Validity of passports to extend to 10 years

The Government proposes extending the validity of Finnish passports and identity cards to 10 years. On 28 May, the Government submitted to Parliament a draft proposal for amending the Passport Act and the Identity Card Act. The Ministry of the Interior estimates that the acts could enter into force by early 2028 at the latest.

The legislative amendments are one of the Government's deregulation measures.

“Extending the validity of passports to 10 years is in line with general European practice. This change is also a concrete example of how we can make people's everyday lives easier and reduce the administrative burden,” says Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen.

Data on parents or other custodians to be entered in minors’ passports

The validity of passports and identity cards would be extended from five years to ten years. However, for minors, the validity of the documents would remain at five years. The facial features of children and young people change rapidly, which makes identification more difficult. Age and how recent the facial image is are key factors in successful facial recognition.

Passports issued to minors would contain data on their custodians. This would ensure that custodian data can be easily verified, for example when travelling abroad from Finland with children.

Changes to passport photo delivery

In future, a facial image to be entered in a passport could only be submitted by a party with a business ID or an equivalent EU/EEA identifier. In practice, this would mean photographers, photo shops and other businesses. Applicants could no longer submit their photo themselves. 

In future, each applicant would visit the police station in person, and the current so-called simplified application procedure would be abolished to ensure document security.

The prices of the documents are based on the actual costs of their preparation and delivery. The prices will be confirmed separately by decree of the Ministry of the Interior on fees for services.

Current passports and identity cards remain valid in accordance with the decision to issue them. The 10-year passport can be applied for after the entry into force of the legislative amendment. Before that, passports and identity cards will be issued as at present.

Inquiries:
Mikko Cantell, Chief Specialist, tel. +358 295 488 380
The email addresses of the Ministry of the Interior are in the format [email protected].