You need a residence permit to work, start a business or study in Finland, unless if you are a citizen of the EU, Liechtenstein, Switzerland or the Nordic countries. If you are from these countries, the residence permit is not needed.

If you are an European Union citizen, you can reside or work in Finland for three months without registering your stay. If the duration of your residence exceeds three months, you are required to register your right of residence at the Finnish Immigration Service.

To obtain a residence permit, you can visit the Finnish Immigration Service service point in Tampere. You can contact the service point to submit a residence permit application, prove your identity or submit additional documents for your pending application.
It is also possible to submit most residence permit applications online and then book a time at the closest Migri office to submit
original documents. You will gain access to Migri’s electronic services as you register as their customer. Click here to redirect: Migri

Residence permits are handled by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) and Finnish diplomatic missions abroad.
Read more on the InfoFinland page Registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence.

If you are an EU citizen and intend to stay in Finland for over 90 days, you must register your right of residence. Read more on the InfoFinland page Registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence.

When you move to Tampere, you must register as a resident in the local register office. Visit the DVV (formerly known as Maistraatti) register office’s website for more information.

Digital and Population Data Services Agency, Tampere.
Hatanpään valtatie 24
33100 TAMPERE.

When you go to the local register office, bring along the following:

– identification (e.g., your passport)
– residence permit and residence card (if you need a residence permit for Finland)
– certificate of registration of the right to reside (if you are an EU citizen)
– marriage certificate
– your children’s birth certificates.

Please note that all foreign documents must be legalised. More information about registering as a resident and how to obtain a Finnish personal identity code can be found on Infopankki website. Basic information about registration and legalisation of documents can be found from DVV website

Contact Pirkanmaan TE-toimisto

Contact details:
Pellavatehtaankatu 25, 33100 Tampere. Open Monday to Friday 9.00 – 16.00.
Click here to redirect: TE-services

Check out these articles about worklife and how to find a job in Tampere, Finland! Click here

When you move into a new home permanently, or if your temporary residence in another address lasts for more than three months, you must submit a notification of change of address to the Local DVV and the Postal services. This notification can be submitted at the earliest one month before the date of your move and must be received at your local register office at the latest one week after your move.

You can submit a notification for yourself and your family members moving with you by using a  web service. You can also call the moving helpline, tel. 0295 535 535, from Monday to Friday between 8am and 4pm. The helpline will give you personal service.

You can also submit the notification using a paper form available at the post offices or your local register office.

If you are moving to Finland, check the Customs website for more information about declaring your removal goods – that is, your personal property that you bring to Finland. Please note that some import restrictions apply. You can also find more information from the Infopankki website.

A Finnish personal identity code is needed among other things for payment of wages and opening a bank account, as well as for using health care services and services provided by the authorities.

When you apply for your first residence permit for Finland, you can apply for a personal identity code at the same time. Further information is available on the Infopankki page Registering as a resident.

If you are granted a residence permit for Finland, you will be automatically registered in the Finnish Population Information System. You will receive a Finnish personal identity code at the same time. You can also get a personal identity code in Finland at the nearest Digital and Population Data Services Agency (Digi- ja väestötietovirasto) or Tax Office of your place of residence in Finland.

In case of emergency: Call 112

The Telephone Health Service and appointment booking for a doctor or a nurse are available at 03 10023 every day between 7 am and 10 pm. Use the area code when calling from a mobile phone or outside the (03) network area.

If you fall ill
Please call the Telephone Health Service. The nurse will give treatment instructions, assess what type of care you need and refer you to the correct place of treatment. He or she will also make an appointment with a doctor or nurse for you.

You can discuss questions related to health and your illness with the nurse. The nurse can give you general treatment instructions without a doctor’s appointment. The nurse provides advice and guidance in urgent medical cases. If you so desire, you can obtain information about other social welfare and health services as well as their contact information.

Through the “Kysy sairaanhoitajalta” service, you can ask general questions regarding health and illness online. A nurse employed by the City of Tampere will answer your questions within 24 hours.

More information

• Health services in Tampere, click here to redirect.
• More information about healthcare in Tampere click here to redirect: Health
• Information about the local university hospital TAYS: click here to redirect.
• Information on the Police, please click here.

Depending on your personal situation you may be covered by Finnish social security. To find out more about Finnish social security click the following link: KELA website.

Most insurances in Finland are optional. If you are renting an apartment, sometimes the landlord may require a home insurance. In addition, cars and other motor vehicles also require insurances.

However, you should ensure that you have the appropriate insurances. Insurance makes sure you have the right protection in place in case something should go wrong. You can find information on insurance on the Infopankki page Everyday life in Finland.

There are numerous national and local insurance companies in Finland, of which the largest are If, Pohjola, Fennia, Tapiola, Lähivakuutus, Nordea, Kaleva, Varma and Pohjantähti.

If you receive a salary or other income in Finland, you must pay taxes. The amount of tax depends on your annual income. The tax office calculates a personal tax percentage for you upon your request.

The tax percentage is typically recorded in a tax card, which you then submit to your employer. Your employer then deducts the right amount of tax automatically from your salary. You can supplement missing taxes later or update your tax percentage if your salary changes, for example.

Read more on the Infopankki page Tax card and contact the tax office if needed.

You will need a bank account in order to handle your day-to-day finances. When opening a bank account, you need a passport or some other official identity card. It is a good idea to compare the services and prices of different banks so that you will find the most advantageous option for you. You can find more information on bank accounts from the Infopankki page Everyday life in Finland.

Depending on your preference, you can get a prepaid subscription or a full mobile subscription with a permanent Finnish phone numbers. You can get prepaid SIM cards from kiosks or supermarkets, such as R-kiosk, and full subscriptions from major operators such as Telia, Elisa or DNA from their service points or online.

The same operators can also provide you with a fixed internet connection to your home. However, sharing your mobile phone’s internet connection to a laptop, for example, is a perfectly good alternative in Finland. Mobile network speeds are fairly good and many mobile phone subscriptions allow for a large or an unlimited amount of internet data traffic. Ask your operator for more information.

Read more about getting a telephone subscription in Finland from the Infopankki page Everyday life in Finland.

Tampere has good public transportation with an extensive bus network and a tram being built. In Tampere city centre everything is in a walking distance. However, if you feel the need to get around with four wheels, Tampere Regional Transport Nysse offers a good route network in Tampere and the surrounding cities. You can travel conveniently and reliably from one place to another, every day, by bus. You can find routes and timetables on reittiopas.tampere.fi or you can download Nysse tulee! app which shows Tampere city traffic (TKL) bus locations and nearest bus stop timetables.

If you are at least 18 years old, you can acquire a Finnish driving licence. If you have a driving licence issued in a Nordic country, an EU member state or an EEA country, the licence is also valid in Finland.

Read more on the Infopankki page Traffic in Finland. Also check Finnish Transport Safety Agency’s validity of foreign driving licences in Finland page.