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.
Also present your old passport or send a copy of it (if you still have your old passport).
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
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Check if the original certificate 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.
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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.
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We will contact you if we need more information
Please note that inquiries and email messages will not speed up the processing of the notifications.
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.
This is how you get the document:
You will receive a notification of registration after your data has been saved.
You will receive a notification via encrypted email when your data has been saved. If you have enabled Suomi.fi Messages, you will receive a message there instead of via email. If you do not have Suomi.fi Messages or email, you will be notified by letter.
We will contact you if we need more information.
Check that all your details have been entered correctly. If the information you have provided cannot be entered in the Population Information System, we will send you a decision on the case. Instructions for submitting a request for administrative review are attached to the decision.
Frequently asked questions
The Finnish law only recognises two genders: man and woman. In Finland, a gender-neutral person is always entered as a woman in official documents and registers.
Your old Unique Identification Number will stop working, but you can request a new one. Read more about the e-certificate on our website.
If your gender has been legally recognised outside Finland, your marital status will not automatically change in Finland. We can, however, update your marital status if you present a document showing that you marital status has also changed in connection with the recognition of your gender outside Finland.
You should always keep your address details up to date in the Population Information System. In that case, your places of residence abroad can be directly checked from the Population Information System.
If you have not made any notification of living abroad, you can present you rental agreement or an extract from a foreign population register in which your address appears.
If your new name appears in your passport, a decision or the extract from the population register, it can also be updated in the Population Information System.
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Telephone service
Telephone service: 0295 536 320
Service hours: Mon–Fri 9–15