Residence Permit for "Specialists"

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Vermont
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Joined: Thu Nov 05, 2015 1:19 am

Residence Permit for "Specialists"

Post by Vermont » Tue Nov 10, 2015 3:51 am

Good evening. Does anyone have experience in applying for a residence permit under the "Specialist" catagory?
I will be moving to Finland from the US and meet the requirements spelled out under that catagory.
Provided, I meet those requirements, can I fly to Finland, begin work and then apply for a residence permit once in country?
What I have read on migri.fi, specifically here: http://www.migri.fi/working_in_finland/ ... specialist
seems to indicate this.
Does anyone have experience with this?
Thanks!



Residence Permit for "Specialists"

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Beep_Boop
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Re: Residence Permit for "Specialists"

Post by Beep_Boop » Tue Nov 10, 2015 8:57 am

Experience or being in a similar situation doesn't matter. The law and regulations are still the same.
Yes, as a US citizen you don't need a visa. So if you come to Finland, then your stay is legal. If you fit the "specialist" criterea, then you can work right away... exactly like it says on the website made exactly for answering these questions.

You might have a hard time convincing your employer, though. They might ask to see a valid RP or a paper indicating right of work. You can refer them to that page. Talk to your HR/POPS/Hiring manager beforehand to avoid any surprises.
Every case is unique. You can't measure the result of your application based on arbitrary anecdotes online.

Oho
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Re: Residence Permit for "Specialists"

Post by Oho » Tue Nov 10, 2015 9:37 am

.

Rip
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Re: Residence Permit for "Specialists"

Post by Rip » Tue Nov 10, 2015 2:55 pm

So for OP the answer is basically "Yes". The potential drawbacks are getting your boss or HR to convinced that you can do that (if you would be their first case) and then the possibility (is this likely? - I have no idea) that your application would be rejected or decision would be delayed (past the three months limit) . The likelihood of the last possibility may have been changed because of the influx asylum seekers in the past few months.

Oho
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Re: Residence Permit for "Specialists"

Post by Oho » Wed Nov 11, 2015 3:32 pm

Rip wrote:So for OP the answer is basically "Yes". The potential drawbacks are getting your boss or HR to convinced that you can do that (if you would be their first case) and then the possibility (is this likely? - I have no idea) that your application would be rejected or decision would be delayed (past the three months limit) . The likelihood of the last possibility may have been changed because of the influx asylum seekers in the past few months.
Its really almost a non issue. Cant vouch for it but I've heard average processing time for employment based residence permit when partial decision from the ministry of labor is not required i.e. specialist is about 19 days and the decision, unless there are grave reasons, is always positive (in 2015 of 859 applications 857 decisions were positive).

Successful migration to Finland may be difficult for reasons like language and climate, but for someone with worth while credentials its not made difficult by the bureaucracy.

Vermont
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Re: Residence Permit for "Specialists"

Post by Vermont » Fri Nov 13, 2015 2:32 am

Thanks for all of the replies.
I have been in contact with the Consulate in NYC and am moving forward on this.

Vermont
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Re: Residence Permit for "Specialists"

Post by Vermont » Wed Dec 09, 2015 4:16 am

Here's an update on how this went for me:

I filled out the online application on the 18th of November and included a copy of the employment contract along with a letter from the company stating an intent to hire with a brief explanation of why my particular services were needed.
I went to the consulate in NYC on Thursday of last week to be fingerprinted. After completing that my online application status went from "Submitted" to "Processing".
On Monday morning my residence permit was granted.
So, that was pretty straightforward for me.
Cost was 450 Euro for the permit application plus a flight and rental car to NYC. Timewise, I spent the equivelant of 1 day all told.

AldenG
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Re: Residence Permit for "Specialists"

Post by AldenG » Wed Dec 09, 2015 5:49 am

For the purpose of calibration, is this IT, subspecialist IT, proprietary product/process knowledge, industrial process, maple syrup, something else?

With so much domestic expertise receiving unemployment benefits, it's helpful to get a data point suggesting how strict they're being these days.
As he persisted, I was obliged to tootle him gently at first and then, seeing no improvement, to trumpet him vigorously with my horn.

Vermont
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Re: Residence Permit for "Specialists"

Post by Vermont » Wed Dec 09, 2015 2:00 pm

Hi Alden,

My area of expertise is in the logistics and management of moving large groups of people and equipment internationally, as well as the build up and preparation for the project said people and equipment are undertaking.

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Beep_Boop
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Re: Residence Permit for "Specialists"

Post by Beep_Boop » Wed Dec 09, 2015 5:18 pm

I'd like to add that it's impossible to infer any meaningful information from sources like a few people's personal experiences.
Companies have specific needs, and clearly the local market isn't satisfying them. Unemployment is rising while open positions are rising as well [1]. This is a clear indication that the Finnish work market isn't able to fill those needs on the required level. The Google situation in Hamina is just one example [2].

I see the same exact situation in my workplace as well. For highly skilled positions, we get very few applications from Finns, and the ones we get from Finns rarely make the cut. We have multiple well-paid high-skill positions that have been open for a while with very few eligible applicants.


[1] http://yle.fi/uutiset/jobless_rate_grow ... re/8324283
[2] http://yle.fi/uutiset/skilled_labour_cr ... nd/7909157
Every case is unique. You can't measure the result of your application based on arbitrary anecdotes online.


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