Support the expert in official affairs

International employees must apply for an official Finnish personal identity code as soon as possible. This may be handled conveniently when registering in the Population Information System, for example. Personal identity codes are issued by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), the Finnish Immigration Service, and the Tax Administration. We recommend checking which one is the appropriate authority. For example, a personal identity code issued by the Tax Administration does not entitle the employee to obtain a place of residence in Finland. For this purpose, they need a personal identity code issued by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. 

The employee may already need the personal identity code for the employment contract and for the salary payment at the latest. The employer should ask the employee to report their official personal identity code to the payroll administration as soon as possible. In Finland, the personal identity code is used for purposes such as authentication in various services and public administration e-services. You need a personal identity code to open a bank account and take out insurance, for example. 

If a person has previously lived in Finland and they have been granted a personal identity code, they can still use it.  

The prerequisite for obtaining a personal identity code is a residence permit, residence card, or the registration of the right of residence, which are applied for in the EnterFinland service. So, start from there. The employer must assist the international expert in applying for the right to work and in the residence permit process. 

Another important early step when moving to Finland is to register in the Population Information System. This must be done in person at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) office. The same obligation applies to the whole family. Read more about moving to Finland on the DVV website.  

The Finnish personal identity code may also be issued in connection with registration. Without registering, the employee cannot establish a place of residence and consequently gain access to municipal services, such as social and health care services. The foreigner’s identity card is also unavailable without registration. Therefore, ensure that the international expert registers as soon as possible. 

For the registration, the employee will need an official ID and possibly an employment contract, a marriage certificate, or their children’s birth certificates. The documents must be translated into Finnish and legalized by the authorities. Advise the employee to prepare the documents in advance in their country of origin. Citizens of an EU or EEA country, citizens of the Nordic countries, and citizens of countries outside these countries are subject to different registration requirements and criteria. Read more about registration in the International recruitment guide. 

The international expert can apply for a foreigner’s identity card, which can be used for authentication in Finland. The card is available to persons whose stay has been recorded as permanent in the Population Information System. The identity card is issued by the police, and submitting the application requires personal identification at the service point by the expert. 

In addition to the card, the expert receives a citizen certificate for authentication in e-services. After receiving the identity card, the expert can also be issued with online banking codes by their bank. Without an identity card issued by a Finnish authority, the bank cannot issue strong authentication rights. 

The right to Finnish social security is determined on the basis of an employment relationship or permanent residence. Entitlement to a benefit is determined on the basis of the application. A Kela card application determines a person’s right to health insurance benefit payments, such as direct reimbursement for medication.  

The expert can submit an application for a benefit or the Kela card and a notification of moving to Finland in the OmaKela e-service of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), at Kela’s office, or by mail. 

Principally, an expert working in Finland is entitled to Kela benefits. The benefit entitlement of family members depends on the duration of the spouse’s employment contract. Persons temporarily residing in Finland are not usually entitled to Kela benefits. In addition, an employee is not entitled to benefits if their country of permanent residence is other than Finland. 

Check out Kela’s Quick guide when you move to Finland. 

For the work performed in Finland, international experts generally pay their taxes in Finland. For this purpose, they need a tax card, which employees usually apply for themselves. When applying for a tax card for the first time, it is useful to visit the Tax Administration’s office. When meeting a tax official personally, it is easy to ask clarification and thus ensure that the Tax Administration issues the right tax card. The employer must submit the tax card to the employer for salary payments. 

Taxation on the earnings is affected by the length of the stay in Finland and the employer’s country of domicile. In addition, it may be affected by the expert’s family or owner-occupied apartment, income in another country, or international tax treaties, for example. 

An international expert becomes generally liable to pay tax in Finland if they have their permanent apartment and home in Finland or stay in Finland for more than six months. In this case, the expert is usually granted a progressive tax card. 

A person is a non-resident taxpayer if their country of employment or permanent residence is other than Finland or the person stays in Finland for less than six months. In this case, they usually receive a tax-at-source card. 

See the Tax Administration’s guidelines for more information about the taxation of international experts. 

If the international expert has their domicile in Finland or Kela has granted them a certificate of entitlement to medical treatment in Finland, they are entitled to services in public health care at the cost of a client charge. As a rule, a person working locally in Finland is entitled to public health care even if they are not covered by Finnish social security – due to not meeting the salary requirement, for example. 

Read more about health care in the International recruitment guide. 

Settling-in services can help an employee arriving in Finland in many matters from official affairs to leisure opportunities. As an employer, you can choose to provide settling-in services or reimburse the costs of settling in for your employee and their potential family. 

Find out more about settling-in services and the information sources availablein our article on settling-in services