Address notification, winter tyres, daycare fees, electricity and the polar night: what to sort out in your first month in Finnish Lapland, with deadlines and
No mood shots, just deadlines: when to file your address, when winter tyres are required, what daycare costs and what the polar night does. All from the authorities’ own sources.
Deadlines from DVV, Traficom and the Association of Finnish Municipalities, polar-night lengths from the Finnish Meteorological Institute, distances from LaplandVibes driving routes. Checked 17 September 2026.
You can manage without a car in Rovaniemi. Not elsewhere.
Kittilä Airport, July 2026. Levi and Ylläs are served by Kittilä, Rovaniemi by its own airport and Saariselkä by Ivalo. Photo: LaplandVibes.
Daycare is priced by income, school costs nothing.
The polar night is shorter than you think. Except in Utsjoki.
When do I have to file the change of address?
At the earliest one month before moving day and at the latest one week after the move (DVV). One notification covers both the Digital and Population Data Services Agency and Posti.
When are winter tyres required in Lapland?
The law says 1 November to 31 March if weather or road conditions require it, and studs are allowed in the same period and at other times when conditions demand (Traficom). In Lapland snow often arrives before November and leaves in April, so tyres are changed by the conditions, not the calendar.
Not a true one: the polar-night line runs slightly north of the Arctic Circle (Foreca). In Sodankylä the sun stays down for four days before Christmas and in Nuorgam for almost two months (Finnish Meteorological Institute).
Your own car often arrives later. A rental from the airport covers the viewings and the first weeks; the partner search compares the rental companies in one go.
The paperwork of moving to Lapland is the same as anywhere in Finland, but three things weigh more here than in the south: winter lasts half the year, distances are measured in hundreds of kilometres, and in small municipalities the services sit in one place. This page is a checklist in the order things need doing.
If you are moving to Finland from abroad, residence permits, the personal identity code, the tax card and a bank account are covered on our sister site laplandwork.com. This page starts when the keys are in your hand.
Change-of-address notification to DVV: at the earliest one month before moving day and at the latest one week after the move (DVV). The same notification goes to Posti. Municipal services (daycare, school, health centre) follow your registered home municipality, so file it right away.
Electricity contract. The total price of electricity for a household using 2,500–4,999 kWh a year averaged 22.9 cents per kWh across Finland in March 2026, and 17.1 cents in the electrically heated house class (5,000–15,000 kWh) (Statistics Finland). Lapland’s heating season is long, so estimate your consumption on the high side.
Health care is run by the wellbeing services county of Lapland (Lapha). Non-urgent care goes through your local health centre; find the nearest one on the county’s site and register with Omakanta.
Internet. Ask the housing company or landlord about fibre before you sign. In sparsely populated areas a mobile router is often the only option, and anyone working remotely should test the connection in the flat first.
Winter tyres: in Finland winter tyres must be used from 1 November to 31 March if weather or road conditions require it. Studded tyres are allowed in the same period and at other times when conditions demand. The main grooves of a winter tyre must be at least 3.0 mm deep (Traficom). In Lapland “if conditions require” means, in practice, from late October to April.
Fuel: 95E10 petrol averaged €1.93 a litre across Finland in March 2026 and diesel €2.08 (Statistics Finland). Long distances make this a bigger line in Lapland than in the south.
Distances from the LaplandVibes driving routes: Oulu–Kemi 105 km, Kemi–Rovaniemi 118 km, Rovaniemi–Ylläs (Äkäslompolo) 175 km, Sodankylä–Saariselkä 130 km, Levi–Kilpisjärvi 258 km. Lapland is bigger than it looks on the map.
Engine block heater and cabin heater. In hard frost the car is warmed before you leave; a heating post in the car park is standard equipment in Lapland. Get a parking space with a post written into the lease.
The terminal of Kittilä Airport on a summer day