Confusion/anxiety with residence permit (American - help!)

[emjoy212]

Hello all,
I'm an American student who will be getting my Masters degree in Finland starting this fall. I only have a few months to get all of my paperwork and stuff in order, obviously; I already got my passport taken care of, but here are some problems/questions I've run into:

1) My debit card, which is definitely in no danger of overdrawing funds, was rejected by the SIP Marsh student insurance website when I tried to buy a year of their insurance just now. Not sure if this is because it's a debit card or for some other reason. Did anyone else have this problem?

2) From the Finnish Embassy website, University of Jyvaskyla website and the Finnish Immigration website I've gotten a lot of contrasting information about the application process itself. I'm working on completing my online application (which of course I can't do without evidence of having obtained health insurance, but I've also read that everything has to be brought to the Embassy (or the Consulate) in person. I read something on the University website about fingerprinting, but haven't found anything about that on the Finnish Immigration website. Does submitting everything in person to the Consulate mean that I have to go to New York City to drop off forms, or is that something these so-called "honorary Consulates" I find listed can do?

3) In terms of showing necessary income, if I am applying to live for 2 years in Finland, do I need to show available funds for both years (e.g 12,000 Euros instead of 6,000?). Would my application be rejected if I don't?

4) Is there a plan B) if something happens where this doesn't get done in time? My sister suggested I try to get a temporary student visa, but I'm not sure if that's possible or not.

I have already given end-dates to all of my jobs here in the U.S. and I really want to go to Finland! Nothing about this seems to be easy, though.

I would really really appreciate hearing another American's experience with all of this (I'm in Michigan, if that helps).

Thanks!

> Emily

[Rip]

2) I'm working on completing my online application (which of course I can't do without evidence of having obtained health insurance, but I've also read that everything has to be brought to the Embassy (or the Consulate) in person.

That is true:

Visit a Finnish embassy abroad even if you use e-service

If you have submitted your application via e-service, you need to visit a Finnish embassy to verify your identity and to present the original copies of any supplements needed for the application.

An application cannot be processed until you have visited the embassy.

http://www.migri.fi/studying_in_finland ... pplication

I read something on the University website about fingerprinting, but haven't found anything about that on the Finnish Immigration website.

Really? (same page as above)

Passport, photo and fingerprints

Take your passport and passport photo with you to the embassy. Make sure that your passport is valid for your entire stay in Finland or longer.

At the embassy, you will also be fingerprinted for a biometric residence permit card.

Does submitting everything in person to the Consulate mean that I have to go to New York City to drop off forms, or is that something these so-called "honorary Consulates" I find listed can do?

Yes (you were from Michigan)

However, you should first bring your application with the attachments to the Consulate General in New York or Los Angeles or the Embassy of Finland, Washington D.C. depending on your jurisdiction. Applicants will also be fingerprinted at the time of filing the application.

http://www.finland.org/public/default.a ... ture=en-US

3) In terms of showing necessary income, if I am applying to live for 2 years in Finland, do I need to show available funds for both years (e.g 12,000 Euros instead of 6,000?). Would my application be rejected if I don't?

You initial permit will be for one year (6000 euros). You'll apply for an extension later. At that time you should be again be able to show sufficient funds or income for the second year.

4) Is there a plan B) if something happens where this doesn't get done in time? My sister suggested I try to get a temporary student visa, but I'm not sure if that's possible or not.

I don't think there is. Student's "visa"s like that do not exist. Just submit your application as soon as possible, the immigration authorities try to process them as fast as possible as well. At the moment the queue might still be quite short, but it gets longer very quickly.
http://www.migri.fi/services/customer_b ... as_started

[emjoy212]

Thank you for pointing out what I've missed.

I don't really think there's a need for sarcasm, though. It's not particularly intuitive or logical that you should submit information online and then to also bring the same information across the country before it will be looked at. I'm not an undergraduate student wasting time on facebook between classes, I have 3 jobs and am trying to take care of this in the 20-30 minutes I have here and there, and late at night, like now. I frankly have no idea how I'm going to get to the Consulate in NYC between 9am and 12 on a weekday without losing at least one of those jobs, and I was helpfully told by a lot of people that that they didn't think I would have to do that. I'm not an idiot--you don't need to repeat back to me what state I'm from.

Still, I appreciate the help.

[Rip]

I don't really think there's a need for sarcasm, though. It's not particularly intuitive or logical that you should submit information online and then to also bring the same information across the country before it will be looked at.

A) This is a free service. I try to be factually accurate, but will not feel guilty for having occasionally bit of fun with it too (This is influenced also by the number of posters asking questions without doing basic home work first - and I am not actually thinking your post here, there are far better examples)
B) IF I have understood it right, the online system is supposed to cut time between embassy and the immigration service in Helsinki (+ offer you a way of keeping track how it is processed without wasting time of those people who need to decide on them). Fingerprinting would be pretty hard to do reliably without requiring you to make a visit in person.
C) It probably will not make you feel better, but the bureaucracy isn't that much better elsewhere either (I once needed a visa (we would call "residence permit") to USA myself...)

[inkku]

What is the procedure to get a residence permit to the US? Do you need to go to the Embassy?

[Upphew]

What is the procedure to get a residence permit to the US? Do you need to go to the Embassy?

"As part of the visa application process, an interview at the embassy consular section is required for visa applicants from age 14 through 79, with few exceptions. Persons age 13 and younger, and age 80 and older, generally do not require an interview, unless requested by embassy or consulate. The waiting time for an interview appointment for applicants can vary, so early visa application is strongly encouraged. Visa wait times for interview appointments and visa processing time information for each U.S. Embassy or Consulate worldwide is available on our website at Visa Wait Times, and on most embassy websites. Learn how to schedule an appointment for an interview, pay the application processing fee, review embassy specific instructions, and much more by visiting the Embassy or Consulate website where you will apply. "

And I'd guess the interview is done in English. I'd like to see how it would fly if Finnish embassies started to conduct their business in Finnish...

[seja]

If you are going to have to lose one job to make the trip, then that is what it is going to be. You will lose all of your jobs when you come to Finland so just look at this one as the first to go. Many of my visas and residence permits for different countries have required personal visits and that is just part of the process. Be happy you do not come from some of the countries that do not have Finnish embassies, forcing applicants to visit neighboring countries, rather than states.

[Pursuivant]

Not sure if this is because it's a debit card or for some other reason.

Tried calling them and asking? If you are having trouble with the debit card now, how about then when you come over? What I'd suggest doing is get a prepaid mastercard from say moneybookers/skrill. Works as a "real" credit card and you don't then need to worry too much (transferring money to it is also easy) as then when you come over getting bank stuff sorted and wiring over money isn't exactly cheap or easy. BTW then when you come over, do remember if you have cash and too much of it, the customs where you first land will be interested - no bs, they have money-sniffing dogs nowadays - as theres serious anti-money-laundering measures being enforced (which also makes something easy like getting a bank account a royal pain in the ass).

It's not particularly intuitive or logical that you should submit information online and then to also bring the same information across the country before it will be looked at.

The online application service is there to make things smoother - making sure the applicant has all the papers and doesn't waste time with missing paperwork, also avoiding any losses in the mail, knowing the government i'd claim they're just too cheap to hire someone to scan the documents However at the end of the day they don't "believe" stuff before seeing it (theres a lot of fake stuff floating about) and the new requirements for biometrics mean that you need to be physically present at the consulate to get your prints done.