Your First Week in Finland: An Arrival Checklist

Your first week in Finland is mostly a chain of dependencies: one task unlocks the next, and the order matters more than the speed. Get the sequence right and a lot of the rest falls into place quietly. This checklist walks through what to tackle day by day, from the registration that everything hinges on down to the practical bits — a SIM card, a transport ticket — that make daily life work while the paperwork catches up.

The One Thing Everything Depends On

Before you plan your week, understand the single fact that shapes it: almost nothing official in Finland works without a henkilötunnus (the Finnish personal identity code). Your bank account, your tax card, your Kela registration, and most online government services all expect that code. It is issued by the DVV (Digi- ja väestötietovirasto, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency) when you register, and registration involves an in-person appointment that can take a few weeks to process.

That single bottleneck is why the first task on this list is registration, and why several later tasks — the bank, the tax card, Kela — sit in a queue behind it. You can absolutely fill your first week productively while you wait, but trying to open a bank account before you have your code usually means a wasted trip. Plan around the wait, not against it.

One more framing point: the exact path depends on your nationality. Non-EU citizens generally need a residence permit from Migri (Maahanmuuttovirasto, the Finnish Immigration Service) before or upon arrival. EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens do not need a permit but must register their right of residence with Migri if they intend to stay more than three months. Either way, the DVV registration described below is the step that produces your personal identity code.

Day 1: Land, Connect, and Move

Your very first day needs nothing official, so use it to make yourself reachable and mobile.

Get a phone connection. A working Finnish or local number matters more than it sounds, because so many later steps — bank onboarding, OmaVero login, two-factor codes — assume you can receive an SMS. Prepaid SIM cards are widely sold at convenience kiosks (such as R-kioski), supermarkets, and operator stores from DNA, Elisa, and Telia. Note that Finland generally expects identification when activating a SIM, so carry your passport. If you would rather arrive already connected, an eSIM bought before you fly (for example through Airalo) gives you data the moment you land — handy for maps, ride-hailing, and looking up your DVV appointment options before you have sorted a physical SIM. Operator eSIMs in Finland are generally sold through the official DNA, Telia, and Elisa stores rather than kiosks, so plan accordingly if you want a local eSIM.

Sort out getting around. In the greater Helsinki area, public transport runs on HSL (Helsingin seudun liikenne). You do not need a travel card to start moving: the free HSL app sells single tickets and short day tickets without even an account, and you can tap a contactless bank card or phone on board many services. The HSL area is divided into zones labelled A to E, so check which zones your trips cover before you buy. Fares are adjusted periodically — there was an increase in January 2026 — so treat any euro figure you see online as indicative and check the current price in the app or at hsl.fi.

Cover the insurance gap. If your Finnish residence-based coverage and your Kela registration are not in place yet, your first days may fall in a gap before public healthcare and reimbursements kick in. EU/EEA citizens can lean on a European Health Insurance Card for necessary care; others often bridge the gap with travel or expat health insurance such as SafetyWing until Finnish coverage starts. It is the kind of thing you only notice when you need it, so confirm what you are covered for before you arrive rather than after.

Day 2-3: Register with DVV

This is the keystone task. Registration with DVV is what produces your personal identity code and, where you qualify, your municipality of residence.

The process has two parts. First, submit the foreigner registration form online at dvv.fi/en/foreigner-registration. You can complete this before your appointment to speed things along. Second, book and attend an in-person appointment at a DVV service point. Everyone who requests a personal identity code must appear in person — including children — and DVV states the in-person visit must happen within one month of submitting the request.

Bring originals, not copies:

• A valid passport or official photo ID card
• Your residence permit card (non-EU) or your EU registration certificate, or proof you have applied for one
• Proof of your legal grounds for staying — typically an employment contract or a letter of acceptance from a Finnish institution
• Proof of your Finnish address, if you have it

DVV processes the application after your visit and notifies you once your code is assigned; the wait is typically a few weeks, so book your appointment as early in your first week as the calendar allows.

Why the municipality of residence matters

When you register, DVV also assesses whether you can be granted a municipality of residence (kotikunta). This is more than a postal address. According to DVV, having a municipality of residence gives you access to your municipality's services and is connected to entitlements such as eligibility for a Finnish identity card. The general requirement is that you intend to stay in Finland for at least one year and meet one of the additional legal conditions (for example holding a continuous residence permit, or being an EU citizen with a registered right of residence). If you do not yet qualify for a municipality of residence, you may still register a temporary address. This distinction quietly affects which local services open up to you, so it is worth understanding rather than glossing over.

Day 3-4: Register Your Address

Wherever you are living — a rental, temporary accommodation, or a place arranged by your employer or university — DVV needs to know your address. In practice this is often handled as part of the same foreigner registration, but if your housing changes after you arrive, you submit a separate notification of move to DVV.

Registering your address correctly is what lets official post reach you, including letters from Vero and Kela, and it is the address that ties your municipality of residence to a specific place. If you move during your first weeks, update it promptly rather than letting mail pile up at an old address.

Day 4-5: Order Your Tax Card

If you are starting work, the tax card (verokortti) is urgent for a concrete financial reason. According to Vero (the Finnish Tax Administration), if you do not give your employer a tax card, the employer must withhold 60% of your wages. That is a deliberately high default, and the only way to avoid it is to get a tax card in place before your first payday.

Once you have a personal identity code — or, in some early cases, a Finnish tax number issued for work purposes — you can order a tax card through OmaVero, the online tax service at vero.fi, and have it sent to your employer. Your employer generally needs it a couple of weeks before payday, so the moment your code comes through, this should jump to the top of your list. If your code has not arrived yet but you are about to start work, ask Vero or your employer about getting a tax number so you are not stuck on the 60% rate. Newcomers in the capital region can also get tax guidance in person at International House Helsinki, which co-locates DVV, tax, and Kela services.

Day 5-6: Open a Bank Account

A Finnish bank account is essential for receiving salary, paying rent, and — just as importantly — getting online banking codes (pankkitunnukset), which double as your strong electronic identification across Suomi.fi, OmaVero, and Kela. This is one of the steps you genuinely cannot rush, because banks have their own rules.

Banks generally require a henkilötunnus and a valid identity document to open full customer services, and for a first account they usually want you to come into a branch in person rather than opening everything online. Nordea, for example, has you book a branch appointment, bring your passport, residence permit, personal identity code, and proof of address, and — if you ask — request an English-speaking adviser. Other major banks such as OP, S-Pankki, and Danske Bank follow broadly similar processes.

Because the bank step waits on your henkilötunnus, it naturally lands later in your first week or just after. In the meantime, do not let the gap strand you: a multi-currency account such as Wise or Revolut lets you spend, hold euros, and receive money with an account you can open quickly from your phone, which keeps daily life running until your Finnish account and its banking codes are live.

Day 6-7: Register with Kela

Kela (Kansaneläkelaitos, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland) administers residence-based social security — including the Kela card you show to get part of your private medical and dental costs covered. This step deliberately comes after DVV, because Kela needs your personal identity code first.

According to Kela, you should apply for benefits and a Kela card through the OmaKela e-service after notifying DVV of your move. Coverage can begin from the day of your move if Kela considers your residence in Finland permanent, or if you are working in Finland and meet the relevant earnings condition. Kela also notes that citizenship does not affect your right to its benefits — what matters is your residence and work situation, assessed against its criteria. Apply promptly, because the start date and your coverage depend on Kela receiving and processing your application.

Things You Can Do Anytime in Week One

Not everything is locked behind your henkilötunnus. Slot these in around appointments and processing waits:

• Set up Suomi.fi access once you have banking codes or a mobile certificate, so you can log in to government services in one place
• Map your commute in the HSL app and decide whether a season ticket or travel card will pay off
• Learn the supermarket landscape — the S-group (Prisma, S-market) and K-group (K-Citymarket, K-Market) chains, plus Lidl — and grab a loyalty card when you settle
• Find your nearest health centre (terveyskeskus) so you know where to go once your municipality of residence and Kela coverage are active
• Bookmark the official portals you will keep returning to: dvv.fi, vero.fi, kela.fi, migri.fi, and infofinland.fi

A Realistic Timeline

Here is the honest version: some of this finishes in week one, and some of it spills into week two or three, because processing times are out of your hands. A sensible target is to submit your DVV registration and attend the appointment in week one, get your SIM, transport, and an interim Wise or Revolut account sorted on day one or two, and treat the bank, tax card, and Kela as tasks that complete as soon as your personal identity code arrives. The trick is sequencing, not sprinting. If you queue the dependent tasks behind DVV and keep your documents together, the chain moves as fast as the system allows — and you spend your first week settling in rather than backtracking.

Every figure, fee, and processing time above can change, so confirm the current details on the official source linked for each step before you act. The order, though, holds: register first, then let the rest follow.