Municipality of Residence
You can only have a municipality of residence in one country at a time.
When you have a municipality of residence, you usually have the right to use the services provided by your municipality of residence. In addition, you can get a Finnish identity card and a driving licence, you can use services provided by authorities or receive financial benefits or subsidies.
If you have arrived from Ukraine, received temporary protection and lived in Finland for at least one year, see the instructions on the Instructions on arriving in Finland from Ukraine page to apply for a municipality of residence.
Find out if you can obtain a municipality of residence
Frequently asked questions
If you already have a Finnish personal identity code, you can register a temporary address in Finland by submitting a notification of temporary move to Finland to the post office. Select the section “temporary change of address” in the form.
You can apply for a municipality of residence when the conditions for receiving a municipality of residence listed at the beginning of the page are met.
You can only be granted a municipality of residence once you have received a positive decision on the registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence. However, if your family member already has a municipality of residence in Finland, you can be granted a municipality of residence before the decision of the Finnish Immigration Service.
A municipality of residence may be granted from the date on which the conditions for receiving a municipality of residence are met. However, the date on which the municipality of residence is granted cannot go back more than one month of the date on which you submitted the notification.
If your family relations have not yet been stored and you want to notify them, do the following:
If getting a municipality of residence
- requires a personal visit: bring with you the original family relations certificate and, if necessary, its translation and the completed family relations form.
- does not require a personal visit: provide us with the original or certified copy of the family relations certificate and, if necessary, its translation and the completed family relations form.
Please, find the correct form and more detailed instructions in "Life changes while living abroad".
Anyone moving from another Nordic country must visit our service location personally and prove their identity.
The municipality of residence cannot be applied with a notification of change of address but with a separate online form.
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.