Post
by SediaAmore » Sat Feb 23, 2008 8:22 pm
Hi,
I will share my personal experience with you. It is this:
I met my Finn online in May 1999 we wrote back and forth for awhile. Finally, she came to visit me in November. She met my family and they really liked her. I went to visit her in December/January. I met all her friends and family and it went well. We decided that we really liked each other enough (ok loved, all corniness aside) to give it a go. She applied for a student visa, as you know the USA (sucks) doesn't recognize same-sex relationships for the purpose of immigration. We lived together in Long Beach, California for 3 years and then moved to Finland in 2003. We had visited Finland in 2002 and registered then. We had registered in California as domestic partners some time earlier. So, we had carefully planned our moves each time. We carefully compiled a stack of legal documents which satisfy all the agencies which might inquire into the validity of our registered partnership. I applied for my residence permit at the embassy in Los Angeles and it went almost without a hitch. We just had to get an an email from an official in Finland who apparently knew the law better than the clerk at the embassy that we dealt with. Soon enough, I received my residence permit and we moved to Finland. I took a whole boatload of crap, even brought my vehicle which we just barely traded in last year. Yeah, so I rented a cargo bin to bring all of my worldly possessions. I think some stuff is missing but what can I do. The first week I was here I regsitered at the magistrates and got my social security number sometime soon after at Kela. I spent the first 3 years here going to immigrant school and that was sponsored by Kela as an immigrant integration program. I learned the language, the history and about the culture. I also got to meet some really cool people from different countries that I never would have probably met otherwise. So, my spouse was a student when we met and when we came back here she finished up and got her master's degree. Now, I have been going to school in Helsinki for a second bachelor's in nursing.
Pretty much, everything has got quite smoothly. Last year, I got permanent residence and passed the test to satisfy the language requirement for applying for Finnish citizenship. I will apply for that sometime this year but it is like, 400€, but I want it. I really like living in Finland. Er, I probably wrote much more than you wanted to know. I just figured it sucks getting the run around. If you have any more questions, pm or something. Cheers.
my girlfriend. 
