Which visa to choose???

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Gypsy
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Which visa to choose???

Post by Gypsy » Tue Jun 17, 2003 5:21 pm

I was wondering if someone could speak to the different visas with which I might enter Finland. My situation is a little bit special in that I am coming to Finland (pending my acceptance) as a student, but I am also married to a Finnish girl. I presume therefore that I am entitled to a residence permit due to either of these factors. I’ve contacted the Finnish embassy in Washington D.C. asking the same, but they always seem to only note one of the two aforementioned reasons and send me the link for the application for one or the other.

Is there a difference between living in Finland with a F1 (I presume the student visa is F1 – I know it is here in the U.S. and was also F1 in Hungary when I studied there) and whichever permit I would receive from being married to a Finn. I’m thinking that I can work with the latter but not the former, right? This, to me, represents only a minor difference as I would be working at the school and from what I gather reading here, would have a great deal of difficulty finding work elsewhere anyhow (I speak hardly any Finnish yet – but I am married to a Finnish girl so I’m pretty good at getting yelled at in Finnish).

Are there any other major advantages/disadvantages between living in Finland with the two types of visas? How about the process of obtaining either of the two? My wife has been living here in the U.S., while I’ve been finishing graduate school and the process of her obtaining the U.S green card has been remarkably like that of a slow painful death! Is this process equally difficult in Finland? I remember getting my F1 to study in Hungary in approx. two weeks. Is it possible to come to Finland with a F1 and then while I’m there do the “oh, by the way we’re married” thing at the embassy?

Any comments/advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,


-Jeffrey

"Man is a dog's idea of what God should be." ~Holbrook Jackson

Which visa to choose???

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Hank W.
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Post by Hank W. » Tue Jun 17, 2003 7:05 pm

Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh. *of course* you want to come here on an A-5 status as a married spouse than a B-2 (student) Are you stup... oh, from the USA, that explains... :mrgreen:

Now the benefits of bein an A-class citizen:
a) you don't need to have the 5000 on your account
b) you'e entitled to everything like a regular resident
c) no stupid questions asked about your leaving
d) benefits, even student benefits, available as a resident
e) working, even at a school is not allowed except on holidays for students.
(Phil can elaborate on this stuff more)

It is slightly more efficient than in the USA - takes some weeks - months. You need to have your paperwork intact. And you don't have to answer stupid questions about your tribal affiliation or the color of your spouses knickers.

Finnish visas go from A-B-C-D & F. A means you're A-class, and it goes down from there. F is tourists and wannabe's like F-4 visa is for students coming to attend entrance examinations.
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.

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nehia_qom
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Post by nehia_qom » Tue Jun 17, 2003 10:27 pm

Hank W. wrote:Are you stup... oh, from the USA, that explains... :mrgreen:
You just can't resist can you! :roll:
Hank W. wrote: e) working, even at a school is not allowed except on holidays for students.
Just a small note you can work for up to 20 hours a week on a student visa, but for sure coming in as a spouse is the better way to go!

When choosing between two evils, always choose the one you haven't tried yet.
- Mae West

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Hank W.
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Post by Hank W. » Tue Jun 17, 2003 10:38 pm

nehia_qom wrote: You just can't resist can you!
After that "prostitution camps in Lapland" I think I am being civilized towards my brethren on the short bus :mrgreen:
Just a small note you can work for up to 20 hours a week on a student visa, but for sure coming in as a spouse is the better way to go!
Ah, yes. Overlooked that. I am getting it always mixed up with the KELA allowances. If you earn too much you have to pay them back.
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.

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nehia_qom
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Post by nehia_qom » Tue Jun 17, 2003 10:53 pm

Hank W. wrote: After that "prostitution camps in Lapland" I think I am being civilized towards my brethren on the short bus :mrgreen:
upset that you got found out huh? :wink:

When choosing between two evils, always choose the one you haven't tried yet.
- Mae West

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Gypsy
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Post by Gypsy » Wed Jun 18, 2003 12:49 am

Hank W. wrote:Are you stup... oh, from the USA, that explains...

...I think I am being civilized towards my brethren on the short bus
You’re still sore about that Boston Tea Party thing aren’t you? Listen, I’m really sorry about that, (I guess it was pretty rude) but it was a long time ago – can’t we just forget about it? Help me get to Finland and we’ll go out for something else (besides tea) to drink. :wink:

Seriously, thanks for the info. – I really had no idea there was that big of a difference. Tell me though, is it possible to come with one visa and then switch to another once I’m in Finland or is that just asking for it? My biggest concern is that the process of obtaining this “A-5” status will exceed in time the amount of time I will have between being accepted to school (should find out any day but who knows) and beginning classes.

Also:
Hank W. wrote:e) working, even at a school is not allowed except on holidays for students.
I think I may have misspoke myself here. I didn’t mean that I was actually to be under the employ of the University but rater if I am accepted, the program also provides a grant to cover my living expenses. I guess it’s not really accurate, but I just considered this to be “working as a student” so to speak. I don't really expect to have time for much else anyway.

Thanks again.
-Jeffrey

"Man is a dog's idea of what God should be." ~Holbrook Jackson

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Hank W.
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Post by Hank W. » Wed Jun 18, 2003 9:42 am

Gypsy wrote:You’re still sore about that Boston Tea Party thing aren’t you? Listen, I’m really sorry about that, (I guess it was pretty rude) .
No, actually I am a coffee person, and this recent bit of intelligence made me snort some on my keyboard:

http://www.helsinki-hs.net/news.asp?id=20030613IE2

"The recently-published third annual report by the United States Department of State into the trafficking of persons... The report describes Finland as "a destination and transit country for women and girls trafficked by organized crime syndicates into sexual exploitation, including into enclosed prostitution camps in the northern part of the country".

Must have been military intelligence...

OK, now the only thing is that if you come here on a student visa you have pretty good "other grounds" to switch over to A-status. (if you want to, that is. after all what everyone wants to do here is get to the USA and make the boocoo bucks to be able to afford to live in the tax paradise...)
:mrgreen: And from what I understand they don't make you go back to the USA to petition any more like they did before. Or they might. I bet, as a scholar you are rolling in dosh, so having the annual 5 grand in a bank account won't be a problem? The thing is if you haven't gotten the paperwork from the school yet, your A- application might be faster... you never know. Look here around the BBS, there has been residence/visa time questions discussed before.

Once you land, I'll get you some hard tea. :mrgreen:
Cheers, Hank W.
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Phil
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Post by Phil » Wed Jun 18, 2003 9:48 am

Get the A5 (married to a Finn). I don't know this for a fact but I'd assume it's more powerful than a student VISA.

With my A5 VISA (I'm an American married to a Finn), I get...

- Unemployment benefits (358 euros/month)
- Housing supplement (I forget how much it was)
- Healthcare coverage
- A Finnish flagged branded into your butt.

Donald

Post by Donald » Wed Jun 18, 2003 2:13 pm

A Finnish flagged branded into your butt
And Phil forgot to add the flagpole stuck up his butt (besides the other things that Gavin mention in a different post) to pay for the taxes to pay for ALL the wonderful services and benefits we receive here in this wonderful country we call home! :wink: :)

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Post by Phil » Wed Jun 18, 2003 2:21 pm

Donald wrote:
A Finnish flagged branded into your butt
And Phil forgot to add the flagpole stuck up his butt (besides the other things that Gavin mention in a different post) to pay for the taxes to pay for ALL the wonderful services and benefits we receive here in this wonderful country we call home! :wink: :)
That flagpole up my butt pays for all the wonderful services and benefits in Finland? :shock:

And hey, choose an avatar and stick with it!! :o

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Post by Hank W. » Wed Jun 18, 2003 2:40 pm

But my friends, it is only because you are not accustomed to German style bureaucracy you have the illusion it is up the ass sideways and 'ohne vaselin'. Now Thursday being the last day to submit your lie... *cough* tax 'suggestions' I hope you have had fun time calculating travel expenses and such... :mrgreen:
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.

gavin

Post by gavin » Wed Jun 18, 2003 2:44 pm

Phil wrote: That flagpole up my butt pays for all the wonderful services and benefits in Finland? :shock:

And hey, choose an avatar and stick with it!! :o
Hey, havn't you heard about Pole (sic) Tax? :D

Oh, wait, that was Maggie in the UK - sorry :wink:

We're all still waiting for your avatar to change back to Ralph.

Looks like you, acts like you...

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Post by Hank W. » Wed Jun 18, 2003 2:55 pm

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Last edited by Hank W. on Thu Jul 17, 2003 11:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.

Caroline
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Post by Caroline » Thu Jul 17, 2003 11:53 am

Are you stup... oh, from the USA, that explains... :mrgreen:




Hank, could I ask that you stop being so negative towards Americans. I´m from the States and living here permanently on A5 status as well. Americans are among the most employable foreigners in Finland, and among the least likely to want to be welfare leeches; both of which are good traits.

People cannot be expected to be experts on issues they've never dealt with before, and common sense does not apply to bureaucracy, because bureaucracy is not based on common sense. I remember that I had absolutely no sense of humor when I was applying for the first time.

Every non-EU foreigner I´ve talked with has had loads of questions and gone through a lot of confusion when trying to sort everything out. Also, there is almost always a language barrier, even when the expat speaks Finnish and/or the bureaucrat speaks English.

Remember, the only stupid question is one NOT asked.

:(
Former expat in Finland, now living in New Hampshire USA.

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Hank W.
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Post by Hank W. » Thu Jul 17, 2003 12:13 pm

Caroline wrote:Hank, could I ask that you stop being so negative towards Americans.
Americans need to stop being positively stupid first:

"HELSINKI, July 10 (Reuters) - Finnish officials were at a loss to explain an allegation made on Thursday by a U.S. official that North Korea has been caught trying to sell pornography in the small Nordic country.

"It sounds strange. It sounds wild," an official at the Foreign Ministry told Reuters.

U.S. Ambassador to Australia Tom Schieffer made the comments earlier on Thursday to the National Press Club in Canberra, saying North Korea was using a "mafia-like" business model to make up a revenue shortfall when the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s.

"(North Korea has) been caught trying to sell pornography in Finland and prohibited animal products, like rhinoceros horn, in Africa, counterfeiting in Kuwait and trafficking heroin in Australia," Schieffer said.

National news agency STT quoted the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation and Security Police as saying the allegation sounded strange."


You are true in that bureaucracy has nothing to do with common sense, but Americans seem to be on lacking of "common sense" sometimes more than others. That is "common sense" as understood by Finns, which is at times a lot different. This ain't Kansas no more, and its better to know it beforehand than thinking everything here will be as like in home. It won't. And you say Finnish bureaucracy is *bad* - geez, you think I know which *tribe* I belong to???
http://www.usembassy.fi/pdfiles/ds157.pdf
http://www.usembassy.fi/pdfiles/ds158.pdf
...paperwork reduction my ass...

And I won't delve deeper into your politics, politicians, & such other witnesses of intellectual superiority. All you seem to have or care for is money. It is worthless here. Ask, don't demand. Prove you are not like "all the rest" - pink-haired old ladies that come screaming in the middle of december because there is no ice in their room, guys spitting in your face demanding a view to the mountains and the valley "because my travel agent told me"... prove you are not stupid first. Prove it by having a clue of "common sense". I've been to the US to work and they need to pay me a lot and promise to put me to work with only mexicans and I might accept a job offer. As I said above, " after all what everyone wants to do here is get to the USA and make the boocoo bucks to be able to afford to live in the tax paradise..."

Which means, "common sense" for a Finnish person: "you must be a total basket case to want to come and live *here* ???"


And I'm not being negative. Except maybe towards some challenged housewives living off their husbands salary their biggest concern being finding vanilla extract and how to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, but I guess the general sentiment over their level of concern isn't really that different by people trying to find a job here to be able to even have a flat with a stove...

And what comes to the concept of being positive - Think positive - get tested for VD's!!!! You can't be positive in Finland, there is a tax on it probably.

Lady, I've lived in this tax paradise for the better (or worse) part of my life. You could ask me anything and frankly, I wouldn't give a damn.
Last edited by Hank W. on Thu Jul 17, 2003 12:39 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.


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