Retiring in the Åland Islands: Residence, Buying a Home, Taxation of the Pension, Form S1 and Local Life

France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry) indicates that French nationals enter Finland freely with a valid passport or identity card. For a stay of more than three months, InfoFinland specifies that registration of an EU citizen’s right of residence is to be requested no later than three months after arrival; the grounds accepted are employment, a business, a place as a student, family ties or sufficient resources, the ground that concerns the retiree. The pages consulted set no amount of resources: the threshold should be confirmed before settling with the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), which France Diplomatie cites among its resources; immigration is a State power (section 27 of the Act on the Autonomy).

• Registration in Mariehamn: the Statens ämbetsverk på Åland (Torggatan 16 B) indicates that registration of a foreign national requires a visit in person. The reception is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., and an appointment is made by telephone from 9 to 11 a.m. or from 12 noon to 3 p.m.
• Municipality of residence: InfoFinland indicates that it requires an intended stay of at least one year; it conditions in particular taxation and certain services.
• Roll of French nationals: the French embassy in Helsinki invites French nationals who settle for more than six months to register (free, valid for five years); an honorary consul sees people by appointment in Maarianhamina.

The page living in the Åland Islands details the archipelago’s status, the Swedish language of the administration and the settling-in formalities.

An Åland resident is taxable in Finland on income from all sources, subject to the tax treaties that allocate the right to tax. For pensions, the applicable treaty depends on the year.

• Treaty of 11 September 1970: it applies to income up to 2026. According to Vero, Finland could tax, as the source state, only civil service pensions; the allocation works the other way round for France. The general scheme pension or a supplementary pension of a retiree resident in Åland is therefore in principle taxable only in Finland, and a former civil servant’s pension remains taxable in France: the text should be checked on impots.gouv.fr.
• Treaty of 4 April 2023: published by Decree No. 2026-758 of 7 August 2026, it entered into force on 28 August 2026 and applies from 1 January 2027 (Vero; Légifrance). Its article 17 provides that pensions paid to a resident of the other state are taxable only in that state of residence, but also remain taxable in the source state where the contributions were deductible there, where employer contributions there did not constitute taxable income or where the pension is paid under that state’s social security legislation. Article 18 reserves to the paying state pensions paid for public services. Article 21 organises the elimination of double taxation by a tax credit; article 29 protects, under conditions, people already resident on the date of signature. A French general scheme pension could therefore be taxed in both countries, with elimination of double taxation.
• Territory: the text of the 2023 treaty defines Finland as the Republic of Finland, without citing Åland separately. Vero specifies that, for an Åland resident, foreign tax can be credited against State tax, municipal tax and the media fee where the income comes from a country linked to Finland by a treaty.
• Åland scale: Vero gives a progressive State scale, revised every year, for people with a municipality of residence in Åland. Municipal tax, set by the archipelago, is added, with a capped deduction on pension income, reduced by 51% of net income beyond a certain amount. The media fee, revised every year, is due beyond a net income threshold. The deduction of medical expenses was abolished from 2025.
• French deductions: for a retiree whose tax residence is outside France, CSG and CRDS do not apply; a health contribution of 3.2% on the basic pension and 4.2% on the supplementary pension is withheld from general scheme pensions, and 7.1% from those of the self-employed (CLEISS).

The guide receiving your pension abroad details the payment of pensions outside France. The returns to be filed in each country should be checked with the French tax administration and Vero.

A retiree who receives only a French pension and does not work requests form S1 from their pension fund before departure, then hands it to the health body of the country of residence (CLEISS). They notify their departure to their health insurance fund.

In Åland, health is a power of the archipelago: the ÅHS provides public care, at fees set by Åland legislation (fee manual, whose amounts could not be read). Social insurance remains a State power, and Kela specifies that Åland is an autonomous region whose social legislation differs in part from that of the mainland. The pages consulted from Kela, the ÅHS and CLEISS do not describe the handling of an S1 in the archipelago: it should be confirmed with Kela and the ÅHS (kund.ekonomi@ahs.ax) before settling.

• Temporary stay: the EHIC opens the normal rate for ÅHS urgent care, with valid identification and the home address.
• National pensions: Kela requires three years of residence in Finland, after the age of 16, for pensions and disability allowances; periods in the EU, the EEA, Switzerland or the United Kingdom count if you have lived at least one year in Finland. The pages consulted mention no rule specific to Åland for these pensions.
• Vaccination: the basic series against tick-borne encephalitis is free for people with a municipality of residence in Finland who live in Åland; boosters are at the patient’s expense.
• Dental care: the ÅHS reserves its public care for children and young people up to age 28 and priority groups; adults consult their usual dentist.

See the page healthcare reimbursement in the Åland Islands, the guide health insurance for retirees abroad and the page retirement abroad insurance. To complement this arrangement with first-euro cover or access to private providers, Expavy helps you compare the options.

For a retiree, Åland’s most specific rule is that of land acquisition: according to the Government of Åland, land ownership must remain in the hands of the Åland population. Holders of the hembygdsrätt, which requires Finnish citizenship, acquire without a permit; others apply for an acquisition permit (jordförvärvstillstånd) to the Government of Åland, case by case, under the 1975 act and the 2024 regional act in force since 1 November 2024.

• Settling: a permit may be granted for a plot of less than 4,000 m² in a permanent housing zone, if the intention to stay is shown by a stable job or a concrete and credible plan to move soon.
• Five years of residence: anyone who has lived at least five years in Åland in principle obtains a permit, for permanent or leisure use, on proof of work or study; the population register is not enough.
• Renting and flats: leases of up to five years for housing and the acquisition of shares entitling to housing require no permit, unless the real estate company itself requires one.
• Spouse: the spouse of a holder of the hembygdsrätt who acquires less than 4,000 m² for a permanent shared home needs no permit.

According to the ÅSUB, Åland has about 17,000 dwellings, with an average floor area of 48 m² per person; the ÅSUB also publishes average rents per m² by area (long-term series) and purchases of housing in real estate companies, the values of which can be consulted on its site. The currency is the euro, which removes the exchange risk for a French pension paid in euros.

According to the ÅSUB, Åland has about 31,000 inhabitants: about 12,000 in Mariehamn, 17,000 in the rural area and 2,000 in the archipelago, whose population is falling slightly. The choice of place comes down to proximity to care.

• Mariehamn: the ÅHS hospital, its emergency department open at all times (Doktorsvägen 1 A), the main health centre and the administrative services.
• The countryside of the main island: the Godby health centre and the municipalities’ health clinics; the hospital is in Mariehamn.
• The archipelago: the municipality’s health clinic; the ambulance helicopter operates in the archipelago, and journeys to the mainland for treatment require an ÅHS voucher to be reimbursed by Kela.

France Diplomatie recommends, in winter, shoes suited to snow and ice, even in the town centre, and crampons or ice grips before walking on the sea or a frozen lake. It advises vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis for stays in rural or wooded areas. Spending a winter on site before committing to a purchase helps you decide. Swedish is the language of Åland’s administration (section 36 of the Act on the Autonomy).

• Request the S1 from your pension fund before departure, and check the situation of each family member.
• Inform your pension funds of the change of address and of the bank account for payment of the pension.
• Request the EHIC to cover the transition period.
• Register your right of residence within three months of arrival, then go to the Statens ämbetsverk på Åland to enter the population register.
• Confirm with Kela and the ÅHS the handling of the S1 and access to care in the archipelago.
• Register on the roll of French nationals living abroad (French embassy in Helsinki).
• Prepare the income tax return in Finland and in France according to the applicable treaty.

In the event of a return to France, according to ameli.fr, the insured person notifies their departure to the health insurance fund of the country they are leaving, then sends form S1106 to their French fund: the page return to France details the steps, and the guide quarters worked abroad explains the totalisation of periods if you have also worked in Finland.