Questions and answers about the digital identity project 

The digital identification application will make it possible to provide proof of your personal data when using both electronic and in-person services. It is a smartphone or tablet application that will be issued alongside your passport and identity card.

The digital identification application is an official proof of identity like a passport or identity card. It is designed to be used in many different daily service situations, including with both in-person and digital services. For example, you could use it to prove your identity when picking up a package, to prove your age when buying age-restricted products, to prove your identity when applying for a strong electronic means of identification (online banking codes, mobile certificates) and when logging into electronic services.

The digital identification application will make it possible to prove your identity when using in-person services provided by both the public and private sectors, but using it with private-sector services will depend on whether the private sector is willing to adopt the new service.

You will be able to use the digital identification application to log into all electronic services provided by the public sector.

The digital identification application will improve data security, flexibility and equality when proving your identity.

The digital identification application will make it easier for you to manage your personal data. This means that, in future, you will be able to decide what data to share. For example, when proving your age at a shop, it would be possible to display only your age instead of your entire personal identity code.

Using the digital identification application will improve the protection of your privacy and data. The issuer of the digital identification application, i.e. the police or the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, will not be able to monitor how it is used.
The digital identification application will be available to all Finns if they have a passport or identity card. This being the case, it will be independent of service providers or client relationships that are subject to fees.

The digital identification application is not a travel document and does not replace a passport or identity card when travelling.

You may not let anyone else use your digital identification application. It will be possible to use the digital identification application to log into the Suomi.fi e-Authorizations service to authorise another person to use services on your behalf.

Everyone who has been issued a Finnish passport or identity card can be issued a digital identification application. Foreign nationals permanently resident in Finland who have been granted an identity card for foreign nationals will also be able to use the digital identification application.

The digital identification application can be issued to minors if they have a passport or identity card. The application can be issue to minors who have reached the age of 15 without the consent of their parents. It can be issued to minors who are younger than 15 under the same conditions as they can be issued a passport or ordinary identity card, in other words with the consent of the parent or guardian.

If you do not have a smartphone or other mobile device, you can use a separate system called an electronic identification means for natural persons, which will enable you to use electronic services provided by the authorities. It will still be possible to use electronic services provided by the authorities using current electronic identification methods, such as online banking codes.

If you are unable to use the digital identification application, you can use your passport or identity card when using in-person services. When using electronic services, you will be able to use either existing strong identification methods or an electronic identification means for natural persons issued by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

In order to use the digital identification application, you must have a valid passport or identity card (identity card, identity card for foreign nationals or identity card for minors) granted by the Finnish Police or by a Finnish diplomatic or consular mission that issues passports and identity cards. If there are no grounds to issue one of the above, but a foreign national must use services in Finland, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency can issue them a digital service authenticator, which also works as a mobile application. A digital service authenticator will make it easier to use electronic services. You can be issued a digital service authenticator if you have a valid travel document issued by a foreign authority.

There are currently about 4.2 million people with valid passports or identity cards issued by the Finnish Police or by a Finnish diplomatic or consular mission that issues passports and identity cards. By linking the digital identification application to a valid document and the information it holds, it is possible to make use of the same face-to-face identification of a person that is already carried out when issuing a passport or identity card. This will avoid overlapping costs, but will also help to distribute the digital identification application as widely as possible as soon as it is introduced.

It is proposed that the costs of maintaining the digital identification application be covered as part of the price of passports and identity cards in accordance with the Act on Criteria for Charges Payable to the State. However, using the digital identification application to access services would be free of charge.

This solution will allow people who are unable to use mobile devices to use electronic authentication for public services. The electronic identification means for natural persons will work in a very similar way to the strong electronic identification solutions currently provided by the private sector. However, the electronic identification means for natural persons is not intended to replace private-sector solutions, such as mobile certificates or online banking codes. The private sector will continue to be able to develop and maintain strong electronic identification solutions. The electronic identification means for natural persons is intended to enable reliable electronic identification in public services for people who have not been able to make use of strong electronic identification methods provided by the private sector.

The digital identification application is an official document issued by an authority that proves your identity, like an identity card or passport. It can also be used to prove your identity when using electronic services.

Banks and telecom operators will continue to be able to offer strong electronic identification services, and citizens will continue to be able to choose what strong electronic identification service provided by the private sector they want to use.                                                                      

The digital identification application will hold the same personal data as your identity card or passport. You will be able share individual pieces of data, for example your age, with the party requesting it, which could be another private individual or a service. You will decide what data to show the other party.

Data security will be taken into account throughout the life cycle of the digital identification application. The issuing of the digital identification application will make use of the same secure processes the police use for issuing passports and identity cards. The digital identification application will be required to have a certificate granted by a data security assessment body that ensures that the digital identification application and the processes through which it is managed meet the requirements of data security. When you use your digital identification application, your personal data will only be transferred over encrypted data connections and the authenticated personal data will be stored in an encrypted format in the secure element of your smartphone and protected with a separate authentication factor, such as PIN code. Service providers will also be obligated to monitor data security anomalies, maintain up-to-date information on data security threats and provide information on potential data security anomalies.

The digital identification application will improve your data protection and privacy protection in many ways. In future, you will be better able to decide what data to share when using services. When using the digital identification application, your personal data will be transmitted directly from your authenticator, in other words the application on your smartphone, to the service. There is no identification service provider or broker service, such as a bank or telecom operator, in between. This means that the provider of the digital identification application, in other words the government, will not be able to monitor how people use the digital identification application. Usage data will only be stored in the mobile application, which is data secure. A data protection impact assessment will be carried out as part of the preparatory work as required by the General Data Protection Regulation. The assessment will cover different areas of data protection and privacy protection. No personal data will be transferred outside the EU/EEA in this solution.

The digital identification application will not require a network connection when using in-person services, which means that it will be possible to prove your identity in places with no network coverage. Proving your identity when using electronic services currently requires a network connection, and it will not be possible to use the digital identification application to identify yourself in electronic services if your mobile device does not have a network connection.

Using the digital identification application will require that your mobile device has power.

If a device containing your digital identification application falls into the wrong hands, it is recommended that you immediately contact the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The Agency will add the device to a block list, which will make it easier to prevent the abuse of your digital identification application. You will also be able to block the use of your digital identification application yourself through a self-management portal.

Digital services are being used more and more, and many services are becoming primarily digital. In order to develop services, a digital identity must also be developed to meet the requirements of services that make use of modern technologies. In order to ensure that services are safe and reliable, a digital identity must be based on a core identity guaranteed by the central government, which is made available in an equal and accessible manner to everyone who uses public services.

By developing the digital identification application, we are also preparing to implement an upcoming obligation that will be imposed by the EU. The digital identification application lays the foundation for the digital wallet that will be required by the EU. In future, it will be possible to develop a wallet application to enable citizens to flexibly and safely provide proof of other personal attributes, such as diplomas or driving licences.

A total of EUR 20 million has been budgeted. At the moment, about EUR 8 million is paid to the private sector for strong electronic authentication each year.

The project is being led by the Ministry of Finance and is being implemented by the National Police Board and the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The project also involves cooperation with the private sector and third sector.

Finland’s digital identification application will be implemented in such a way that it can be later expanded into the digital wallet that will be required by the EU. In addition to a proof of identity, the EU's digital wallet will contain other permits granted by the authorities, such as driving licences. According to the European Commission’s legislative proposal, each EU Member State will produce at least one wallet application that can be adopted in 2024.

The legislative proposal will be submitted to Parliament in autumn 2022. The act is scheduled to enter into force on 1 September 2023, and the digital identification application could be introduced as soon as possible after that.