Divorce granted abroad 

If your divorce has been granted by a foreign court, notify us so that we can register the information in the Population Information System.
Up-to-date personal information makes it easier for you to deal with public authorities. Please note that if you are a Finnish citizen, notifying the Digital and Population Data Services Agency is also a statutory obligation.

Do you live in Sweden? 

We receive information about your divorce automatically if it has been registered in Sweden and you are a Finnish citizen. If you are a dual citizen of both Sweden and Finland, you must notify us of your divorce yourself. Sweden does not forward the information, as it considers you only its own citizen.

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 document must be legalised and/or translated

    We require the original document or a certified copy for registration. 

    Do the following if you submit a copy:

    1. First request legalisation for the original document, if necessary.
    2. Request a certified copy of the document. A certified copy can be issued either by a notary public or by the same authority that issued the original document.
    3. Legalise the certified copy as well. 

    Read more: 

    Legalisation of foreign documents

  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

    See more detailed instructions for submitting documents.

    Are you submitting an electronic document?

    In many countries, authorities issue electronic documents without a handwritten signature or stamp. We can accept such a document only if we can verify its authenticity electronically, for example with a QR code, or a link in the document.

    Note that a scanned copy or photo of a certificate is not the same as an electronic document. 

    Electronic documents must also be legalised if required. 

  4. We will notify you once your information has been registered

    We are processing your application. We will contact you if we need additional information.

    Once your divorce has been registered, we will send you an extract from the Population Information System using one of the following methods:

    • in Suomi.fi Messages, if you are using it
    • by post to the address registered in the Finnish Population Information System. Please make sure your address is up to date
    • by secure email to the email address you have provided, if you have a Finnish phone number

Price

Free of charge

Didn’t find what you were looking for on our website?

Contact us

You can find the average processing times on our website. 

Telephone service

Telephone service: 0295 536 320

Service hours: Mon–Fri 9–15

The call and the waiting time will cost you the local and mobile rates agreed with your operator.

Email

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

Send secure email

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

 

Population of Finland 5 665 029