Gender recognised abroad

If you have been legally recognised abroad as belonging to a gender other than the gender recorded for you in Finland, the decision may also be recognised in Finland under certain conditions. In connection with the recognition, you legal gender entry is corrected and you will receive a new personal identity code. 

If you are a Finnish citizen, you must notify the Finnish Population Information System of any changes in your personal data.

How can I have my gender entry corrected?

You must 

  • possess a legally valid decision on the recognition of your gender (a decision, passport or an extract from the population register)
  • have an acceptable connection with the country in which your gender was recognised. In other words, you must be a citizen of that country or you must have lived in that country at the time of the recognition. 

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. Check whether you should have the gender recognition document legalised or translated.   

Read more about the legalisation and translation of documents.  

2. Complete the form below.   

 

Correction of personal data

 

3. Submit the documents through a Finnish diplomatic mission or by sending them by post 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. 

Or make an appointment with the Registration of a foreigner´s personal data service at www.dvv.fi/reservation.  

Please note that we cannot accept scanned documents. Submit all the necessary documents at once to speed up the process. Read our website thoroughly to ensure you have the necessary documentation.

Do not send your passport to us. Instead send us a legalised copy of your passport.  

See more detailed instructions for submitting documents.   

You need the following documents:  

  • the form on the correction of your personal data that you have completed.  
  • a new passport, the decision on the recognition of your gender or an extract from the population register. You must present the original documents or reliably certified copies of the originals and, if necessary, the documents must be legalised.
  • if necessary, a translation of the decision or a translation of the population register extract. You must present the original translation or a reliably certified copy of the original and, if necessary, the document must be legalised. 
  • Also present your old passport or send a copy of it (if you still have your old passport).

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 all your details have been entered correctly.

If for some reason we do not enter in the Population Information System the information that you have submitted, we will send you a decision on this. Instructions for submitting a request for administrative review are attached to the decision.

Price

Free of charge

Frequently asked questions

Links to acts related to the matter

Laki sukupuolen vahvistamisesta (only in Finnish) 

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Telephone service number is +358 295 536 320

Service hours:

  • Mon 9–15
  • Tue–Fri 9–12