Finland to introduce digital ID application next year

The government on Thursday submitted a proposal to the parliament with the view to introduce a digital identification application, a digital service authenticator for foreign nationals and an electronic identification means for natural persons.

The digital identification application will be introduced alongside passports and identity cards and will improve the ability of citizens to manage their own information, said the Ministry of Finance in a press release.

The proposal includes new legislation concerning new digital services provided by the authorities along with changes relating to the provision and use of these services. These would include new solutions for verifying one’s identity and personal data and for electronic identification.

The digital identification application and digital service authenticator for foreign nationals will not replace passports or identity cards, but will be introduced alongside them.

The digital service authenticator for foreign nationals would only work with electronic services. The electronic identification means for natural persons is a device that will enable digital identification for people who for one reason or another do not want or are unable to use the digital identification application.

Before the digital identification application and digital service authenticator for foreign nationals can be introduced, the personal identity code system needs to be redesigned. To this end, the government simultaneously submitted a bill concerning the redesign of the personal identity code system, which will enable remote registration of foreign nationals.

“The mobile application provided by the central government will enable everyone to use digital services regardless of whether they are customers of a bank or telecommunications operator. This reform is part of a wider package aimed at fundamentally changing how we use electronic services, including on the EU level. Finland is serving as an example and leading the way with its own model for an EU-level solution,” said Minister of Local Government Sirpa Paatero.

The purpose of the digital identification application is to improve the data security, flexibility and equality of verifying your personal data.

The digital identification application would be available to all Finns and to foreign nationals who have been granted an identity card for foreign nationals by the Police.

It will be independent of service providers or client relationships that are subject to fees. The goal is for people using services to be able to present their officially confirmed identify and other confirmed information relating to their identity when using various services. The goal is also for people to be able to manage their own data, including in a digital environment.

In the government proposal, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency would be responsible for providing digital services relating to the digital identification application and digital service authenticator for foreign nationals and for producing digital applications.

At the same time, the bill includes provisions for a digital identity information system, which would be the foundation for both the digital identification application and the digital service authenticator for foreign nationals. The new legislation would not only apply to the tasks of the authorities, but also to the data security of and requirements for the information system as well as to the processing of personal data.

The proposal would also introduce an alternative means of identification for people who either do not want or are unable to use the mobile application. The electronic identification means would work with public-sector electronic services and would be issued by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

The new acts were scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2023, but the schedule has been pushed back to the autumn of 2023.