Finland’s Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) will on 19 November purge the municipal-of-residence listings of around 2,250 people whose whereabouts have been unknown for two years. The change will become visible to the public when DVV’s real-time population counter and the iconic light-up billboard atop its Helsinki office update on 20 November.
Under the Municipality of Residence Act, everyone living in Finland—including foreign nationals with residence permits—must file an address notification when they move. Those who leave the country without submitting an emigration notice are marked as “unknown residence” after 24 months. Removing them from local registers means they lose access to municipal health care, social benefits and the right to vote in local elections.
![Finnish Population Register Drops 2,250 ‘Missing’ Residents—Implications for Municipal Services & Residence Rights]()
For employers the update serves as a timely compliance reminder. HR teams sponsoring foreign assignees must ensure that workers who rotate between Finland and home countries keep their address data current; otherwise payroll tax cards and Kela health-insurance eligibility can lapse without warning. Global mobility managers are advising expatriates to double-check the Suomi.fi portal and file online notifications if they have recently spent extended periods abroad.
The annual sweep has broader policy relevance. Municipal funding formulas are linked to resident counts; Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa could each see funding reductions running into hundreds of thousands of euros. Conversely, Statistics Finland will adjust its baseline population model, a key input for labour-market forecasts that underpin Finland’s ambitious talent-attraction strategy.
DVV emphasises that the procedure is routine, last carried out on 12 November 2024, but notes heightened public interest after record emigration by remote workers in 2023–24. Individuals mistakenly removed can restore their records instantly by filing an online change-of-address or visiting a DVV service point.
Under the Municipality of Residence Act, everyone living in Finland—including foreign nationals with residence permits—must file an address notification when they move. Those who leave the country without submitting an emigration notice are marked as “unknown residence” after 24 months. Removing them from local registers means they lose access to municipal health care, social benefits and the right to vote in local elections.
For employers the update serves as a timely compliance reminder. HR teams sponsoring foreign assignees must ensure that workers who rotate between Finland and home countries keep their address data current; otherwise payroll tax cards and Kela health-insurance eligibility can lapse without warning. Global mobility managers are advising expatriates to double-check the Suomi.fi portal and file online notifications if they have recently spent extended periods abroad.
The annual sweep has broader policy relevance. Municipal funding formulas are linked to resident counts; Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa could each see funding reductions running into hundreds of thousands of euros. Conversely, Statistics Finland will adjust its baseline population model, a key input for labour-market forecasts that underpin Finland’s ambitious talent-attraction strategy.
DVV emphasises that the procedure is routine, last carried out on 12 November 2024, but notes heightened public interest after record emigration by remote workers in 2023–24. Individuals mistakenly removed can restore their records instantly by filing an online change-of-address or visiting a DVV service point.
