Digital service authenticator for foreign nationals
Foreign nationals who need to use Finnish services and who have a valid passport or identity card issued by a foreign authority will be able get a digital service authenticator. Digital service authenticators for foreign nationals will be issued by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
The Ministry of Finance is currently preparing legislation on the digital service authenticator for foreign nationals. The government proposal will be submitted to Parliament in autumn 2022. The digital service authenticator is scheduled to be introduced in 2023.
In practice, the digital service authenticator could be used by people planning to move to Finland to work or study or by foreign nationals who have business operations in Finland. A person would be able to register themselves in the Population Information System remotely. After registration, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency would issue them a personal identity code, which would remain the same if they later move to Finland.
The digital service authenticator for foreign nationals would only work in electronic services. It would work on the same principle as the digital identification application: the user would decide what information to share and who to share it with.
The solution to be offered to foreign nationals would be available to both the private and public sectors. It would be offered as one of the identification solutions available in the Suomi.fi e-Identification service, and each organisation using the system could decide whether to accept the authenticator in its services.
Companies will be able to start using the digital service authenticator for foreign nationals in accordance with the instructions provided by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency or through a brokering service that supports the authenticator. Companies will be free to decide whether to accept the digital service authenticator for foreign nationals.