Why you should always notify a move in Finland

April 23, 2019 at 10:51 PM

Did you just change your home address or do you plan to do it shortly?

If the answer is yes, then you should know that the laws of Finland require you in some cases to send a notification of move: this is when the change of address is permanent or if -in the cases of temporary moves- if you intend to stay at another place for more than three months.

As a foreigner, this obligation may seem like a nuisance, but the reality is that reporting your new domicile to the Finnish Population System will make life easier for you in several aspects, both in practical and administrative terms. For example, you will be able to receive your mail in your new home immediately and will also allow you to speed up many mandatory procedures before the public administration.

According to the information published by the Local Register Offices or Maistraatti (the state organism in charge of the Population Information System), the notification can be made at the earliest one month in advance. "However, you must take care of that the notification has been received by the local register office within a week of your move at the latest", points out the institution in its website.

The easiest way to submit a notification of change of domicile is by using the Finnish postal authority (Posti) online service. This system works 24 hours a day and you can notify your move by using your online banking codes, an electronic ID card or your own electronic credentials from the system of the postal authority (Posti username).

Fill in a form on paper at the post office

If you do not have access to electronic facilities, you can also report your change of address by filling in a form that you can collect from any post office or local register office (Maistraatti).

The advantages of notifying your move are many. As explained by Maistraatti, when you do it, your address details will be updated simultaneously on the Population Information System maintained by the local register offices as well as the register of the postal authority. This means that if you make your notification properly in advance before you move, any mail will be forwarded to the right address, even if sent to the previous address.

For taxes and voting

Updating your address information will also accelerate the handling of other matters before public administrations, without the need for other procedures. For example, it will help you regularize your situation both in your previous municipality and in the new one. It will also make your taxes go to the correct municipality and in the elections will allow you to vote in the nearest voting center.

Once you have updated your address details, the Population Information System will forward them automatically to other public authorities, such as your local parish, the Finnish Transport Safety Agency's vehicle and driving licence register (Trafi), the Social Security Institution of Finland (Kela), the Tax Administration (Vero) and the Finnish Defence Forces (in this last case, for eventual mobilization or other defensive purposes).

In addition to public authorities, many pension institutions, banks, insurance companies, associations and other organizations, publishing houses and businesses receive information about changes of address directly from the Population Information System, says Maistraatti on its website.

Authorities and other parties who take this information into account

According to the information published by the Population Register Center, the below mentioned parties take into account the updates of permanent addresses in the customer database when conducting their operations: