone on sale by the end of the year. The company, Jolla, was set up to continue working on an open source Linux-based smartphone when Nokia announced it was switching to the Windows Phone operating system.
