Cohabitation Residency Permit Questions

[shanarah93]

Hello,
I am looking for some advice for getting a residency permit to Finland. My partner is a Finn and when we intend to move we will have been 'cohabiting' together for more than two years. I have read however that it is difficult to get the permit on family ties unless you are married. Is this true? I am coming from Australia so its not a very high risk country. Can anyone explain the processes to me a little as I find the system confusing. How long does this visa last, do you need to be working to renew it, is it easy to get permenant residency from this visa? Thank you

[Rip]

I you have some documentation about the two years, getting the permit should be pretty easy. The processing time might still be fairly long (it has and does vary). You fulfill the forms (available for down load from Migri site), and submit them either to embassy in Australia or police station here, depending on where you decide to apply. First permit is one year, the second one is for four. If you get your initial permit and are still living together, the renewal just a formality (you should apply for the new permit while the old one is still valid).

After living four years here you may apply for permanent permit, or if you have managed to pass the language test, citizenship (if your four year permit is about to expire while your citizenship application is still pending, you'd need to apply for the renewed (permanent) permit as well).

I recommend finding a job, but you do not need one for immigration purposes as a spouse of a Finnish citizen.

And in the local use "visa" is for short term visits (max three months) only. To avoid confusion, speak about residence permits only.