Living in the Åland Islands as a French National: Autonomy, Residence, Housing, Language and Daily Life

According to the Government of Åland, the archipelago’s autonomy goes back to a League of Nations decision of 1921; Åland has been demilitarised since 1856 and neutralised since 1921, which means that armed forces may not stay there and that the archipelago may not be fortified. Finland guarantees this status, and the Act on the Autonomy, in its third version in force since 1 January 1993, can be amended by the Finnish Parliament only with the agreement of the Åland Parliament (Lagting).

Åland is monolingual Swedish for its administration: section 36 of the Act on the Autonomy provides that Swedish is the official language of the State, the region and the municipalities in the archipelago. For a French national, speaking Swedish is an asset for procedures, employment and local life. The Finnish tax authorities also specify that they write to Åland residents in Swedish. Protocol No. 2 to Finland’s accession treaty to the EU, cited by the Government of Åland, places the archipelago outside the EU fiscal union and recognises the hembygdsrätt as a condition for buying real estate and obtaining the right to carry on an activity.

The France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry) pages consulted on Finland (travel advice, entry and stay, health) do not treat Åland separately: what is said about the free entry of French nationals therefore applies to the whole of Finnish territory, with the local rules described here.

According to the ÅSUB, Åland has about 31,000 inhabitants: about 12,000 in Mariehamn, 17,000 in the rural area of the main island and 2,000 in the archipelago, whose population is falling slightly. The choice of place determines access to services.

• Mariehamn: capital of the archipelago, home to the ÅHS hospital, its emergency department, the main health centre and State services such as the Statens ämbetsverk på Åland.
• The countryside of the main island: the Godby health centre and the municipalities’ health clinics cover first contact; the hospital remains in Mariehamn.
• The archipelago: residents turn to their municipality’s health clinic; the ÅHS uses the ambulance helicopter for interventions in the archipelago and rural areas.

The ÅSUB notes a high density of private cars: about 27,000, or 880 per 1,000 inhabitants, the highest of the Nordic countries. A vehicle is therefore common outside Mariehamn.

• Labour market: unemployment is normally between 2 and 4%, with peaks during crises; the employment rate is high (ÅSUB). Maritime shipping accounts for about 18% of GDP and nearly 6% of jobs.
• Energy and environment: nearly two thirds of the electricity supplied is produced in Åland, mainly by wind, against about a third imported from Sweden (ÅSUB).
• Health: a regional public system, the ÅHS, with a hospital and two health centres, detailed in the page healthcare system in the Åland Islands.
• Open population: about 40% of residents were born outside Åland, which makes it easier for newcomers to arrive.
• Rules to know about: land acquisition and the right to carry on an activity are regulated (section below), administration in Swedish, a small job market, journeys to the mainland for certain specialist care.

France Diplomatie indicates that French nationals enter Finland freely with a valid passport or identity card, and that a stay of more than three months comes with registration at the local population office, which assigns the personal identity number (henkilötunnus), needed for most procedures. InfoFinland specifies that an EU citizen’s right of residence is to be requested no later than three months after arrival, on the basis of employment, a business, a place as a student, family ties or sufficient resources; job seeking alone is not a sufficient ground. Legislation on foreigners 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 the register unit sees people without an appointment on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, and on Wednesday and Thursday from 12 noon to 3 p.m. 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, for EU citizens who have registered their right of residence. It affects taxation and access to certain services.
• Roll of French nationals: the French embassy invites French nationals who settle for more than six months to register (free, valid for five years). An honorary consul is appointed in Maarianhamina and sees people by appointment.

According to the ÅSUB, Åland has about 17,000 dwellings, nearly 60% of them detached houses and 38% flats or semi-detached houses, with an average floor area of 48 m² per person; about 7% of households live in overcrowded conditions. The ÅSUB also publishes average rents per m² by area and by year (long-term series) and purchases of housing in real estate companies: these values can be consulted on its site.

Land acquisition follows a rule of autonomy: land must remain in the hands of the Åland population. According to the Government of Åland, holders of the hembygdsrätt can acquire without a permit; others often need an acquisition permit (jordförvärvstillstånd), under the 1975 Land Acquisition Act and the 2024 regional act, in force since 1 November 2024.

• Settling in Åland: a permit may be granted for a plot of less than 4,000 m² in a permanent housing zone, provided the person shows their intention to stay, for example with a stable job or a credible and imminent plan to move.
• Five years of residence: anyone who has lived at least five years in Åland without the hembygdsrätt in principle obtains a permit, for permanent or leisure use; the supporting documents are employment or study certificates, the population register not being enough.
• Renting and flats: leases of up to five years for housing require no permit, and the acquisition of shares entitling to housing requires none either, unless the company itself requires one.
• Seafront land: acquisition generally requires zoning approval.

The hembygdsrätt itself requires Finnish citizenship, a satisfactory knowledge of Swedish and in principle five years of residence (three years under conditions); the application costs €118 and is processed in one to two months. A French national who has not been naturalised in Finland therefore cannot obtain it and comes under the permit system.

The currency is the euro. The ÅSUB publishes the archipelago’s consumer price index and average rents per m²; the detailed values can be consulted on its site. The general economic benchmarks appear in the block above.

• Income tax: the Finnish tax administration applies to people with a municipality of residence in Åland a State scale of its own, revised every year, with five brackets from 0% to a little under 25%, to which is added the municipal tax, set by the archipelago under its own law. The municipality’s rate should be checked with it.
• Media fee: Åland residents over 18 pay it to the region instead of the mainland’s public broadcasting tax: amount revised every year, for net income above €14,000 (Vero).
• VAT and excise: Åland is not part of the EU VAT and excise territory. A fiscal border separates it from the EU VAT territory, and goods that cross this fiscal border are declared to Finnish customs (Vero).

For a health budget, the page healthcare reimbursement in the Åland Islands details the costs depending on your status, and the guide budgeting for health when living abroad helps put a figure on this item.

Schooling: education is a power of the archipelago (section 18 of the Act on the Autonomy). According to the Government of Åland, the system runs from early childhood to higher education, with general and vocational upper secondary education run by the upper secondary school authority and higher education provided by Högskolan på Åland. The ÅSUB records about 1,100 upper secondary students and nearly 500 students at this higher education institution. The pages consulted mention no French network school in Åland; for schooling in French, the French embassy in Helsinki is the contact to approach. The language of instruction should be confirmed with the Government of Åland’s education department.

Safety: France Diplomatie indicates that ordinary crime is at a low level throughout Finland, and that vigilance is normal throughout the territory. The ambulance service called on 112 has, according to the ÅHS, two ambulances ready to leave within one minute, day and night, and a helicopter for the archipelago.

Climate: France Diplomatie recommends, even in the town centre, equipping yourself with shoes suited to snow and ice, and bringing crampons or ice grips before walking on the sea or a frozen lake. It also advises vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis for stays in rural or wooded areas; the ÅHS offers the basic series of three doses to residents with a municipality of residence in Finland.

Language: Swedish is the language of Åland’s administrations. Businesses operating in the archipelago must, according to the Government of Åland, conduct their business in Swedish, employees placed in Åland having to be able to work there in Swedish.