Registration of Divorce in the Population Information System
If you are a Finnish citizen and you are granted a divorce abroad, you must notify the dissolution of marriage to the Finnish Population System.
In principle, all divorces granted in a foreign state are recognised without a separate confirmation in Finland. If necessary, the Helsinki Court of Appeal(Link to another website.) can by application confirm whether a divorce granted in a foreign state is recognised in Finland.
Divorces in EU
Divorces granted in the EU area after 1 March 2001 are recognised as such in Finland provided that they are accompanied by a certificate issued in accordance with the EU provisions. The certificate can be obtained from the authority that has granted the divorce. Further information is available on the European e-Justice Portal(Link to another website.) and on the Your Europe website(Link to another website.).
Divorce in other countries
As regards other divorce judgments, the original document or a certified copy, given in the country where the original was issued, must be presented and the divorce judgment must have been duly legalised. The judgment must be translated into Finnish, Swedish or English. Translations that have been made abroad must also be legalised. Documents translated by an authorised translator in Finland are acceptable without a separate authentication.
Where do I send the document?
Divorce judgments can be left with a Finnish mission, from where the document will be delivered or sent to the Digital and Population Data Agency, or you can send the document directly to Digital and Population Data Agency(Link to another website.) (address: Digital and Population Data Agency, P.O. Box 1003, 00531 HELSINKI, Finland). You can also deliver the document yourself to the nearest service point of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency in Finland. Missions charge a fee for sending documents.
Registering a divorce granted in Denmark
A Finnish citizen who has been granted a divorce in Denmark must report it to the Finnish Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The divorce can be registered in Finland once the original decree absolute has been received. Documents required for the registration in Finland:
- The registration of foreign court decision on divorce(Link to another website.) filled in and signed.
- The decree absolute (Skilsmissebevilling). The decision is issued by The Agency of Family Law (Familieretshuset) and must be stamped and signed.
- Passport of a Finnish citizen, if the divorce registration is submitted through the embassy.
- If your name is changed in connection with the divorce, please fill in the form: Change to register information – international matters(Link to another website.). The new name must appear in the divorce documents OR in the official certificate (Bopælsattest), which can be ordered from the municipality of residence or electronically from borger.dk(Link to another website.). For more information on changing your name, please see the website of the Finnish Digital and Population Data Service Agency – change of a name abroad(Link to another website.).
- If the divorced couple have minor children together, the custody decision approved by the Danish authorities (Omsorgs- og ansvarserklæring / Anmeldelse af aftale om fælles forældremyndighed) must be registered to the the Finnish Population Register System as well. It must have a stamp and a signature. Additionally, a notification of custody decision given abroad(Link to another website.) must be filled in and signed.
Note! If you wish to submit information to the Finnish Digital and Population Data Service Agency via the embassy, you will be charged a service fee in accordance with the fee regulation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.
If you are submitting documents by post directly to the Finnish Digital and Population Data Service Agency, please follow the instructions on their website(Link to another website.)