Regis­ter­ing as a citizen of Joensuu

You need to regis­ter your data in the Popu­la­tion Infor­ma­tion System in order to handle a wide range of prac­ti­cal matters in Finland. You will receive a personal iden­tity code upon regis­tra­tion, and your data – includ­ing name, date of birth, gender, nation­al­ity, mother tongue and address – will be stored in the Popu­la­tion Infor­ma­tion System. In addi­tion, infor­ma­tion on your spouse, chil­dren and parents may be entered under certain conditions.

Please note that all higher educa­tion students need a Finnish personal iden­tity code, which may also be needed in other educa­tional insti­tu­tions. It is likely that you have already received your personal iden­tity code once receiv­ing your resi­dence permit from the Finnish Immi­gra­tion Service. If not, you will receive it once you regis­ter at the Digital and Popu­la­tion Data Services Agency. 

Address in Finland

Your address will be recorded together with your personal data. The address can be tempo­rary, perma­nent or only used as a postal address. We recom­mend you to regis­ter a perma­nent address. It means that you are regis­tered as living at that address until further notice.

In order to have a munic­i­pal­ity of resi­dence in Finland, you need to have a perma­nent address. However, you can only receive a munic­i­pal­ity of resi­dence and asso­ci­ated perma­nent address if you meet the condi­tions for receiv­ing a munic­i­pal­ity of residence.

Munic­i­pal­ity of residence

Munic­i­pal­i­ties offer various services to the people living in them, such as public health­care and child day-care. If you have a munic­i­pal­ity of resi­dence, you usually have the right to use the services provided by this munic­i­pal­ity. Some­times a munic­i­pal­ity of resi­dence is also needed to receive finan­cial bene­fits or subsi­dies. In some munic­i­pal­i­ties, it may be neces­sary to receive a student discount on public transport. 

We can regis­ter a munic­i­pal­ity of resi­dence and perma­nent address for you even if you still live in a hotel or Airbnb as long as you meet the condi­tions for obtain­ing a munic­i­pal­ity of residence.

Can I obtain a munic­i­pal­ity of resi­dence and perma­nent address?

You can receive a munic­i­pal­ity of resi­dence if you have entered the country and plan to live in Finland for more than a year. 

In addi­tion, at least one of the follow­ing condi­tions must be met: 

• You are a citizen of a Nordic country.
• You are a citizen of an EU member state and you have received a posi­tive deci­sion from the Finnish Immi­gra­tion Service to regis­ter your right of residence. 
• You are a citizen of some other country and your resi­dence permit is a contin­u­ous A-type or perma­nent P-type permit. 
• You are a citizen of some other country and your resi­dence permit is a tempo­rary B-type permit, which is valid for at least one year. In addi­tion, you must have a study certifi­cate stating that your studies will last at least two years. Please note: The studies must be voca­tional or higher educa­tion studies that lead to a degree. For example, studies at an upper secondary school or compre­hen­sive school are not suffi­cient grounds for the munic­i­pal­ity of resi­dence. If you work along­side your studies, a two-year employ­ment contract is also valid. 

If your family member has a munic­i­pal­ity of resi­dence in Finland, you can also obtain a munic­i­pal­ity of resi­dence and perma­nent address for your­self provided that the family rela­tion­ships are regis­tered in the Popu­la­tion Infor­ma­tion System. 

How to register?

Please see the step-by-step instruc­tions on how to regis­ter on DVV website: https://dvv.fi/en/international-student. Karelia UAS does not arrange joint visits, so you need to book a personal appointment. 

The regis­tra­tion is free of charge. The handling time of the regis­tra­tion is about six (6) weeks. You will receive a notice, when the regis­tra­tion is done.