1 Which authority is to be consulted and to give prior consent before the cross-border placement of a child within your territory?
The Social Insurance Board – info@sotsiaalkindlustusamet.ee
2 Please describe shortly the procedure for consultation and the obtaining of consent (including required documents, deadlines, modalities of the procedure, and other relevant details) for cross-border placement of children within your territory.
Consent is obtained by submitting a request to the Social Insurance Board, and in particular by furnishing the following information and documents:
1) the name, date of birth, nationality and mother tongue of the child;
2) an assessment of any assistance requirements the child has, including information on the child’s physical, health-related, psychological, emotional, cognitive, educational and economic status;
3) the circumstances giving rise to the placement and the reasons for the placement in Estonia;
4) the expected duration of the placement;
5) a summary of the child’s opinion or, where the opinion of the child has not been established, a statement of the reasons why this has not been done;
6) information on ongoing proceedings concerning the child;
7) information about the legal representative of the child who is to be placed;
8) the name, date of birth, nationality and mother tongue of the person with whom the child is to be placed, and their contact details;
9) an overview of the welfare support measures that the child will need after being placed in Estonia;
10) an overview of how the child’s contact with his or her parents and other relatives, or with other persons close to the child, has been arranged;
11) information on funding for the child’s placement;
12) court decisions concerning parental responsibility in respect of the child to be placed;
13) other relevant documentation.
3 Has your Member State decided that consent is not required for cross-border placements of children within your territory where the child is to be placed with certain categories of close relatives? If yes, what are the categories of close relatives?
There has been no separate decision. If the child needs to be placed with a close relative, the child’s welfare and placement needs must still be assessed and justified in this context. Consent is not required for the placement of a child with the other parent if they have custody rights.
4 Does your Member State have in place any agreements or arrangements for simplifying the consultation procedure for obtaining consent for the cross-border placement of children?
Not at this stage.