Apply for a personal identity code primarily through your reception centre. 

If you are applying for a personal identity code from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, you must visit our service location in person: 

1. Before visiting, fill in and print out the Registration Information of a Foreigner form if possible. Fill in the attachments on family relationships if necessary. 

The registration information of a foreigner - Main Form

Appendix A: Marriage or registered partnership

Appendix B: Child

Appendix C: Parents

2. Book an appointment for the International Registrations service in our booking service.

Book an appointment

3. Please bring the following documents with you:  

• a valid passport
• your residence permit card
• if you wish to register based on a work relationship, bring your employment contract 
• if you wish to register based on studies, bring your certificate of student status 
• if you wish to register based on a family relationship, bring your original, legalised and translated family relationship certificates if these relationships have not yet been recorded in the Population Information System.

You can also apply for a municipality of residence at the same time if you have lived in Finland for a year. In this case, also include evidence that you have already lived in Finland for one year (for example, a rental agreement or a certificate on one year’s residence issued by a reception centre).

Apply for a municipality of residence using the online form when the following conditions are met: 

• You have a Finnish personal identity code.
• Your temporary protection residence permit is valid for at least one year.
• You have applied for a temporary protection residence permit or asylum at least one year ago.

Example: You have applied for a temporary protection residence permit on 5 May 2022. You have been informed by the Finnish Immigration Service that your residence permit has been extended. You can apply for a municipality of residence on 5 May 2023. 

You do not need to visit the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. We will send the information to the email address you provided in the online form when your application has been processed and the municipality of residence has been registered. 

Apply for a municipality of residence using the online form

You can also apply for a municipality of residence for your family members at the same time if 

• they live at the same address as you and 
• they also have a Finnish personal identity code and a temporary protection residence permit valid for at least one year, which they have applied for at least one year ago.

If you do not apply for a municipality of residence for yourself but, for example, only for your child or spouse, do not fill in your personal information elsewhere than under "Name of person filling in the form".

When you apply for a municipality of residence using the online form, the date on which you submitted the form is entered as the start date of the municipality of residence. If you want a different start date, use a paper form to apply for a municipality of residence and visit our service location. See instructions below.

Have you applied for a permit less than a year ago but lived in Finland for more than one year?

You can apply for a municipality of residence even though you have applied for a temporary protection permit less than a year ago if the following conditions are met:

• You have a temporary residence permit B that is valid for at least one year.
• You have evidence that you have been living in Finland for at least one year.

Apply for a municipality of residence by visiting the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s service location. 

1. Before visiting, fill in and print out the form if possible.

Application for persons from Ukraine for a municipality of residence 

2. Book an appointment for the International Registrations service in our booking service. 

Book an appointment

3.    Please bring the following documents with you:

• a valid passport
• evidence that you have already lived in Finland for one year (for example, a rental agreement or a certificate issued by a person that has arranged your private accommodation).

You can apply for a municipality of residence if either of the following conditions is met:

• You have a continuous residence permit A.
• You have a temporary residence permit B that is valid for at least one year, and your employment relationship or studies* last at least two years.

* The studies must be vocational or higher education studies that lead to a degree.

Apply for a municipality of residence by visiting the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s service location. 

1. Before visiting, fill in and print out the form if possible.

Application for persons from Ukraine for a municipality of residence 

2. Book an appointment for the International Registrations service in our booking service. 

Book an appointment

3. Please bring the following documents with you:

• a valid passport 

• your residence permit card

• evidence of work or studies lasting more than two years, such as a certificate of student status or an employment contract.

You can get a municipality of residence if  the following conditions are met:

• Your family member already has a municipality of residence in Finland. 
• You have the original legalised and translated certificate of your family relationship. 
• You reside in Finland legally (for example, you have a residence permit).   

Family members include a spouse, guardian or dependent child. A cohabiting partner is also a family member if you have lived together continuously for at least 2 years before moving to Finland or if you share custody of a child you have had together. 

Apply for a municipality of residence by visiting the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s service location.

1. Before visiting, fill in and print out the form if possible.

Application for persons from Ukraine for a municipality of residence 

2. Book an appointment for the International Registrations service in our booking service.

Book an appointment

3. Please bring the following documents with you:

• a valid passport 
• your residence permit card
• an original certificate of your family relationship, legalised using an Apostille
• a translation of the certificate made by an authorised translator if the certificate is not in Finnish, Swedish or English. The translation must also be legalised using an Apostille if it has been made abroad.

Housing

You are free to choose in which municipality you want to live. When you get a municipality of residence, you have to arrange and pay for your own housing. Kela may provide support for housing costs.  

Working

Your right to work will continue without changes. When you get a municipality of residence, you may also become a customer of local government pilots on employment.  

Income and social security

When you get a municipality of residence, your right to receive a reception allowance ends.

Instead, you can apply for Kela benefits, such as child benefit, housing allowance and, in certain cases, basic social assistance. For more information on applying for benefits, contact Kela. 

Children’s school and day care 

• When you get a municipality of residence, you have the right to early childhood education and care for a child under school age, even if both parents or one of the parents is at home. 
• From the year your children turn 6, they are required to participate in pre-primary education. Pre-primary education prepares children for comprehensive school. 
• When you and your children have a municipality of residence, your children are subject to compulsory education, which means that they are required to participate in education in accordance with Finnish the education system. 

Social welfare and health care services

When you get a municipality of residence, you are entitled to social welfare and health care services organised by the wellbeing services county. 

• Your rights to various social welfare services are considerably expanded: for example, you can receive home services that support coping at home if you have a disability or illness. 
• The scope of health care services remains unchanged.  

Further information 

You can find more information and instructions by different authorities on the Finnish Immigration Service’s website.

You can also ask questions related to services from your municipality of residence. 

Read on the Finnish Immigration Service’s website about how you can stay in Finland legally and when you need a permit to do so. 

A non-EU citizen is legally residing in Finland in, for example, the following situations:

• They have a valid or pending Finnish residence permit.
• They stay for a maximum of 90 days with a visa, exempted from the visa requirement or with a residence permit of another Schengen state. 

Check the website of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs to see whether you need a visa. 

You can apply for a municipality of residence using the online form when you have a residence permit valid for at least one year that you applied for at least one year ago.

In other cases, a municipality of residence is applied for by visiting the Digital and Population Data Services Agency in person, when certain conditions are met. You can find these conditions in section “2. How to apply for a municipality of residence”. 

The application date for the residence permit is the date on which you visited the police or the border authorities to request temporary protection. At that time, you may have received a certificate of submitting the application from them. The date on which you have applied for the permit is written in the certificate. 

If you do not know the application date, you can use the date on which the permit was granted as the application date. The date on which the permit was granted is written on the residence permit card.

We cannot answer questions concerning the exact date of application for a residence permit.

Residence permit cards granted on the basis of temporary protection primarily state the expiry date to be 4 March 2023. Despite that, the Finnish Immigration Service has automatically extended the validity of the residence permit. If you have received a message from the Finnish Immigration Service stating that your residence permit has been extended, it will be valid for more than one year, even if the residence permit card states a shorter period of validity.

When you apply for a municipality of residence using the online form, the date on which you submitted the form is entered as the start date of the municipality of residence. 

If you want a different start date, use a paper form to apply for a municipality of residence and visit our service location. For more detailed instructions, see section “A) You have lived in Finland for at least one year” and “Have you applied for a permit less than a year ago but lived in Finland for more than one year?”. 

Your family relations and marital status can be registered if you have official certificates of the family relations. They include, for example, a marriage certificate or a child’s birth certificate. 

You will also need the certificates if you wish to register based on a family member living in Finland.  

What must the certificate be like?  

• It must be the original. In addition, a certificate issued in Ukraine, for instance, must be legalised using an Apostille in Ukraine. A certificate issued in an EU country does not need to be legalised or translated if it is accompanied by a standard form that facilitates translation.   
• If the certificate is not in Finnish, Swedish or English, you will need a translation of it. You can obtain a translation from an authorised translator in Finland. If the translation has been made abroad, you will also need to legalise the translation using an Apostille. The translations must also be the originals. More information on legalisation and translation.

Unfortunately, if you do not have the original and legalised certificates, your family relations cannot be registered. 

If you want to apply for a municipality of residence on the basis of a family member living in Finland but you do not have the original certificates, you cannot get a municipality of residence. See the previous section whether you can apply for a municipality of residence based on residence, studying or working in Finland. 

Read more about working on the Finnish Immigration Service’s website.

If a municipality of residence is already registered, it can be cancelled with a written request that is sent to us within one month from the registration. Please send the request to [email protected]