Change of https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-finland
Change description : 2019-09-23 17:25:00: Brexit update: healthcare section updated to reflect transitional arrangements announcement [Brexit]
Showing diff : 2019-09-03 16:43:29 +00:00..2019-09-23 17:16:29 +00:00
Guidance
Official information for British people moving to and living in Finland, including Brexit guidance, residency, healthcare and driving.
This page tells you what to do ahead of Brexit. It will be updated if anything changes, including if a deal is agreed.
You should:
The British Embassy regularly holds events across Finland for UK nationals. Attend one of our citizen outreach meetings to keep up to date on working and living in Finland after Brexit.
You can also:
Check the entry requirements for Finland in our travel advice.
If you plan to stay for more than 90 days in Finland, you must contact the Finnish Immigration Service.
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the Finnish government has drafted a special act extending the right of residence for UK nationals in Finland. It states that UK nationals who are currently living in Finland and have registered their EU right of residence can continue to live in Finland without any separate measures for a fixed time period. The act was approved by the Finnish Parliament on 5 March 2019.
If there are changes to residency rules or registration processes after Brexit, we will update this guidance as soon as information is available.
If there’s no deal, nothing will change until the end of 2020. In this time you can continue to travel freely in the Schengen area with your UK passport. What happens after 2020 will form the next part of negotiations.
You can apply for or renew your British passport from Finland.
Read our travel advice for Finland and sign up for the latest information on local laws and customs, safety and emergencies.
If there’s no deal, new travel rules will apply. You must have at least 6 months left on an adult or child passport to travel to most countries in Europe (not including Ireland).
Check your passport is valid for travel before you book your trip. You’ll need to renew your passport before travelling if you do not have enough time left on your passport.
If you renewed your current passport before the previous one expired, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the 6 months needed.
If there’s no deal, UK nationals will not need visas for short stays elsewhere in the EU. You will be able to stay up to 90 days in another EU, EEA or EFTA country, within a 180 day period. You must retain evidence of travel (such as train and plane tickets), in case these are requested by national authorities. If you hold a residence permit from an EU, EEA or EFTA country, you will be able to transit through other EU, EEA or EFTA countries to reach your country of residence.
You must register for healthcare as a resident in Finland, as well as registering,with whereThe necessary,Social withInsurance aInstitution healthof insurer.Finland, KELA. They issue the Social Security & Health Insurance Card, which will give you access to healthcare on the same basis as Finnish citizens.
Read the NHS guidance on who can access healthcare in Finland and how to register.
Medical treatment, medicine and hospital stays are rarely completely free of charge in Finland.
If you live in Finland and receive an exportable UK pension, contribution-based Employment Support Allowance or another exportable benefit, you may currently be entitled to state healthcare paid for by the UK. You will need to apply for a certificate of entitlement known as an S1 certificate.
If you are resident in Finland, you must not use a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) from the UK to access healthcare in Finland.
When you travel from Finland for a temporary stay in another European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland, you can use an EHIC to access state-provided healthcare in that country. During that short stay:
If you are a student, read the NHS guidance on healthcare and studying abroad.
You can find English-speaking doctors in all Finnish hospitals.
Check your prescriptions are legal in Finland.
If there is a deal, your current rights of access to healthcare in Finland will remain the same until the end of the implementation period, as long as you remain a resident in Finland.
If there’s no deal, your access to healthcare may change. If you are a permanent or temporary resident you must reviewconfirm your residency status and decide how you will ensure access to healthcare. If you currently have your healthcare cover.costs paid for by the UK government, we can help if you are asked to pay for treatment during the first 6 months after Brexit. To organise a payment, you must give your healthcare provider’s details to the NHS Business Services Authority’s Overseas Healthcare Services.
You should read the NHS guidance on healthcare for UK nationals living in Finland and how it may change after Brexit.
The UK has offered to continue paying the country you live in for your healthcare in the event of no deal, just as it does now. The government has proposed maintaining current healthcare cooperation with Finland for S1 form holders until the end of December 2020. If there’s no deal, and there is no arrangement with Finland to continue reciprocal healthcare, those receiving coverage through the S1 form will not be covered.
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Your EHIC may not be valid if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. The UK has offered to maintain the EHIC scheme if there’s no deal. However this is reliant on Finland continuing to accept UK EHIC cards.
Read our guidance on working in another EU country.
Some jobs may require a UK criminal records check (known as a DBS check).
If there is a deal, your right to work will stay the same until the end of the implementation period.
Read the guidance on providing services after Brexit if you’re planning to start a business, provide a service, or do a job in a regulated profession, after Brexit.
The UK has a double-taxation agreement with Finland to ensure people do not pay tax on the same income in both countries.
Read the guidance on:
You should get professional advice on paying tax in Finland.
Find out if you can pay National Insurance while abroad in order to protect your State Pension and entitlement to other benefits and allowances.
If you are employed or self-employed in the EU and you have a UK-issued A1/E101 form, you will remain subject to UK legislation until the end date on the form.
If the end date on your form is after 31 October 2019, you should contact the relevant EU, EEA or Swiss authority to confirm whether you need to start paying social security contributions in that country after 31 October, as well as UK National Insurance contributions.
Find out more about social security contributions after a no-deal Brexit.
If there’s no deal, it may become more expensive to use your UK bank card in the EU. Read more about using a bank card, insurance or other financial service in the EU.
Brexit will not change existing double taxation arrangements for UK nationals living in Finland. Send taxpayer questions about double taxation to the relevant tax authority.
You will need to tell the UK government offices that deal with your benefits, pension and tax if you are moving or retiring abroad.
If you retire in Finland, you can claim:
If you get a ‘life certificate’ from the UK Pension Service, you need to respond as soon as possible. Your payments may be suspended if you don’t.
The UK government will continue to pay a State Pension to those eligible in the EU after Brexit. Your UK State Pension will be uprated in April 2020, 2021 and 2022 if you live in the EU, EEA or Switzerland.
Read our guidance on pensions if there’s no deal.
The UK government will uprate your UK State Pension for the fiscal year 2019/2020 in all Brexit scenarios.
If there is a deal and you work and pay social security contributions in Finland, you will still be able to add your UK social security contributions towards your Finnish pension. This will happen even if you claim your pension after the end of the implementation period.
You may still be able to claim some UK benefits like child and disability benefits if you live in Finland.
Many income-related benefits such as Pension Credit and Housing Benefit cannot be paid to you if you’re abroad for more than 4 weeks.
You may be eligible to claim some Finnish social security benefits.
You can request proof of time you’ve worked in the UK from HMRC if you are asked for this.
The UK government will continue to pay child benefits, and disability benefits to those eligible in the EU after Brexit.
If there is a deal and you work and pay social security contributions in Finland, your UK social security contributions will be taken into account when applying for Finnish contributions-based benefits. This will happen even if you claim contributions-based benefits after the end of the implementation period.
Read our guidance on benefits and pensions if there’s no deal.
If you have questions on how Brexit might affect your Finnish social security benefits, please contact Kela’s Centre for International Affairs.
If you are a resident in Finland, you must exchange your UK licence for a Finnish driving licence before Brexit. You can still use your Finnish licence in the UK for short visits or exchange it for a UK licence without taking a test if you return to live in the UK.
Read the guidance on:
Read our guidance on taking a vehicle out of the UK.
Read the EU’s guidance on car registration and taxes in Finland.
You may be exempt from some of these taxes. If so you will need certificates of exemption.
If there is a deal, driving licence rules will stay the same during the implementation period.
Read our guidance on driving in the EU after Brexit.
You may be able to vote in some UK elections.
If you are resident in Finland, you can vote in local municipal elections and European Parliamentary elections.
After Brexit, UK nationals who are permanent residents in Finland will continue to be able to vote and stand in local elections. UK nationals will no longer be eligible to vote in European Parliament elections.
If your child is born in Finland, you will need to register the birth abroad.
If someone dies in Finland:
Find out how you can get married abroad.
Find out about notarial and documentary services for UK nationals in Finland.
Read guidance on how to buy or let property in Finland.
You will still be able to travel to and from the UK with a cat, dog, or ferret when the UK leaves the EU, but the rules will change. Read guidance on pet travel to Europe.
While the UK is still an EU Member State you’ll be able to travel with your pet to the EU under the current pet travel rules using your current EU pet passport.
If you’re travelling with your pet for the first time you must visit your vet to get a pet passport.
Read guidance on returning your cat, dog or ferret to the UK.
For moving pet horses and other equines read guidance on export horses and ponies: special rules.
Finland uses the European emergency number 112.
If you’re a victim of crime, have been arrested, or are affected by a crisis abroad, contact the British Embassy.
Tell the UK and Finnish authorities if you are returning to the UK permanently.
Read our guidance on:
To move your pension to the UK, contact the International Pension Centre.
If you get healthcare in Finland through the S1 form, you must contact the Overseas Healthcare Team on +44 (0)191 218 1999 to make sure your S1 is cancelled at the right time.
Please note that this information is provided as a guide only. Definitive information should be obtained from the Finnish authorities. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information.
2025-11-19 15:52
Rewrote guide to make it easier to read and understand.
2024-11-05 10:11
Update on introduction of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), which was previously scheduled for autumn 2024. The exact date that the EES will be introduced has not been confirmed.
2024-05-16 12:52
Information on the EU’s new digital border called the Entry/Exit System has been added under “Passports and travel”.
2022-03-11 09:27
Important information in the Working in Finland, and National insurance sections if you work in Finland, even it if it is for an employer based in the UK.
2022-01-10 20:13
Guide reviewed and updated with new information
2021-10-01 08:00
Visa and residency section updated following the 30 September 2021 residency application deadline for people living in Finland since before 1 January 2021. Includes information about ongoing and late residency applications, and appeals.
2021-03-08 08:27
Coronavirus section updated with a link to guidance on vaccines
2020-09-07 14:00
Passports and travel section updated to include information on passport validity and entry requirements when travelling to other European countries from January 2021
2020-01-24 09:38
Brexit update: includes further details on passport validity, healthcare rights and State Pension uprating if the UK leaves the EU with a deal.
2019-09-23 17:25
Brexit update: healthcare section updated to reflect transitional arrangements announcement
2019-09-03 17:35
Brexit update: Pensions section updated to include further details on State Pension uprating.
2019-06-11 13:25
EU Exit update: updated information regarding EU visa-free travel.
2019-04-15 09:33
EU Exit update: updated information on EU Exit regarding passports, pensions and returning to the UK.
2019-04-10 13:00
EU Exit update: updated information on EU Exit in the visas and residency, healthcare and driving sections