Applying for residence permit in Finland for a spouse that is on a visa

How to? Read other's experiences. Find useful advice on shipping, immigration, residence permits, visas and more.
Post Reply
_doctor
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 9:51 pm

Applying for residence permit in Finland for a spouse that is on a visa

Post by _doctor » Wed Oct 10, 2018 10:00 am

Hi there

I am a Finnish citizen (born abroad), got a spouse who is a Russian citizen and our common child (both Russian and Finnish citizenships). We are living in Moscow, but suddenly I've got a good job offer in Helsinki and we are about to move to Helsinki for a long time. Certainly my wife needs to get a residence permit then.

My wife has a Finnish visa, so entering Finland shouldn't be a problem, but can she apply for a residence permit while in Finland?
From the forum posts I had an impression that it is quite usual for a spouse to enter Finland on visa and apply for a residence permit while in the country already. However, now I am reading info pages on the topic and in many places, e.g. here https://www.infopankki.fi/en/moving-to- ... viopuoliso I read that it is only possible for a visa-free country citizens:
You can also apply for a residence permit in Finland if your spouse is a Finnish citizen and you are a citizen of a visa-free country, i.e. you do not need a visa to come to Finland.
Or am I reading it correctly? Does spouse need to be from a visa-free country or is it enough that she has legal grounds to enter Finland (such as usual travel visa)? Has anybody tried this way?



Applying for residence permit in Finland for a spouse that is on a visa

Sponsor:

Finland Forum Ad-O-Matic
 

jarikaija
Posts: 145
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2018 1:28 pm
Location: Finland Ylikiiminki
Contact:

Re: Applying for residence permit in Finland for a spouse that is on a visa

Post by jarikaija » Wed Oct 10, 2018 11:17 am

_doctor wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 10:00 am
Or am I reading it correctly? Does spouse need to be from a visa-free country or is it enough that she has legal grounds to enter Finland (such as usual travel visa)? Has anybody tried this way?
If she have a visa and can enter with it to Finland. Then she can fill residence permit application
at Finland and wait decision here. This is exactly same situation, when people enter to finland
with visa (non EU), goes marry here. Then they can stay Finland after filling RP application...
No difference for immigrant. Oh, of course she will need fi-address while doing RP-application.

tavastia
Posts: 527
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 1:54 pm

Re: Applying for residence permit in Finland for a spouse that is on a visa

Post by tavastia » Wed Oct 10, 2018 11:18 am

No. My wife is not from a visa free country, she came to Finland 5 years ago with a normal visa, I'm Finnish citizen, she applied here for RP based on family ties and got it without any issue. Only requirement was to have the marriage registered in Finland.

_doctor
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 9:51 pm

Re: Applying for residence permit in Finland for a spouse that is on a visa

Post by _doctor » Wed Oct 10, 2018 11:27 am

Awesome! Thank you, guys!

And I guess while the wife’s RP application is being processed she can travel out of Finland and back according to her current visa rules, right?

That is important due to the child vaccinations: they got started while in Russia, so it’s good to complete the vaccinations with the same vaccines and same doctors - so plan is for my wife to visit Russia with a child once a month or so.

tavastia
Posts: 527
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 1:54 pm

Re: Applying for residence permit in Finland for a spouse that is on a visa

Post by tavastia » Wed Oct 10, 2018 11:56 am

And I guess while the wife’s RP application is being processed she can travel out of Finland and back according to her current visa rules, right?
Yes. Be prepare that waiting time for RP could take up to 9 months. So people got it faster but in generally it takes longer :)
That is important due to the child vaccinations: they got started while in Russia, so it’s good to complete the vaccinations with the same vaccines and same doctors - so plan is for my wife to visit Russia with a child once a month or so.
Don't worry to much about this, they will check all of the vaccinations here again, and give the missing ones.


Post Reply