Work permits, cops, etc.

[SoupNinja]

Anyone been through a similar case as mine? If so, advice, please.

US Citizen, living in UK, married to Finn, sole salary earner, Finnish job offer in hand.

I contacted Immigration to sort out my residence permit...they tell me that as a spouse I need to move to Finland and apply for my RP from the local police. So far, so good.

They also tell me I *can't work* until the RP comes, so it seems they expect me to come in, sit down and twiddle thumbs until the permit arrives. Am I getting the right story here? It's a difficult one since you gotta have proof of income to find housing, and I'm guessing you gotta prove your address to get the permit. So what to do?

Any ideas?

Thanks all,
SoupNinja

[Gnu007]

If you have been offered a job by a Finnish company, it is usually them who sort out any visas before you move over, or at least almost the same time.

[moomintroll]

It's an issue of common sense: you can't work without a work and residence permit because you are a citizen of the United States. If you were a citizen of any of the EU member nations you would have the right to live and work freely in any EU country you choose, including the UK and Finland.

The day you arrive in Finland you should be in the police station with all of your application documents and passport, they will let you keep your passport for the duration while they process the documents.

This is just an idea, but you can take a RyanAir flight from the UK to Tampere, apply in person, and fly back to the UK to wait for the visa to be accepted.

[Hank W.]

They also tell me I *can't work* until the RP comes, so it seems they expect me to come in, sit down and twiddle thumbs until the permit arrives.

Yeah, as they cannot hire a wetback without the green card. Sound familiar?

[SoupNinja]

They also tell me I *can't work* until the RP comes, so it seems they expect me to come in, sit down and twiddle thumbs until the permit arrives.

Yeah, as they cannot hire a wetback without the green card. Sound familiar?

We know that they don't let Mexicans into the US to sit & wait for their green card. They have to apply for it from their home country. Hence my question: why does a spouse of a citizen have to apply in country with the police? Can't an embassy handle it here in the UK?

In any case, I'm just trying to figure out how others have done it. Clearly it's possible. If you feel it's a stupid question, resist the snarky comment. Neither of us gain anything from the exchange. Thanks.

[Hank W.]

We know that they don't let Mexicans into the US to sit & wait for their green card. They have to apply for it from their home country. Hence my question: why does a spouse of a citizen have to apply with the police? Can't an embassy handle it here in the UK?

Well that is what I was next asking why do you not apply for the RP at the embassy in London. As everybody knows the closer to the immigration office you get the slower the process is. The thing is that as a spouse you can/may/are allowed apply for the permit in Finland (instead of applying at the embassy at where you live what you would do if you weren't married to a Finn but had a job offer). But the principle is exactly the same - apply first, then come over.

[SoupNinja]

We know that they don't let Mexicans into the US to sit & wait for their green card. They have to apply for it from their home country. Hence my question: why does a spouse of a citizen have to apply with the police? Can't an embassy handle it here in the UK?

Well that is what i am asking why do you not apply for the RP at the embassy in London. As everybody knows the closer to the immigration office you get the sklower the process is. the thing is that as a spouse you *can* apply for the permit in Finland (instead of applying at the embassy).

Going back to the original message -- based on what the Immigration service told me, I need to apply in country with the police, which seems a bit bizarre. I suspect I'm not getting the right info from the service, which is why I'm canvassing here.

[Hank W.]

Need vs. can read www.migri.fi => residence permit

[tarmulis9]

Soupninja,

The misunderstanding here is: Work Permit - Residency Permit.

If you have been offered a job by a Fin company I'd think that it would make more sense and life esier or both parts if they would apply for the Work Permity and all other paper work related to your Work Permit...., now the residency is something you must apply for in person at the Finnish police station, at the time of your "residency permit application" you will need to have in hands your contract (between you and the employer). Where it clearly shows the terms (permanent, temporary and etc) and most important the salary (weekly, monthly or yearly) and also of course your passport with the applicable visa stamped.

The residency will then be issued on a separate paper, nothing done at your passport. This is how fins work
Br
Tarmulis9

[Hank W.]

A non-EU must apply for the first work-based-residence permit from abroad. Unless its "special circumstances" which happen when the moon is blue. For family-based-residence you can apply in Finland as well. The family-based-residence requires a tad less paperwork as theres no need for the employer to ask for the labor opinion etc. and a family-based RP gives a right to work.

Getting "domiciled" is a totally different thing, as well as EU registration.

[SoupNinja]

A non-EU must apply for the first work-based-residence permit from abroad. Unless its "special circumstances" which happen when the moon is blue. For family-based-residence you can apply in Finland as well. The family-based-residence requires a tad less paperwork as theres no need for the employer to ask for the labor opinion etc. and a family-based RP gives a right to work.

Getting "domiciled" is a totally different thing, as well as EU registration.

A few hours, a few websites, a few phone calls later...

You're right, the family-based residence (as it seems I fall under) can be processed outside or inside Finland. Apparently the rub is that the application process takes some 5 months from the outside vs. [insert case load of local police here] from within Finland.

So it comes down to how long the cops take to get through the paperwork. Anyone have any experience with that?

[stewy]

A non-EU must apply for the first work-based-residence permit from abroad. Unless its "special circumstances" which happen when the moon is blue. For family-based-residence you can apply in Finland as well. The family-based-residence requires a tad less paperwork as theres no need for the employer to ask for the labor opinion etc. and a family-based RP gives a right to work.

Getting "domiciled" is a totally different thing, as well as EU registration.

A few hours, a few websites, a few phone calls later...

You're right, the family-based residence (as it seems I fall under) can be processed outside or inside Finland. Apparently the rub is that the application process takes some 5 months from the outside vs. [insert case load of local police here] from within Finland.

So it comes down to how long the cops take to get through the paperwork. Anyone have any experience with that?

well they say in helsinki it can take up to 3-4 months. i applied in kouvola on grounds on family ties and it took 2 and a half weeks. i think it'd be better to apply based on the family ties than your job.

[SoupNinja]

So it comes down to how long the cops take to get through the paperwork. Anyone have any experience with that?

well they say in helsinki it can take up to 3-4 months. i applied in kouvola on grounds on family ties and it took 2 and a half weeks. i think it'd be better to apply based on the family ties than your job.

Thanks Stewy, 2.5 weeks ain't all that bad. Same as you I'll be applying at a station out past the wolf line so hopefully my luck will be the same.

[Mook]

I'm told that it took only 2 weeks for my company to import our last non-EU alien, so get your new company to sort it out.

[SoupNinja]

Hi Mook,

Even though responding to a guy named "Mook" seems uncomfortably like responding to a guy named "Woogie", I'll do so for the benefit of those who cross this path later in life....

I called the Hyvinkää Poliisilaitos (my soon-to-be-local copshop) and they told me max 2 weeks to process the RP application. So the unscientific mean pretty much hovers around 2wks for those of us willing to live in hicksville.

Hey, thanks for the response everyone. I really do appreciate that there are people out there willing to help a stranger out. Mook, there's a beer waiting for you when I get my stuff sorted...

SoupNinja