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Moving to Finland

eSIM and your first phone plan

Verified 19 September 20262 min read

You will need data before you need anything else: for the bus ticket, the map to the apartment and the DVV booking. Two ways to have it on the way out of the airport.

Option 1: travel eSIM, activated before you fly

If your phone supports eSIM, buy a Finland or Europe data plan from a travel eSIM provider, install it at home, and switch it on when you land. A week or two of data costs a few euros to twenty. It has no Finnish number, which does not matter for the first days.

Option 2: Finnish prepaid at the airport

At the R-kioski in the arrivals hall, buy a prepaid starter pack from Elisa (Saunalahti), DNA or Telia. No ID needed. You get a Finnish number, some credit and the option to buy a data package. Prepaid data costs more per gigabyte than a contract, but you can keep the number when you later move to a contract at the same operator.

Then: a contract

Once you have a henkilötunnus and an address, move to a monthly contract; unlimited data for a resident costs a fraction of prepaid packages. The comparison is on the mobile plans page and the explanation of the operators in mobile plans explained.

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy a SIM at Helsinki airport?

Yes. The R-kioski in the arrivals hall sells prepaid starter packs from the Finnish operators; no ID or henkilötunnus is needed.

Does my home eSIM work in Finland?

If it includes Europe or Finland roaming, yes, for a while. Travel eSIMs are the simplest bridge for the first week, and cheaper than roaming from most non-EU countries.