A dilemma

[darwin57]

I have applied for a residence permit to go and complete my PhD in Finland. I am completely funded by Uni of Oulu. Now, two years ago i lived in germany for research project. During that time i ran in couple of credit card debts (3000 euros). I was paying for them monthly in an arrangement reached with bank but had to return back to India due to some personal issues. I tried to pay a lumpsum money when i came back, into my account. But the Indian bank said that my account in germany was closed and hence payment could not be done. ever since then, i dont have any communication from them regarding it. Now i am applying to Finland and have every intention of contacting them when i come to Oulu to talk about repayment. But would this prior credit default affect my chances to get the residence permit?

[Rip]

It does not look like there is any relevant item on the residence permit form. I don't see Migri digging it up from elsewhere either. Could your German creditor find out that you're in Europe again and start collecting - that I would not care to guess.

(they'd probably say they have heard lot better excuses than this:

I was paying for them monthly in an arrangement reached with bank but had to return back to India due to some personal issues. I tried to pay a lumpsum money when i came back, into my account. But the Indian bank said that my account in germany was closed and hence payment could not be done. ever since then, i dont have any communication from them regarding it.

)

[darwin57]

Thanks Rip for the reply. Actually i dont have any problems to start paying again when i am in Finland and also i still have the letter from bank in India where its mentioned that the deposit into my account in Germany was refused on the grounds that no such account exists. I am really tensed because of this issue. So, would there be any problems in getting the residence permit to Finland? Or could i be denied the permit because of this?

[Flossy1978]

You should have tried harder to contact the bank, not just wait around to hear from them.

Why after all this time would you contact them now???

I am sure there is some credit agency in Germany. They probably have the debt now.

Don't bother to do this is Finland. The credit agency is not so forgiving.

[caster]

RP has nothing to do with your credit rating however forget about having a credit card in Finland for next 5 years.

[Rip]

They wouldn't get one anyway, I don't think. I was told to get lost by OP bank. When I first asked in 2009 they said that for prevention of money laundering, they wouldn't even allow me a joint visa card with my husband, who is a working Finnish citizen.

Policies vary, with time but also bank. My wife has had about the same time a joint Visa from S-bank and a Nordea/Stockmann Mastercard. OP would not give a "plussa" card for her.

[wolf80]

I agree with roger_roger, that it only might be a problem if the bank tried to file a lawsuit (unlikely, that's not how banks solve problems when it comes to small sums) or filed a report with the police. If they did so, it could either still be with the police, or they could have handed it over to the public prosecutor. In this scenario there would need to be evidence that you took the money without the intention of paying it back, so it's unlikely.

More likely is that the bank either hired a collection agency to get the money from you or sold the debt to a credit agency. Both are possible, but honestly, I think most likely is that your account is still open, with the sum you owe them and all the interest and fees that accumulated over the years. So be prepared that you have to pay back much more, especially if the bank hired a collection agency. Banks normally have a bit more patience than a year or two, especially when it comes to very small sums, so I think you Indian bank was simply wrong.

You should have tried to contact your bank a bit harder. There is online banking, there is telephone banking via Skype, so as long as you have internet it does not matter where in the world you are to settle your bank issues. I think you should now try to contact the bank as soon as possible, and see how things are with your account, and agree with them on a new payment plan.

Keep us updated how it went!