Finnish Authenticator Identification Service

The use of the Katso service will be discontinued on 31 December 2020. The Finnish Authenticator Identification Service will replace Katso identification for foreign persons.

Katso IDs will not be automatically transferred to the new service. If you do not have a Finnish personal identity code or a Finnish online banking IDs, obtain new ones for the identification service. IDs are obtained independently in the online service.

Who is the identification service intended for?

Identification using the Finnish Authenticator Identification Service is intended only for those foreign citizens representing a foreign organisation who currently use Katso identification, do not have a Finnish personal identity code and will have to stop using the Katso service by the end of this year. The service will replace the Katso identification service for this group of users.

The application can be used to log into those Finnish public administration e-services that have implemented use of the Finnish Authenticator Identification Service. To be able to use the different e-services, the person representing a foreign company must also be granted the required mandates in Suomi.fi e-Authorizations.

How is the identification service used?

In the Finnish Authenticator Identification Service, a foreigner registers their Foreigner’s identifier (UID) and verifies their identity using the Finnish Authenticator application. In connection with initial identification, the user takes a photo of the passport or national identity card and a photo of themself. The identification service will confirm the person’s identity if the information in the identity document and the photo match.

After registering and initiating the use of the application, foreign citizens can log into the e-service using their user ID, password and application PIN.

Identification has been implemented in connection with Suomi.fi e-Identification. The Finnish Authenticator Identification Service is not a strong electronic identification service.

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Do the following

To commission the Messages service, familiarise yourself with the service in greater detail at Suomi.fi Service Management and start the commissioning process.

To Suomi.fi Service Management

Please note:

If you have a Finnish personal identity code or a Finnish online banking IDs, you do not need to use the Finnish Authenticator Identification Service. In this case, you can identify yourself by using Suomi.fi e-Identification.
Note that a driving licence is not valid for the verification of your identity. You can verify your identity with your passport. If you are a citizen of an EU Member State or a citizen of San Marino, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you may alternatively take a photo of your official photo identity card.
Take a photo of only the passport's personal data page, not the entire opening.
Avoid reflections and shadows on the document surface.
Be careful not to cover any part of the ID with your fingers.
The identification service will not accept poor quality images.
Take a photo of yourself against a white background.
Place the camera in front of your face. Look into the camera and follow the instructions provided by the application.

Questions about authorisation in a foreign company

Find out the instructions in the instructions for the mandate service provided for officials: www.suomi.fi/e-authorizations/authorisation-with-an-application

To use services electronically, the foreign managing director must obtain a foreigner's identifier and the Finnish Authenticator app through the Finnish Authenticator Identification Service. You will find the instructions for the service on the Suomi.fi website under Instructions and support.

The foreign company must apply for the mandates through the mandate service provided by officials because there is no basic register of foreign companies from which the representation rights of a foreign company could be determined.

After the foreign company has applied for the right to grant a mandate for its representative through the mandate service provided by officials, the representative can start to grant mandates for transactions in Suomi.fi e-Authorizations.

The foreign managing director must first obtain a foreigner’s identifier and the identification app in the Finnish Authenticator Identification Service. After that, the company must apply for the mandates through the mandate service provided by officials.

When the managing director has received the rights to grant a mandate, they can independently grant mandates for transactions in Suomi.fi Web Service to the employees who need them.

The Finnish Authenticator Identification Service is intended only for foreign citizens. If a Finnish person would like to manage the affairs of a foreign company electronically, they have to obtain a Finnish identification token. After that, the foreign company will use the mandate service provided by officials to apply for a representative’s right to grant a mandate for that person.

The Finnish Authenticator Identification Service may also be needed if the right to create mandates needs to be given to the foreign managing director of a Finnish company and this foreign managing director does not have a Finnish personal identity code or identification tokens. In such a situation, the foreign managing director should obtain a foreigner's identifier because they will become a party to the mandate, the assignee.

However, if the foreign managing director of this Finnish limited liability company only signs the application and the rights to grant a mandate are needed for the Finnish financial director, no foreigner's identifier is required. However, whenever a foreign representative/employee of a company becomes an assignee, a party to the mandate, they must be identified with the foreigner's identifier if there is no Finnish personal identity code or a strong identification token.

Finnish Authenticator Identification Service

Who is the identification service intended for?

How is the identification service used?

Do the following

Please note:

Questions about authorisation in a foreign company

How do you create the identifiers for a foreign managing director?

Can a foreign citizen refuse to use the Finnish Authenticator app?

What should we do in a situation where the company granting the mandates is Finnish, but all of the authorised signatories are foreign natural persons?

When the representative of a foreign company has identified themself through the Finnish Authenticator service, how do they grant the mandates?

How does the foreign managing director of a Finnish company (a limited liability company) who does not have a Finnish personal identity code or Finnish online banking codes grant mandates to the company's employees?

Do I need a foreigner’s identifier and the Finnish Authenticator app if I act as the representative of a foreign company on behalf of a Finnish company? I am Finnish and I have a Finnish personal identity code, but no Finnish online banking codes or a Finnish phone connection.

Does the Finnish Authenticator Identification Service apply only to foreign companies? What should the company do if it is a Finnish limited liability company whose authorised signatory is a foreign citizen?