In Finland, almost every form eventually asks for the same thing: eleven characters that start with your birthday. Your doctor wants it, your landlord wants it, your employer wants it, and the bank will not give you online codes without it. Getting your Finnish personal identity code, the henkilötunnus, is the single most important step of your first month.
The good news is that the process is free and well documented. The less good news is that you must go in person.
What is the Finnish personal identity code?
The henkilötunnus is the identifier of the Finnish population information system. It is made up of your date of birth, a sign for the century, and an individual ending with a check character. It is issued when you are entered in the population information system, usually by the Digi- ja väestötietovirasto (DVV, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency). In some cases Migri, when registering your right of residence, or the Tax Administration can issue one as well; Vero says so on its page for people arriving in Finland.
Do not confuse it with the veronumero, the tax number. The tax number matters only in construction and shipbuilding, where you must register at a tax office and cannot enter the site without it. Everybody else works with the henkilötunnus.
Who can get a Finnish personal identity code?
You must be legally resident in Finland and have a ground for needing one. The DVV lists these examples:
- you work in Finland with the right to work;
- you study in Finland;
- you are a family member of someone who already has a registered Finnish address;
- you hold a residence permit, a residence card or an EU registration certificate.
For an EU citizen staying more than three months, the Migri registration is the proof of lawful residence. See residence in Finland for EU citizens for that step. Nordic citizens go directly to the DVV. Swiss and Liechtenstein citizens follow the same route as EU citizens.
How do you register at the DVV step by step?
- Fill in the online form. It is the "Registration Information of a Foreigner" form. You do not need electronic identification, and a paper form exists.
- Book an appointment. The DVV requires a visit in person. You must come within one month of submitting the form, and children come too.
- Bring your documents: a valid passport or EU/EEA identity card, your Migri EU registration certificate or residence document, proof of work or studies (a contract or a school certificate), and, if you claim family ties, civil-status certificates, legalised and translated where required.
- State your language. Tell the DVV whether you want service in Finnish or Swedish.
- Ask for a municipality of residence on the same form if you stay at least a year.
- Wait. The identity code is issued 2 to 3 weeks after the visit if you work or study, and 3 to 4 weeks otherwise.
The same form can be used for children under 18 who arrive with you. International House centres in Helsinki, Joensuu, Oulu, Rauma, Tampere and Turku (and International Pointti in Kemi) pull several agencies under one roof, and the DVV is present in them. They are worth knowing if your first appointment needs help in English.
Not sure which of your certificates need legalising, or which line to tick on the form? Moovy can walk through your situation, list the documents and draft the Finnish or Swedish note you take to the counter.
How do you get a Finnish tax card?
Once you have your henkilötunnus, you apply to Verohallinto (Vero, the Tax Administration) for a verokortti, the tax card. Vero says that applying for one requires a Finnish personal identity code. If a visit is needed, Vero gives you an appointment. Processing normally takes one to three working days when all information is available.
Prepare an estimate of your income for the whole year, because the tax card carries a withholding percentage and an income ceiling. Give a copy to your employer. One card works for all your employers, with a single annual ceiling.
What if you need to start work before you have the code?
Ask Vero or the DVV for the code in the same visit as your tax card application. Some tax offices in large cities can issue an identity code at the same time. If you start anyway without a tax card, your employer withholds 60 per cent of your salary. It comes back later through the tax return, but your cash flow suffers in the meantime.
What can you do without a personal identity code?
You can open a bank account, though banks may not issue full online banking codes without the code. You can buy a prepaid SIM card without giving an identifier. You can receive urgent medical care, and you may be billed afterwards if you have no entitlement. What you cannot do: get a tax card, apply to Kela, sign a regular phone subscription, or use most public online services. Read Kela in Finland for the benefits side.
How is the Finnish personal identity code used day to day?
Everywhere. Your employer reports your pay under it. Your bank links your account to it. Kela, Vero and your municipality identify you with it. When you book a doctor, the health centre asks for it; when you sign a lease, many landlords ask for it. The Kanta services, where you view prescriptions and test results, are tied to it as well.
That is also why Finns treat it carefully. It is not a secret in the way a password is, but it is a key to your records. Do not post it on social media, do not send it by email to someone you have not verified, and be suspicious of any message that claims to be from Vero or Kela and asks you to click a link. Vero warns on its own site that scam messages have been sent in its name.
How does the process differ for family members and children?
Children under 18 who arrive with you are registered on the same DVV form and attend the visit with you. A child born in Finland must be registered with Migri within three months of birth if the child needs EU registration. Family certificates issued outside the Nordic countries and the EU must be legalised, and translated if they are not in Finnish, Swedish or English. If you rely on a family tie to the person who already has a registered address, the DVV will want to see the certificate that proves it. Bring originals, not photocopies, because the DVV checks the originals.
What changes if you are British or on Åland?
British citizens are third-country nationals since Brexit. With a residence permit, registration in the population system is automatic and the identity code is issued at the same time. See moving to Finland from the UK.
On Åland, the same identity code system applies, but a state office in Mariehamn (Statens ämbetsverk på Åland) does the DVV's counter work, and a foreigner must register in person.
What are the common mistakes?
- Starting work before the tax card. Plan the DVV appointment first.
- Mixing up the henkilötunnus and the veronumero.
- Forgetting that registration at the DVV is separate from Migri. You need both.
- Moving house without telling the DVV. Every change of address is declared there, free of charge.
- Staying under a year and expecting a municipality of residence.
Once the code arrives, guard it. Combined with your name it unlocks a lot, and you should never share it in an email or message to someone you cannot identify.