Proposal to extend passport validity submitted for comments

The Ministry of the Interior has submitted a draft amendment to the Passport Act and the Identity Card Act for comments. These amendments would extend passport and personal identity card validity to 10 years. The consultation process will last until 16 February 2026.

In the April 2025 spending limits discussions, the Government stated that it would extend the maximum validity of Finnish passports to 10 years, subject to any security implications. Such an extension would inconvenience citizens less with passport applications. After this extension, Finland and many other EU member states would issue passports with similar validity periods.

Extension of passport and personal identity card validity to 10 years

The Government draft would extend passport and personal identity card validity to 10 years. However, passports and personal identity cards issued to minors would continue to be issued for a maximum of 5 years. A minor’s passport would include information about their guardians. Adding this information both improves the authorities’ capability to intervene in international child abduction cases and makes it easier for families to travel together across borders. 

Electronic passport applications would still be possible. However, applicants would need to make an appointment with the authority to supplement the application. 

Barring exceptional circumstances, passport photos would be taken by parties whose registered line of business or purpose in the Trade Register is photography. The photographer’s information would be included in the passport register. The photographer must be known to be fit and proper. Anyone subject to imprisonment or a corporate fine in the last three years, declared bankrupt, or banned from operating a business, whether temporarily or permanently, would not be considered fit and proper. 

Passport photos should be colour photographs, and they must be delivered to the permit authority electronically by the photographer. To ensure the quality and authenticity of the passport photo, image editing would not be allowed. 

Regardless of the validity period of personal identity cards and to protect the security factors on the card’s citizen certificate, the certificate would continue to be limited to five years of validity. 

Enquiries:
Mikko Cantell, Chief Specialist, tel. +358 295 488 380