Divorce granted abroad 

If you have been issued a legally valid court decision on divorce by a foreign court of law, we can also record the divorce in the Finnish Population Information System. This way your personal data will be up to date and it will be easier for you to use the services of Finnish authorities. If you are a Finnish citizen, you have the obligation to notify the Finnish Population Information System of the divorce granted to you. 

You will need to attach a document issued by foreign authorities to the notification, such as a legally valid court decision or an extract from a population register. In most cases, the document must be translated and legalised. See our instructions for the legalisation of documents.   

Finnish citizens living in Sweden 

The Swedish authorities automatically send information about a divorce to Finland when it concerns a Finnish citizen. If you are a citizen of both Finland and Sweden, Sweden considers you to be a Swedish citizen only and will not forward the information. Persons with dual citizenship therefore have to submit the notification themselves. 

Required documents

  • legally valid court decision or some other document proving the divorce
  • if necessary, a translation of the document or an appendix compliant with Article 39 of the Brussels II a Regulation

Remember to check whether any of the documents must be legalised. At least the decision and the population register extracts of some countries must be legalised. The legalisation method depends on the country that issued the document. 

Also note that we can only accept documents in Finnish, Swedish or English. If you have documents in other languages, they must be translated into any of these three languages. See the instructions for legalising and translating documents. 

Do the following 

 

1. Fill in the form below.       

Foreign court decision on divorce  

 

2. Check if the original decision or extract from the population register must be legalised and/or translated.     

  • You must present the certificate either as an original or as a certified copy
    • If your document must be legalised, a copy of it must be requested of the legalised document. The copy is then also legalised.
    • A certified copy can be issued either by a notary public or by the same authority that issued the original document

 

3. Deliver the documents as follows:
A) Through the Finnish mission 

  • If you are a Finnish citizen or a foreign citizen permanently residing in Finland
  • Otherwise, you can ask the diplomatic mission whether it is possible to submit documents through them

B) By post

  • Send the form and documents to Digital and Population Data Services Agency, PL 1003, 00531 HELSINKI, FINLAND. If your municipality of residence was in Åland before moving abroad, send the documents to Statens ämbetsverk på Åland.

C)    By bringing the documents to our service location

NOTE. Only electronic documents that can be verified can be sent by email (for example, the document was originally issued electronically by a foreign authority). If necessary, the electronic document must also be legalised. An electronic document does not mean a scanned document. 


See more detailed instructions for submitting documents.
 

4. Please note that inquiries and email messages will not speed up the processing of the notifications. We will contact you if we need more information. You will receive an extract from the Population Information System after your details have been recorded. Check that the information has been entered correctly. If for some reason we do not record the information you have submitted in the Population Information System, you will receive a decision on this. Instructions for submitting a request for administrative review are attached to the decision. 

Price

Free of charge

Laws related to the matter

Brussels IIa Regulation

Recognition of a divorce, Marriage Act (234/1929)

Acceptance of documents issued by authorities in EU Member States

Act on the Population Information System and Certificate Services Provided by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (in Finnish)

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Contact us

You can find the average processing times on our website. 

Email

If your message contains personal or other confidential information, remember to use secure email. Choose the address  [email protected] as the recipient.

Send secure email

Telephone service

Telephone service: 0295 536 320

Service hours: Mon–Fri 9–15

See also

Finnish citizens can deliver documents to: Digital and Population Data Services Agency, PL 1003, 00531 HELSINKI, FINLAND or visit a Finnish mission. If you submit the documents to the delegation for further dispatch to the Digital and population data services agency, the delegation will charge a fee for its service in accordance with its price list.

Finnish missions

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