Living in Finland

Attend a citizen outreach meeting

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:

• read Prepare for Brexit: living in the EU
• follow the Finnish government’s official website on Brexit

Visas and residency

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.

Visas and residency after Brexit

If youthe 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 residentcurrently living in Finland beforeand thehave endregistered their EU right of theresidence implementationcan periodcontinue onto 31live Decemberin 2020Finland youwithout willany beseparate ablemeasures tofor stay.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.

Passports and travel

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.

Passports and travel after Brexit

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Driving in Finland

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Driving after Brexit

Driving licence rules will stay the same until 31 December 2020.

Healthcare

You must register for healthcare as a resident in Finland, as well as with The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, KelaKELA. ItThey issuesissue 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.

State healthcare: S1

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.

European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)

If you are resident in Finland, you must not use youra 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:

• the EHIC covers treatment that is medically necessary until your planned return home
• an EHIC is not a replacement for comprehensive travel insurance
• read our travel advice pages and advice on foreign travel insurance

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.

Healthcare after Brexit

ThereIf there is a deal, your current rights of access to healthcare in Finland will beremain the same until the end of the implementation period, as long as you remain a resident in Finland.

If there’s no changesdeal, your access to healthcare may change. If you are a permanent or temporary resident you must confirm your healthcareresidency status and decide how you will ensure access beforeto 31healthcare. DecemberIf 2020.you Youcurrently have your healthcare costs paid for by the UK government, we can alsohelp continueif you are asked to usepay for treatment during the first 6 months after Brexit. To organise a payment, you must give your EHIChealthcare provider’s details to the NHS, asBusiness youServices didAuthority’s before,Overseas duringHealthcare thisServices.

You time.should read the NHS guidance on healthcare for UK nationals living in Finland and how it may change after Brexit.

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Working

Your andEHIC studyingmay 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.

Working in Finland

Read our guidance on working in another EU country.

Some jobs may require a UK criminal records check (known as a DBS check).

Working in Finland after Brexit

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Money and tax

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:

• tax if you leave the UK to live abroad
• tax on your UK income if you live abroad
• paying income tax in Finland

You should get professional advice on paying tax in Finland.

National Insurance

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 or EEA 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.

Money and tax after 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.

Pensions

You will need to tell the UK government offices that deal with your benefits, pension and tax if you are moving or retiring abroad.

There will be no changes before 31 December 2020 to the rules on claiming the UK State Pension in the EU, EEA or Switzerland as a result of the UK leaving the EU.

If you retire in Finland, you can claim:

• your UK State Pension or new UK State Pension: contact the International Pension Centre to claim
• your Finnish pension, if you have worked in Finland
• pensions from working abroad, if you’ve worked in other EU countries

Life certificates for UK State Pensions

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.

Pensions after Brexit

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If youthere areis livinga indeal Finlandand by 31 December 2020, you will be able to count future social security contributions towards meeting the qualifying conditions for your UK State Pension.

If 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.

Benefits

There will be no changes before 31 December 2020 to the rules on claiming UK benefits in the EU, EEA or Switzerland as a result of the UK leaving the EU.

You may still be able to claim some UK benefits like child and disability benefits if you live in Finland.

• read our guidance on claiming benefits if you live, move or travel abroad
• use our tool to check which UK benefits you might be able to get while you’re abroad and how to claim them

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.

Benefits after Brexit

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If 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 fromon Kelabenefits aboutand pensions if there’s no deal.

If you have questions on how Brexit might affect your Finnish social security benefitsbenefits, please contact Kela’s Centre for International Affairs.

Driving in Finland

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:

• driving abroad
• road travel in Finland
• driving licence renewal and exchange

Bringing a UK-registered vehicle to Finland

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.

Driving after Brexit

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.

Voting

You may be able to vote in some UK elections.

• check if you are able to vote
• register as an overseas voter if you would like to vote

If you are resident in Finland, you can vote in local municipal elections and European Parliamentary elections.

Voting after Brexit

After Brexit, ifUK younationals who are residentpermanent residents in Finland you will continue to be able to vote and stand in local elections. YouUK nationals will no longer be eligible to vote in European Parliament elections.

Births, deaths, and getting married

If your child is born in Finland, you will need to register the birth abroad.

If someone dies in Finland:

• read our guidance on what to do after someone dies abroad
• see a list of English-speaking funeral directors in Finland
• read guidance for UK nationals on bereavements in Finland

Find out how you can get married abroad.

Find out about notarial and documentary services for UK nationals in Finland.

Accommodation and buying property

Read guidance on how to buy or let property in Finland.

Pets

CurrentYou petwill 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 staychange. Read guidance on pet travel to Europe.

While the sameUK untilis 31still Decemberan 2020.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 travelhorses and other equines read guidance on export horses and ponies: special rules.

Emergencies

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.

Returning to the UK

Tell the UK and Finnish authorities if you are returning to the UK permanently.

Read our guidance on:

• access to benefits and services in the UK if there’s no deal
• bringing your family to the UK
• access to higher education, 19+ further education and apprenticeship funding
• importing vehicles back to the UK
• bringing your pet back to the UK
• checking your tax status after returning to the UK

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.

Read the guidance on returning to the UK permanently which includes information on, amongst other things, tax, access to services and bringing family members.

Disclaimer

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.