Since 1 February 2019, all foreigners who move to Finland and get granted their right to reside legally in the country (by a residence permit, asylum or registration as EU citizens) will be automatically registered in the Finnish population system.
At that point, they will also receive a Finnish personal identity code (henkilötunnus), which before had to be applied separately.
This change was announced by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) on its customer’s bulletin. The migratory authority reminds that in order to get this benefit the person is required to fulfil the preconditions for registration, which do not change. One of them is that a Finnish authority must have verified the applicant's identity.
Until now, for instance asylum seekers had to request for registration separately.
You can only receive your code once
Migri remarks that those who have been issued a personal identity code in Finland earlier should enter it in their residence permit applications. The personal identity code does not become obsolete and it can be received only once.
Those who already have a personal identity code can check it from their residence permit cards, residence cards, or in registration extracts from the Population Register Centre.
Important: visit the Local Register Office (Maistraatti)
The Finnish Immigration Service also warns that receiving a personal identity code does not mean that a person is automatically registered as a resident of a certain town or city.
For that reason and to register more detailed information on the immigrant, the Local Register Office (Maistraatti) of the place of residence must be visited.
For further information on this change, check Migri’s website HERE
