How soon did you get your latest visa,residence/work permit?

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How soon did you get your latest visa or residence/work permit?

Poll ended at Sat Oct 25, 2003 5:06 pm

Less than 1 month
16
53%
1 - 3 months
7
23%
3 - 6 months
5
17%
More than 6 months
2
7%
 
Total votes: 30

sy
Posts: 499
Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2003 2:43 pm
Location: Helsinki

How soon did you get your latest visa,residence/work permit?

Post by sy » Thu Sep 25, 2003 5:06 pm

Sure every foreigner living in Finland has dealt with the immigration office, be it Finnish embassies abroad, local police offices, or the ultimate UVI (Ulkomaalaisvirasto, Directorate of Immigration). What kind of experiences have you had with them?



How soon did you get your latest visa,residence/work permit?

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Caroline
Posts: 1126
Joined: Sun Jul 13, 2003 8:38 pm

Post by Caroline » Thu Sep 25, 2003 5:33 pm

The first permit, which took 3 months to approve and 3 weeks to receive notification, was the most irritating experience.

Second and permanent ones took about 2 weeks each, and were no sweat because 1. Oulu doesn't have many foreigners living here based on Finnish family connections so there was less paperwork backlog for the authorities, 2. I knew how to speak Finnish fairly well by then so the authorities figured I had passed the initiation period :wink:
Former expat in Finland, now living in New Hampshire USA.

Guest

Post by Guest » Thu Sep 25, 2003 7:41 pm

My permit took me almost 7 weeks. But that was merely a problem with Maistraatti, posti and poliisi.
Poliisi wanted to send my permit through posti, but the posti didn't deliver my posti, because I wasn't registered at the address through the Maistraatti, which I could only do if I had my permit, which was going to be send through posti, but the posti didn't deliver my posti, because I wasn't registered at the address through the Maistraatti, which I could only do if I had my permit, which was going to be send through posti, but the posti didn't deliver my posti, because I wasn't registered at the address through the Maistraatti, which I could only do if I had my permit, which was going to be send through posti, but the posti didn't deliver my posti, because I wasn't registered at the address through the Maistraatti, which I could only do if I had my permit, which was going to be send through posti, but the posti didn't deliver my posti, because I wasn't registered at the address through the Maistraatti, which I could only do if I had my permit, which was going to be send through posti, but the posti didn't deliver my posti, because I wasn't registered at the address through the Maistraatti, which I could only do if I had my permit, which was going to be send through posti, etc.etc.etc.etc.

That was kinda annoying... :evil:

User avatar
tgabawm
Posts: 318
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 2:37 pm
Location: hell...sinki

Post by tgabawm » Sun Sep 28, 2003 6:15 pm

I got my residence permit after 4 months, after they took my passport for 3 months and I still don't knpw why!!!

sy
Posts: 499
Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2003 2:43 pm
Location: Helsinki

Post by sy » Mon Sep 29, 2003 11:52 am

According to my observation, in general, if you apply for the residence permit based on family ties, or you're living in other place than in Helsinki, it is relatively quicker to get the residence permit. However, if you're living in Helsinki (where most foreigners live), or if you also apply for the work permit, it can easily take 3-6 months to get the permits.

Also if your application can be handled in the local police department, it is quicker. But if your application is sent to UVI to process, then it needs at least 3 months.

Guest

Post by Guest » Mon Sep 29, 2003 11:54 am

I think it depends mostly of the activity and willingness of the bureaucrats.

I know someone who applied for his permit in Helsinki, he got his in 5 DAYS, whereas I applied for it in Kilo, Espoo, and it took a lot longer.

Geri Bush
Posts: 69
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2003 7:55 am
Location: Klaukkala

Long Long Wait

Post by Geri Bush » Wed Oct 01, 2003 8:05 pm

I win. I waited 7 months for my visa.

shazman
Posts: 435
Joined: Fri May 16, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Mountain of Monks
Contact:

Post by shazman » Thu Oct 02, 2003 4:11 pm

All those people who waited less than a month... what the *Ä#% ????
you jammy sods.

And Katrina, a laxative is a lethal weapon :wink:

Olga
Posts: 62
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2003 10:30 am
Location: Olari, Espoo

Post by Olga » Fri Oct 03, 2003 10:56 am

Well, for me it took exactly 20 days (plus 18 days to get it mailed to the house). Don´t know why. Got married in Maistraati on 10, applied for residence permit on 11, date of issue was 31.

Husband is EU, I am not, but he has already lived in Finland for 3 years and was waiting for his permanent permit at the time I applied (and got it later than me).

Poliisi in Espoo didn´t believe that we were applying for the permit, they were saying something like "bride-visa", but we brought them a paper from UVI (family members paragraph):
http://www.uvi.fi/pdf/oleoikeuseueta_eng.pdf

They gave up and issued me a 5-year permit.

cmichiel
Posts: 43
Joined: Sat Jun 07, 2003 12:26 am
Location: Herttoniemi

Post by cmichiel » Fri Oct 03, 2003 5:28 pm

Hi,
We seemed to have been extremely lucky(?). We applied on the first of september and the residence permit got issued 4 days later. It only took then 2 more weeks before we received the letter in our mailbox notifying us that we could collect it.

Geri Bush
Posts: 69
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2003 7:55 am
Location: Klaukkala

Re: Long Long Wait

Post by Geri Bush » Sat Oct 04, 2003 11:36 am

[quote="katrina"][quote="Geri Bush"]I win. I waited 7 months for my visa.[/quote]


:(Sorry, I bet that had to really bad:( You definintly win:)lol Where did you apply from?

Kat[/quote]

I applied from Hyvinkaa. I had been living in Helsinki for nearly 4 years with a B type residence permit. My employer and tax status was in the USA, work place Helsinki. Pretty strange. Not normal and certainly the cause of my wait.

With my application I submited, as advised, University degree, bank statements, Finnish language proficiency, activity within the Finnish community, and statement of cohabitation.

My earlier four residence permits counted for nothing! And I was issued a 1 year A5. My 4 years continuous with a B permit is just "twilight zone" time. Doesn't count as residence in the US or in Finland.

But it wasn't too bad. We were and are still remolding our house so I had plenty of time to play "Builder Bob".

But I don't advise using the exception to policy and appling from within Finland for your "first" permit.

Geri

kultary
Posts: 142
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2003 2:45 pm
Location: Tampere

Post by kultary » Thu Oct 09, 2003 9:59 am

The last time I applied, I went to the Tampere police station as I always had done in the past, and they told me it would take 3-8 weeks for them to process the paperwork and make a decision. They then referred me to the Kangasala police station (where I actually live).

When I applied in Kangasala, they told me that it would take about 3 weeks, but they ended up telephoned me about a week later to inform me that my passport was ready to be picked up.... apparently there are not a lot of foreigners in Kangasala.

I was also pleasantly surprised at the fee. The Tampere police quoted me €100, but I ended up paying about 25€ because I was applying for permanent residency and am married to a finn. (I probably shouldn't post that here or someone will see this and try to charge me the difference)...

- ryan

Guest

Post by Guest » Thu Oct 09, 2003 10:34 am

kultary wrote:The last time I applied, I went to the Tampere police station as I always had done in the past, and they told me it would take 3-8 weeks for them to process the paperwork and make a decision. They then referred me to the Kangasala police station (where I actually live).
From what I understood you always have to apply for a permit in the place where you live.
When I came here, I went to the Helsinki aliens police and after waiting in queue for 1,5 hours it was my turn and they told me nicely that I had to go to Espoo to get the permit, because I live in Espoo.
I don't remember how much I paid, but I think it was some 30€.


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