Your first weeks in Finland: three counters, one order, and the clocks that start at once

The first weeks in Finland are not a maze of counters but a chain of three, and the order is fixed: first Migri registers your right of residence, then DVV gives you a municipality of residence, and only with that municipality do your municipality's services and the Finnish ID card open up. The finding at DVV: whoever submits the online form for a personal identity code must actually visit a service point within one month. The form alone is not enough. The pitfall is reversing the order: DVV only grants a municipality of residence after Migri has decided positively.

Why is the order so strict?

Because every counter needs the paper from the previous one. Migri only registers people who already live in Finland, and on the basis of work only once the job has started. DVV gives a municipality of residence only to people who reside legally, intend to stay at least a year and have a registered right of residence. If your partner already has a municipality of residence, it can happen sooner for you. And the police only issue an ID card to people with a municipality of residence in the population register.

The code itself, the henkilötunnus, you may already get from Migri or from Vero, but the code alone does not give you a municipality of residence. That misunderstanding, and how the two registrations connect, is worked out in henkilötunnus and kotikunta. What Migri wants to see per ground is in staying in Finland.

Which clocks run from day one?

Clock	Deadline	Where
Car tax after the first drive on Finnish roads	return within 5 days of starting to use the car, if you made a declaration of use	Vero
Notification of move for every new home	at the latest 1 week after moving day, not earlier than 1 month before	DVV and Posti
Visiting after the DVV form for an identity code	within 1 month	DVV
Backdating of the municipality of residence	at most 1 month before the application	DVV
Joining an unemployment fund after moving from the EU	usually 1 month	your fund
Dog in the Finnish register	within 4 weeks of arrival	Ruokavirasto

Two of those clocks cost money if you miss them. The municipality of residence goes back at most one month from the day you apply for it: whoever waits three months gets only one of them back. And whoever does not join a fund fast enough may see their Dutch working years not count.

What if I start working right away?

Then you need a fourth counter, and fast: Vero, the tax administration. Without a tax card your employer must withhold 60 percent of your wages. For those who also need an identity code, processing at the counter usually takes one to three business days, and some Vero service points also give workers a personal identity code, on presentation of a real employment contract. A preliminary contract or a letter with an offer is not enough according to Vero. Fill in the registration form in advance and sign it only at the counter.

Do not wait for Migri's post before your first payslip. The Migri decision, the identity code and the municipality of residence follow each other, and that can take weeks. Your first salary does not wait. Whoever starts working in the first month arranges the tax card separately at Vero, alongside the Migri route, not after it.

About the fund: TYJ, the umbrella of the Finnish unemployment funds, writes that after a move from another EU country you usually have one month to join, counted from moving day or your last working day. If you join in time, your working years from the other EU country usually count, and you can often receive an earnings-related allowance after just four weeks of work in Finland. How that works further is in working in Finland.

Where do I leave my post and my login?

You file the notification of move online with Finnish bank codes or a mobile certificate, or with a paper form at Posti or DVV. In your first weeks you often do not have those codes yet; how to get them is in banking and paying in Finland. With one notification your address goes both into the population register and, if you wish, to Posti, so that your post arrives at the right address straight away.

What does not need to happen in the first weeks?

Your driving licence: a Dutch licence stays valid until its expiry date, see your driving licence in Finland. Buying a house: you do not do that in your first year. And the Finnish language: it matters a lot, but not in the week you get the keys. The full order, with the deadlines per step, is in the step-by-step plan.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Finland or go straight to step 4.2 in the open plan.