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 binding 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 legally binding 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.
3. Submit the documents by visiting a service location in person, through a Finnish diplomatic mission or by sending them by post to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, PO Box 26, FI-68601 Pietarsaari. 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 legally binding 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.
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.
You gender entry cannot be corrected on the basis of a medical certificate issued outside Finland. However, you can turn to the HUS Gender Identity Clinic in Helsinki or the TAYS Trans Outpatient Clinic in Tampere. With the statements obtained from the outpatient clinics, you can ask for the recognition of your gender in Finland (the webpage is in Finnish).
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.
Links to acts related to the matter
Laki transseksuaalin sukupuolen vahvistamisesta (only in Finnish)
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Telephone number +358 295 536 320