Public services and online portals

Key authorities

• Maahanmuuttovirasto (Migri, immigration service): registration of the right of residence of EU citizens (online via Enter Finland or at the counter), residence permits for other nationalities (see FI-SEJOUR-TOUS-001).
• Digi- ja väestötietovirasto (DVV): registration in the population register, henkilötunnus, municipality of residence (kotikunta), changes of address, legalisation of foreign documents, electronic certificates for identity cards.
• Verohallinto (Vero): tax card, pre-filled tax return, business taxes, the building's tax number (see FI-IMPOTS-TOUS-001 and FI-NIF-TOUS-001). Some offices in large cities can also issue a henkilötunnus at the same time as the tax card.
• Kela (social security): health insurance cover, Kela card, family and housing allowances, student aid (see FI-SANTE-TOUS-001).
• Your municipality (kunta): school, day care, integration services and, now, employment services (työllisyyspalvelut), which have replaced the former TE-palvelut offices; job offers and employment procedures go through the Työmarkkinatori (Job Market Finland) portal.
• Hyvinvointialue (wellbeing services county): health centres, hospitals, social services.
• Patentti- ja rekisterihallitus (PRH) and Vero via ytj.fi: setting up a business (see FI-ENTREPRISE-TOUS-001).
• Traficom (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency): vehicles and driving licences; exchanging a foreign driving licence is done at an Ajovarma point.
• Police (poliisi): resident identity card for foreigners (ulkomaalaisen henkilökortti), passports.
• International House (Helsinki, Joensuu, Oulu, Rauma, Tampere, Turku) and International Pointti in Kemi: one-stop reception points for newcomers, where the DVV is present (DVV).

Steps

1. Before you leave: have your civil status documents and diplomas legalised and, if needed, translated into Finnish, Swedish or English. Tell the authorities in your home country that you are leaving (tax, social security, pension).
2. Migri: have your EU right of residence registered no later than three months after you arrive (except Nordic citizens); €53 in 2026 (see FI-SEJOUR-TOUS-001).
3. DVV: fill in the registration form for a foreigner online (without electronic identification) or on paper, then book an appointment and go in person within the following month, children included. This form is also used to apply for the henkilötunnus of children under 18 who arrive with you; for the municipality of residence (kotikunta), possible if you are staying at least one year, the DVV offers a separate online application. It is free; the henkilötunnus arrives 2 to 3 weeks (work, studies) or 3 to 4 weeks (other cases) after the visit (DVV). You can get it if you are staying legally in Finland with a reason: work with the right to work, studies, a family member already registered at an address, a residence permit or an EU registration certificate from Migri.
4. Vero: apply for your tax card with your henkilötunnus.
5. Bank: open an account (passport or identity card; a foreign driving licence is not enough) and ask for online banking codes if the bank grants them to you.
6. Kela: declare your move in OmaKela or with form Y 77e, for the Kela card and benefits.
7. Municipality: enrol the children at school or day care, find out about integration services and, if you are looking for a job, register with the employment services.
8. Later: resident identity card for foreigners at the police (with kotikunta), exchange of your driving licence, phone with a subscription.

Without a henkilötunnus: what you can do

• Possible: open a bank account (the bank asks for the code if you have one, and for your address in Finland or abroad), buy a prepaid SIM card (no code or address needed), receive emergency care (billed afterwards if you have no entitlement to care), use some public online services with the Finnish Authenticator app (see FI-ADMINISTRATIONS-TOUS-002).
• Not possible or very difficult: tax card, Kela, a standard phone subscription, online banking codes, most public online services.
• Interim solution: to work, ask for the henkilötunnus at the Vero office or the DVV at the same time as the tax card; otherwise, your employer withholds 60% of your salary.

Common pitfalls

• Doing the paperwork in the wrong order. Kela and Vero ask for the henkilötunnus, and Kela also asks for a bank account.
• Forgetting the municipality of residence. Without a kotikunta, no normal access to public health services, no resident identity card and no Finnish driving licence.
• Staying less than a year. Below one year, you are generally not entitled to a kotikunta. With a temporary residence permit (B) of at least one year, an employment contract or studies of at least two years count among the evidence of a lasting settlement.
• Not choosing your language. At the DVV, say whether you want to be served in Finnish or Swedish; in a bilingual municipality, you can use Swedish with municipal services.
• Moving without telling anyone. Every change of address must be declared (DVV, through the free notification-of-move service); when leaving Finland, within the week of departure. Note: this notification cannot be used to apply for a municipality of residence, which goes through the DVV registration form.
• Temporary, permanent or postal address. The DVV distinguishes the three; only a permanent address goes with a municipality of residence.

What changes by country of origin

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: Migri then the DVV.
• Nordic citizens: no Migri, straight to the DVV.
• British citizens (Scots included): residence permit from Migri (third country); with a residence permit, registration in the population register is automatic and the henkilötunnus is issued at the same time.
• Åland Islands: the archipelago has its own government (Ålands landskapsregering), which handles in particular school, health (ÅHS), professional activity and the purchase of land; Swedish is the only official language there. Residence (Migri), taxes (Vero) and Kela remain national. But on the spot, it is Statens ämbetsverk på Åland (State service on Åland, Torggatan 16 B, Mariehamn) that does the DVV's work: the registration of a foreigner in the population register is done in person at its counter, with an appointment by phone or a drop-in session without appointment. Unemployment goes through the AMS (Åland's employment service, ams.ax) and not through Kela (see FI-TRAVAIL-TOUS-002).

Means of identification

• Finnish bank codes (pankkitunnukset): provided under a contract with a Finnish bank. They must be in your name and usable for electronic identification (not a company's codes). The conditions for getting them are stricter than for opening an account: a foreigner sometimes has an account without receiving codes.
• Mobile certificate (mobiilivarmenne): activated on the SIM card of a DNA, Elisa or Telia subscription; you already need Finnish bank codes to activate it, and it is not possible with a prepaid card (eSIM: ask the operator).
• Police identity card: possible for a foreigner who is settled long term, registered in the population register, with a registered right of residence and a municipality of residence. You activate its certificate (kansalaisvarmenne), then use it with a card reader or the hightrust.id application.
• hightrust.id application: free digital wallet, which can be activated with a police identity card issued after 31 August 2021, including the resident card for foreigners.
• Finnish Authenticator: service reserved for foreigners with no Finnish means of identification. You create a foreigner's identifier (UID) with your email, then prove your identity in the application with a photo of your passport (or of your national identity card if you are a citizen of the EU, the EEA, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or San Marino) and a selfie. A driving licence is not accepted. Each service decides whether it accepts it.
• European digital identities (eIDAS): accepted if the service is open to foreigners. As of 10/02/2025, Suomi.fi listed Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czechia, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Steps

1. On arrival: install Finnish Authenticator if a service you need accepts it (check its instructions first).
2. Get your henkilötunnus (see FI-NIF-TOUS-001), then open a bank account and ask for online codes.
3. With the bank codes, activate a mobile certificate on a subscription (not a prepaid card).
4. Once you have your municipality of residence, ask the police for a resident identity card for foreigners, activate its certificate and, if you want, the hightrust.id application.
5. Keep a backup means (two different methods): losing your phone or changing banks can cut you off from OmaVero or OmaKela.

Common pitfalls

• Relying on your French digital identity. France was not on Suomi.fi's eIDAS list as of 10/02/2025: plan for Finnish Authenticator or a Finnish means.
• Taking a prepaid SIM card and hoping for a mobile certificate. You need a subscription with DNA, Elisa or Telia.
• Thinking that all services accept Finnish Authenticator. Each service decides; OmaVero, for example, accepts according to Vero personal bank codes, the mobile certificate, certificate cards and the Hightrust.id application; Finnish Authenticator is reserved there for representatives of foreign companies (with a Suomi.fi authorisation), and private individuals from another EU country can identify themselves through eIDAS for a limited number of functions.
• Letting your foreigner's identifier lie dormant. The Finnish Authenticator account is blocked if it is not used for four years.
• Lending your codes. The codes of a joint account can only be used by the holder to whom they were issued.

What changes by country of origin

• Citizens of the EU, the EEA, San Marino, Switzerland and the United Kingdom: national identity card accepted to activate Finnish Authenticator; otherwise the passport.
• Countries on the eIDAS list (see above): you can sometimes log in with your national digital identity.
• European Digital Identity Wallet and the Finnish State's digital identity: the Finnish law governing them has been in force since 1 October 2026 (government press release of 30/09/2026). The wallet will be provided at least by the DVV (private companies will also be able to offer one, under Traficom's supervision); it will be free and optional. The first attestation it will contain will be a digital identity issued on the basis of a valid passport or identity card. Not yet available: the government expects them in 2027; the launch date will be announced later by the responsible agencies. Law 812/2026 on the digital identity document (art. 5) opens it to Finnish citizens and to foreigners who live in Finland, but only if they have a valid base document within the meaning of Finnish law (Finnish passport or identity card issued by the Finnish police, including the card for foreigners: art. 2 point 9) and the European wallet activated; a passport or identity card from another country therefore does not serve as a basis. The DVV must read the document's chip remotely (art. 5); the digital document is not a travel document (art. 3). The stricter rules on the verification of the identity document by strong-identification providers apply from 1 January 2027.
• Åland Islands: same means of identification as in the rest of Finland.