21
S t a t e Regu l a t i on s and I n s u r an ce s
date of birth, nationality, family relationships
and address) will be entered into the Finnish
Population Information System. The personal
identity code is a means of identification which is
more specific than a name. The personal identity
code is needed in a variety of situations in Finnish
everyday life: for the payment of salaries, in bank
transactions, for paying with a debit/credit card
and for applying for certain benefits.
Foreign citizens staying in Finland for less than
one year can also be entered into the Population
Information System, if this is necessary in order to
be able to stay or work in Finland. In this case, it is
possible to get a personal identity code. The Local
Register Office makes the decisions concerning
the issuance of personal identity codes. For the
registration you will need a passport, a valid
residence permit and, if applicable, a marriage
certificate and birth certificates for the children.
Please note that the documents must be legalized
(Apostille/Grand Legalization) and translated. An
official notification of move is needed whenever
your address changes, including when your
residence in Finland ends.
Employees can get their Finnish personal ID at the
tax office if they are going to work in Finland for
a short period. The Finnish Tax Administration is
entitled to enter information into the Population
Register System and distribute identity codes
jointly with Local Register Offices if the matter
concerns foreigners who arrive for temporary
periods, i.e. less than one year, to work in Finland.
You can get a personal identity code at a tax
office on the condition that you need it for tax-
related purposes. More information can be found
on:
For more information regarding the registration,
please contact:
Lounais-Suomen maistraatti, Åbo unit
Street address:
Lounais-Suomen maistraatti/
Magistraten i Sydvästra Finland
Auragatan 8
P.O. Box 372
FI - 20101 Åbo
Phone: +358 (0)29 553 944 (switchboard)
e-mail:
Local Register Office of West Finland, Vasa unit
Street address:
Länsi-Suomen maistraatti/ Magistraten i Västra
Finland
Wolffskavägen 35
P.O. Box 208
FI - 65101 Vasa
Phone: +358 (0)29 553 9451 (switchboard)
e-mail:
N.B. All registrations at Maistraatti/Magistraten
are free of charge. You can also register at the
local tax office or at the Kela/Fpa office in Åbo and
in Vasa.
Change of Address Notification
A Change o f Add r e s s No t i f i c a t i on
(
flyttningsanmälan/muuttoilmoitus
) must be made
every time a person moves within or away from
Finland. Notification forms are available at all post
offices and
magistraten/ maistraatti
, and are also
printable from the Internet.
The notification can also be made by calling the
nationwide change of address-service line +358
(0)295 535 535 (local call charge/mobile charge,
queuing is subject to charge), Mon-Fri 08:00-
16:00 (service also in English). You can also fill in
the notification on the Internet, see:
3.3 Insurances (social, medical, pri-
vate)
Social Insurance
The Finnish Social Insurance Institution
(
Folkpensionsanstalten (FPA)/Kansaneläkelaitos
(KELA)
) is responsible for providing most of the
Finnish social security benefits. The objective
of the Finnish Social Security is to guarantee an
adequate basic income in all life situations.
Eligibility for Finnish social security benefits is
based on residence in Finland. The residence
is considered permanent if a person moves
to Finland for family reasons, or has a regular
employment relationship in Finland for at least
two years. Students are not considered to be
permanently residing in Finland.
