Representative of an unaccompanied child asylum seeker
When a child under 18 years of age arrives in Finland without a parent or guardian and applies for asylum or temporary protection, a district court will appoint a representative for the child. A representative will be appointed after the Finnish Immigration Service submits an application to the district court regarding the appointment. All unaccompanied children who apply for asylum or temporary protection will be assigned a representative by a district court in Finland. In Finland, anyone under 18 is considered a child.
The representative’s task is to ensure that the child’s best interests are taken into account in different situations. The representative will use the right to be heard on behalf of the person who has custody of the child in matters affecting the child and in matters concerning the child’s assets. The representative protects the best interests of the child in official matters. The representative will attend the child’s asylum interview, for example, and will be present when the child visits a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service to manage the child’s matters.
The representative is not responsible for the daily maintenance, upbringing or other care of the child. These matters are the responsibility of the child’s reception centre or of the family with whom the child lives.
The representative’s fee is paid by the Finnish Immigration Service when the child lives in a reception centre, lives in private accommodation or is placed with a family. Once the child is granted a residence permit and moves to a municipality, the representative’s fee will be paid by the KEHA centre.
Read more:
Instruction for representatives: handling matters with the Finnish Immigration Service
Enter Finland for counsels and representatives
Information about the asylum process for children without a guardian
Other instructions for representatives are available only in Finnish and Swedish
- Representing a child applying for asylum without a guardian (Finnish, Swedish)
- Instruction on fees and compensations for expenses for representatives of children without a guardian (Finnish, Swedish)
- Specification of a representative’s fees and compensations for expenses (Finnish, Swedish)
- Representative's form for specification of travelling expenses (Finnish, Swedish)
- Invoice of a representative’s fees and other expenses (Finnish, Swedish)
- Tietoa turvapaikkaprosessista: ilman huoltajaa olevat lapset (Finnish)
Instructions for minors
