Apply for a municipality of residence with our electronic form that will be published on this page on 1 March 2023. 

You can apply for a municipality of residence in this way if  

• you have a residence permit for temporary protection that is valid for one year   
• you have lived in Finland continuously for one year and  
• you have a Finnish personal identity code.   

Example: If you have arrived in Finland on 5 May 2022, you can apply for a municipality of residence on 5 May 2023 based on your residence in Finland.  

Don't have a personal identity code? 

You can already apply for a personal identity code from the nearest reception centre or by visiting the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s service location.  

You can already apply for a municipality of residence if   

• your employment relationship or studies will last at least two years and  
• you have a residence permit for temporary protection that is valid for at least one year.   

Apply for a municipality of residence by visiting the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s service location. Read the instructions on the Registration of foreigners page.

You can already get a municipality of residence if   

• your family member already has a municipality of residence in Finland   
• you have an official certificate of your family relationship and   
• you have a residence permit for temporary protection.   

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. Read the instructions on the Municipality of residence page.

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. 

You must visit our service location in person. Please note that you can only receive a permanent address if you meet the conditions for receiving a municipality of residence. Check whether you meet these conditions in the section ‘Can I obtain a municipality of residence in Finland?’.

1. If you meet the conditions, make an appointment with the International Registrations Service at www.dvv.fi/ajanvaraus  

2. Please bring the following documents with you: 

• your valid passport or EU citizen’s official identity card with a photograph  
• a document proving your right to a municipality of residence (e.g. a continuous (A) residence permit or original, legalised family relationship certificates)
• the completed form.

The registration information of a foreigner

Fill in the Notification of Temporary Address form.

Notification of Temporary Address

You can also use the same form to provide the details of your family members living at the same address if they also have personal identification numbers and residence permits for temporary protection.

Send the filled-in form to [email protected]. Send your email using the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s secure email service (https://turvaviesti.dvv.fi) in order to ensure your data is encrypted. 

We will not send a separate confirmation when your address has been registered.

Remember to submit a new temporary move notification when the validity period of your temporary address is about to expire and you are still staying in Finland. 

Complete a notification of move for the temporary move

• by post, or  
• online at muuttoilmoitus.fi. Strong identification is required for using the service.

Remember to submit a new temporary move notification when the validity period of your temporary address is about to expire and you are still staying in Finland. 

You must visit our service location in person.

1. If possible, bring with you a completed ‘the Registration Information of a Foreigner’ form. Fill in the attachments if necessary.

The registration information of a foreigner

Appendix A - Marriage or registered partnership

Appendix B - Child

Appendix C - Parents

2. Make an appointment with the International Registrations Service at www.dvv.fi/ajanvaraus  

3. Please bring the following documents with you:  

• your valid passport or EU citizen’s official identity card with a photograph  
• residence permit card or decision on a residence permit 
• if you are working or studying, please include your employment contract or certificate of student status 
• if you have original, legalised and translated certificates of your family relationships, bring them with you as well.

You must visit our service location in person.

1. If possible, bring with you a completed ‘the Registration Information of a Foreigner’ form. Fill in the attachments if necessary.

The registration information of a foreigner

Appendix A - Marriage or registered partnership

Appendix B - Child

Appendix C - Parents

2. Make an appointment with the International Registrations Service at www.dvv.fi/ajanvaraus  

3. Please bring the following documents with you: 

• your valid passport or EU citizen's official identity card with a photograph
• 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.

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. 

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 English, you need a translation into Finnish, Swedish or English. You can obtain a translation in Finland or another EU country from a certified translator. If the translation was made by another kind of a translator, you will also need to get the translation legalised 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.