Registering a child born abroad in Finland 

Notify us of your child born abroad so that we can register them in the Population Information System. If you are a Finnish citizen, you have the obligation to notify any changes in your personal data to the Finnish Population Information System. 

Finnish citizens 

Your child who was born abroad will receive a personal identity code when you register them if they are born with Finnish citizenship. Your child will be born with Finnish citizenship if:  

  • the mother who gave birth to the child is a Finnish citizen  
  • the child's father is a Finnish citizen and the parents are married to each other. 

If only the child's father is a Finnish citizen and the parents are not married to each other, your child will not receive Finnish citizenship automatically even if the paternity has been confirmed. To obtain Finnish citizenship for your child, you must submit a declaration of citizenship to the Finnish Immigration Service

If the child has two mothers and only the child's non-birth mother is a Finnish citizen, your child will not be automatically born with Finnish citizenship even if maternity has been confirmed. To obtain Finnish citizenship for your child, you must submit a declaration of citizenship to the Finnish Immigration Service

Other nationalities will not be added automatically unless they are directly shown in the birth certificate. 

Citizens of other countries 

A Finnish personal identity code can only be issued to a child born abroad if they live in Finland and meet the conditions for registration. Read more about the registration of a personal identity code and how to obtain it. 

If your child has been born and lives abroad, we can record them as your child in the Population Information System. In this case, however, the child is not given a Finnish personal identity code and they can only be found under your data in the Population Information System. A personal identity code will only be issued if they move to Finland. 

How we register parenthood and custody in Finland for a child born abroad

Do the following 

1. Fill in the notification form for a child born abroad  

Notification form for a child born abroad

2. Check if you need to have the child’s birth certificate or any document relating to the confirmation of parenthood legalised and/or translated. Read more about the legalisation of documents. 

3. Submit the documents either through a Finnish mission or by sending them by post to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, PL 1003, 00531 HELSINKI, FINLAND. If your municipality of residence was in Åland before moving abroad, send the documents to Statens ämbetsverk på Åland. 

Or make an appointment with the Registration of a foreigner´s personal data service at www.dvv.fi/reservation.  

Unfortunately, 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.

See more detailed instructions for delivering documents. 

Required documents: 

  • form for a child born abroad which you have filled in  
  • the original or a certified copy of the birth certificate, legalised if required 
  • the original or a certified copy of any document relating to the confirmation of parenthood 
  • if necessary, translations of the certificates, legalised if required, or an appendix compliant with Article 39 of the Brussels II a Regulation (the original or a certified copy) appended to a decision on custody in the EU. 

4. Inquiries and email messages will not speed up the processing of notifications. We will contact you if we need further information. You will receive a confirmation from us once your data has been registered. Check that the data has been entered correctly. If for some reason we do not record the information you have submitted in the Population Information System, you will receive a decision on this. Instructions for submitting a request for administrative review are attached to the decision. 

N. B.! Cases are processed in their order of arrival. Unfortunately, we cannot speed up an individual case unless there is a very exceptional and very important reason for doing so. For example, opening a bank account is not a sufficient justification for speeding up the process.

Price

Free of charge

Frequently asked questions

See also

Finnish citizens can deliver documents to: Digital and Population Data Services Agency, PL 1003, 00531 HELSINKI, FINLAND or visit a Finnish mission. If you submit the documents to the delegation for further dispatch to the Digital and population data services agency, the delegation will charge a fee for its service in accordance with its price list.

Finnish missions

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Telephone service

Telephone service number is +358 295 536 320

Service hours:

  • Mon 9–15
  • Tue–Fri 9–12