Life changes while living abroad 

If you live abroad, remember to report any changes to your personal data to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. This way your data will be up to date in the Population Information System and using the services of the Finnish authorities will be easier. 

It is important to have the information up to date in the Population Information System. For instance, the electoral register for an election is drawn up based on the information in the Population Information System. If your address is incorrect, the authorities may not be able to reach you in official business related to, for example, your right to vote, pension decisions or military service. 

Finnish citizens who live abroad have the legal obligation to report any changes to their personal data during their time abroad, including the birth of a child, marriage, divorce, and changes of name and address. If you are unsure about what details has been stored on you in the Population Information System, please, first check your own personal details.

You must provide us with the original documents or copies that have been certified. Unfortunately, we cannot process scanned documents. See more detailed instructions for delivering documents.   

Further information: 

Moving while living abroad

Child born abroad 

Marriage concluded abroad 

Partnership registered abroad 

Divorce granted abroad 

Change of name abroad 

Gender recognised abroad

Death abroad 

Registration of citizenship 

Retaining Finnish citizenship 

Instructions for document legalisation 

Instructions for delivering documents 

 

Processing time

  • 15-18 weeks.

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You can find the average processing times on our website

Email

If your message contains personal or other confidential information, remember to use secure email. Choose the address  [email protected] as the recipient.

Send secure email

Telephone service

Telephone service: 0295 536 320

Service hours: Mon–Fri 9–15

See also 

Finnish citizens can deliver documents to a Finnish mission or alternatively post them to Digital and Population Data Services Agency, PL 1003, 00531 HELSINKI, FINLAND. 

If you deliver the documents to a mission, the mission will charge a fee shown on its price list for this service. Submitting your documents through a mission will make their processing faster and safer than if you send them by post.