Making Your New Country Home - Finland
Residency
Depending on your reason for being in Finland, you should apply for residency as soon as possible. In my case I am applying based on family ties and the wait time is at least four months. I have seen the wait time exceed six months and I assume it goes up and down.
- You can apply for residency online at enterfinland.fi https://enterfinland.fi/eServices. The cost at this time in 2024 is 470 euros and this must be paid for processing to begin. Please note that my experience is applying FROM Finland and your experience (if in another country) may differ.
- You also must make an appointment to prove your identity and reason for moving to Finland at the Finnish immigration office in your area. The waiting time for the decision does not begin until after this appointment.
- At the appointment I was given a piece of paper stating that I am allowed to wait in Finland until the decision is made.
- One thing to note is that your time (90 days) in the Schengen region is ticking. So you technically cannot be traveling around Europe while you wait as you are overstaying at the 90 day mark.
- Once you get your residency approved (I am still waiting), you will automatically get a personal ID number. If you need a personal ID number sooner, instructions are in the next section.
Personal ID Number
If the county of your new home is anything like Finland, you will need a personal ID number to identify yourself. This is the equivalent to the social security number in the United States. You need this number in order to do simple things such as open a bank account. You will also need this number for more complex tasks such as purchasing property.
- You can get a personal ID number when your residency is approved
- You can get a person ID number sooner if you are in Finland for work, education, or by reason of family ties.
- In order to apply for the personal ID number, visit dvv.fi: https://dvv.fi/en/personal-identity-code
- Once you meet all of the requirements you can apply online but you must make an appointment in person to prove your identity and right to be in Finland.
- Once you have your appointment you can expect a wait. In my case my right to be in Finland is related to my family being here and the wait is 7-8 weeks but I expect that this timeline might change. - Update - I got my personal ID the next day. They agreed to expedite to 2-3 weeks due to an imminent property purchase, but it took less than 24 hours.
Other Miscellaneous Items
- You are allowed to get a temporary library card while you wait for your residency (valid of one year). Just go to your local library with an ID and your address in Finland, and they will give you a card.
- Bank - you will need a personal ID to get a bank account. Update here: I was able to get a basic bank account but not an account that allows you to authorize identity. For this you need an official Finnish ID.
- I made an appointment with the Pollisi to get my ID but was denied due to lack of residency approval.
- Currently I am unable to log into most official websites due to not having an official ID, which allows me to get a full service bank account including identity services. Most official sites in Finland require you to use your banking credentials to log in. There is a Finnish Authenticator App for foreigners which I got, but most services don't use it.
- Cell phone - you may have issues getting a cell phone in Finland as you don't have 'credit' here. I had to get a phone on my husband's account.
- Drivers license - in order to get this you need 2 passport photos and a medical exam certificate from a doctor. I am waiting for my doctors' appointment now which is more than a month away.
- Medical Coverage- emergency visits are covered for any visitor of Finland. Medical coverage begins once you register your permanent home in Finland and get your personal ID number.
- Banking overseas - you will find that you cannot access all of your banks or investments in the US while in Finland. I recommend using a VPN or accessing while in the US.
- US cell phone number - if you are continuing to have any accounts at all in the US I recommend keeping your US number as they will need to text you authentication codes periodically or use that number to call. I recommend a cheap service such as Tello.com to keep your number for less than 10 euros a month.
- US address - if you keep any bank or investment account in the US you will need to have a physical address in the US. Not a PMB or Post Office box.