Fast track service for specialists and growth entrepreneurs
Once you have received a decision on your residence permit from the Finnish Immigration Service, you can start preparing for your arrival in Finland. Some matters should be handled in advance in your country of origin so that your dealings with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency can proceed more smoothly. Such matters include the legalisation of family relationship documents and making an appointment to register with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
Can I use the fast track service?
The fast track service can only be used by those who have been granted a residence permit through the Finnish Immigration Service's fast track service
- specialists
- growth entrepreneurs
- EU Blue Card senior specialists
- specialists who have applied on the basis of an internal company transfer
- persons in top or middle management of a company
- and family members of all the above.
If you have not received a residence permit based on one of the above, you cannot use the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s fast track service. In such cases, please refer to our website for the appropriate instructions on registering as a foreigner. Read more about the Finnish Immigration Service’s fast track service.
Why register with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency?
You need to register in order to handle a wide range of practical matters in Finland. You will receive a personal identity code upon registration, and your data – including name, date of birth, gender, nationality, mother tongue and address – will be stored in the Population Information System. In addition, information on your spouse, children and parents may be entered under certain conditions.
Why register with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency?
You need to register in order to handle a wide range of practical matters in Finland. You will receive a personal identity code upon registration, and your data – including name, date of birth, gender, nationality, mother tongue and address – will be stored in the Population Information System. In addition, information on your spouse, children and parents may be entered under certain conditions.
In Finland, a personal identity code is used to identify persons. The code consists of your birth date and four unique characters. A personal identity code is needed, for example, when dealing with the authorities, opening a bank account and paying wages. We grant you a personal identity code at the same time as we register your data in the Finnish Population Information System. You can read more about the personal identity codes on our website.
Your address will be recorded together with your personal data. The address can be temporary, permanent or only used as a postal address.
Postal address
You can register a postal address, which means that you are not registered as living at that address. A postal address can be used if you do not have a permanent address or if you want to collect your mail from a post office.
Temporary address
A temporary address is valid for a limited time, and you are registered as living at that address for a certain time period. A temporary address is usually valid for one year at a time.
Permanent address and municipality of residence
A permanent address means that you are registered as living at that address until further notice. The address is valid until you move to a different address and submit a notification of move. When a permanent address is recorded, your municipality of residence in Finland is also recorded. However, you can only receive a municipality of residence and associated permanent address if you meet the conditions for receiving a municipality of residence.
Municipalities offer various services to the people living in them, such as public healthcare and child day-care. If you have a municipality of residence, you usually have the right to use the services provided by this municipality. Sometimes a municipality of residence is also needed to use the services provided by the municipality or to receive financial benefits or subsidies. A municipality of residence is also needed for obtaining a Finnish identity card and a driving licence.
Can I obtain a municipality of residence and permanent address?
You can receive a municipality of residence if you have entered the country and plan to live in Finland for more than a year.
In addition, at least one of the following conditions must be met:
- Your residence permit is a continuous (A) permit.
- If you have a temporary (B) permit, it must be valid for at least one year and, in addition, you must have an employment contract that is valid for at least two years.
- If your family member has a municipality of residence in Finland, you can also obtain a municipality of residence and permanent address for yourself provided that the family relationships are registered in the Population Information System.
- You can also receive a municipality of residence under certain other conditions. See the municipality of residence page for more details.
We do not automatically register your marital status and family relationship information in the Population Information System. Saving the information requires that you present original and legalized certificates of your family relationships. You may also need a translation of the certificate. Registration of family relationships is needed, for example, to apply for some benefits and for parents to be able to manage their children’s affairs in Finland.
How to register your family relationship
Check in advance whether you need legalization of documents.
- Legalisation is not required for public documents issued by EU countries nor for extracts issued by Nordic countries.
- Documents from states that have acceded to the Apostille Convention are legalised through the Apostille legalisation process.
- Documents issued by other countries are first legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of origin and then by the Finnish diplomatic mission or diplomatic mission of another Nordic country.
- You can find more detailed instructions in our legalization guide.
Find out if you need a translation of the documents.
- We can accept documents in English, Finnish and Swedish. Documents in other languages must be translated.
- Translations for some languages can be obtained from an authorised translator in Finland or another EU country, in which case the translation is valid as such.
- Translations made by other translators must be legalised by Apostille or, in the two-stage procedure, in the same way as the family relationship document itself.
Take with you to your appointment:
- the original copy of the legalised document establishing the family relationship and a translation of this document;
- a completed Attachment A, if you want us to save your marriage information;
- a completed Attachment B, if you want us to store your child's data. Complete a separate form for each of your children.
How long will it take to process my case?
The general processing time for employees is no more than two weeks. Efforts are made to process matters quickly for those using the fast track service.
Make an appointment in advance at one of our service location, as some of our locations may have longer queues for appointments. Making a reservation does not require authentication, so you can easily do it from abroad. The whole family can be served in a single appointment.
Please note that if the period of validity of your residence permit card has not yet started when you visit our service location, the registration of a home municipality cannot be done before the period of your permit´s validity starts.
Is it possible to speed up the processing time?
The processing of a registration can only be sped up for very exceptional and very weighty reasons. For example, opening a bank account is not a sufficient justification for speeding up the process. Cases are processed in their order of arrival. Making an appointment in advance, however, will speed up the initiation of the process.
Do the following
To register your personal data in the Finnish Population Information System, you must visit the Digital and Population Data Services Agency in person. Every registrant must be present, including any children.
1. Book an appointment for the ‘Fast track service for specialists and growth entrepreneurs ’ at dvv.fi/reservation. Alternatively, you can also book an appointment for the service ‘international registrations’. You can book an appointment in advance from your country of origin.
- The whole family can be served in a single appointment. Any children in your family must also be present at the appointment in our service location.
2. If possible, bring with you a completed ‘the Registration Information of a Foreigner’ form. Fill in the attachments if necessary. Print out the paper form in advance and bring it with you to the appointment.
- Tick “yes” to the first question on the form (under Background information: Has your residence permit been issued on one of the following grounds...).
The registration information of a foreigner
Appendix A: Marriage or registered partnership
3. Please bring the following documents with you:
- Valid passport
- Residence permit card or residence permit decision (paper or electronic)
- Employment contract.
- If you want us to store in the Population Information System other personal data, such as your family relationships, please include the original, legalized and (if required) translated certificates verifying this information. Remember to check if the certificates must be legalised and/or translated.
4. Inquiries and email messages will not speed up the processing of hnotifications. We will contact you if we need further information.
You will receive a confirmation from us once your data has been registered. Check that the data 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.
Useful links
Work in Finland guide helps you at every step of arriving in Finland. The guide offers the most essential instructions easily in one place and directs you to the right service at the right time. Read the guide.
Didn’t find what you were looking for on our website?
Customer service
You can find the average processing times on our website.
Please use secure email if your message contains personal or otherwise confidential information. Please choose this address as the recipient: [email protected].
Please mention ”fast track” in your email if you email us.
Telephone
Telephone service number is +358 295 536 320
Service hours:
- Mon 9-15
- Tue-Fri 9-12