Need to carry your passports/residence permits with you? :-)

[sinikala]

Incidently, back in 1999 they used to give out plastic resident's permits, but that stopped..

Really? I got mine in 2005

http://www.poliisi.fi/poliisi/home.nsf/ ... F4003388C0

I collected my Finnish driving licence this morning and now have 3/4 of the possible permits

Oleskelulupa (residence permit)
Ajokortti (driving licence)
Kela-kortti (photo version)

The only one I'm missing is the ID card, but I reckon 3 photo IDs is enough.

[Rosamunda]

I (...) now have 3/4 of the possible permits

Oleskelulupa (residence permit)
Ajokortti (driving licence)
Kela-kortti (photo version)

The only one I'm missing is the ID card, but I reckon 3 photo IDs is enough.

As for me:

oleskelulupa... expired
permis de conduire... valid indefinitely
kela-kortti... no best-before date, but no photo either
ID card... never even applied for it


Am still alive, working, paying taxes, crossing borders and generally keeping a low profile. But not able to vote.

[sinikala]

Well I've got all those cards and can't vote either, but feel no need to keep a low profile.

To be honest, the Kela card was very quick to deal with, the driving license was a pain in the arse.

But if any jumped up official complains about anything to me, I've got all these little bits of card with photos on coming out of my ears, so bo**ocks to them.

[Hank W.]

I thought you guys could vote in the local council and EU elections?

[agroot]

If not, what exactly is the purpose of this henkilökortti? It is not even accepted as an identity document for travel purposes even within the Schengen/Nordic region, despite the fact that it is a certified identity document.

I presume you are not a Finnish citizen, so thus you have a Finnish foreign resident alien identity card, which can be issued to foreigners with permanent residency in Finland and that are registered in the Finnish population database (i.e. you have a Finnish SSN). This is why your ID card can't be used as an official travel document abroad, as you then need a proof of citizenship (no matter if Scandinavia, Schengen or some other country) and not just residency. The actual Finnish national ID card also functions as proof of citizenship, so that's why it can be used a substitute for your passport within the Schengen area.

So for a resident to travel within Schengen area, I should only need:

- passport from origin country (for citizenship)
- Finnish (alien) id
- European health care card

Is that right? No need to carry residence permit card itself (which would be very troublesome if lost/stolen)?

[betelgeuse]

So for a resident to travel within Schengen area, I should only need:

- passport from origin country (for citizenship)
- Finnish (alien) id
- European health care card

Is that right? No need to carry residence permit card itself (which would be very troublesome if lost/stolen)?

The Finnish id is not needed (the passport proves identity). You do need to carry the residence permit unless you have suitable Schengen entry stamps that would not look like an overstayer (and you are a visa free citizen).