A passport is a travel document issued to a Finnish citizen. In order to travel you need to have valid passport with up-to-date personal information (given name and surname). It’s important that the passport is intact and undamaged. Your passport also serves as proof of identity. Only one person can travel on one passport; children can no longer be included on a parental guardian’s passport.
Outside of Finland, passport applications should be submitted to a Finnish mission (embassy, consulate general or consulate). Please note that honorary consulates do not provide a passport service. Passport applications must be filed personally; they cannot be sent by post or submitted by an agent. The application can be filed at any mission regardless of where you live, and in Finland at any police station.
Passport applications will only be processed when the personal information given in the application (such as surname and information on children and their guardians) is fully consistent with the data entered in the Population Information System. Under the Population Information Act (661/2009) that took effect on 1 March 2010, it is your personal duty to ensure that your details are up-to-date. To check this information, contact your Local Register Office. Finnish missions can assist with any necessary updates.
Finnish passports are issued for a maximum validity of five years. Underage children must have their own passport and irrespective of age must be present in person, together with their guardian, when the passport application is filed.
other documents (e.g. a local official certificate, green card, second passport for dual citizens) may also be required depending on the mission; see bottom of the page for additional local information
If both guardians cannot be present when submitting a passport application for a minor child, a dated and signed letter of consent from the absent guardian and a copy of that guardian’s passport must be included.
If a person liable to military service fails to provide proof of his military service, the necessary checks will be carried out with the military authorities in Finland. The passport application will not be forwarded until these checks have been completed.
Further information
- Applying for a passport abroad
It usually takes 2–4 weeks to get an ordinary passport (about 7 days to process and the time required by official mail). The processing time for an express passport is slightly shorter, but you will have to pay an expedite fee.
You can collect your passport at the same mission where you filed your application. Alternatively, you can ask for it to be delivered to some other mission or to a police station. The passport can also be collected by your authorized representative, or upon request posted directly to your address.
If your passport becomes lost, stolen or damaged when you are travelling abroad, you can get an emergency passport to return home or to continue your journey. An emergency passport is issued for the duration of your trip, but for no longer than 12 months. An emergency passport is issued by the mission. Please note that the United States, for instance, does not accept an emergency passport without a visa. A lost or stolen passport must always be reported to the local police.
If Finland does not have a diplomatic mission in the country where you are travelling, you can turn to a mission of another Schengen country to get an Emergency Travel Document (ETD) for your flight home. You must present the police report at the mission when applying for a passport.
You will be asked to pay the passport processing fee on submitting your application. At Finnish missions abroad the euro equivalent amount will be charged in the currency used by the mission in question. Check the sums and methods of payment on the mission’s list of service fees. Please note that your application processing fee is non-refundable in all cases.
