Self-employed (freelancer) with residence permit question

[blissbat]

Hello, folks. I'm in a somewhat unusual situation, and haven't seen much applicable information -- I hope I'm not duplicating another question.

My situation: I am a US citizen with a reasonable stable and successful career as a freelance editor and writer. I can do this work from anywhere with a fast internet connection. I would not, therefore, need to work for a Finnish company if I moved to Finland. (And since I'd be learning Finnish as I went, I'm sure I wouldn't be an attractive candidate.)

My question: Does anyone know how difficult it would likely be for me to obtain a Finnish residence permit, given my circumstances? Would I be required to demonstrate that I have substantial savings? (I don't at the moment, though I would before I moved.) I noticed a "self employment" option for permits, but that seems geared toward those with tangible businesses. Help?

Thanks,
Erin

[daryl]

Hello, folks. I'm in a somewhat unusual situation, and haven't seen much applicable information -- I hope I'm not duplicating another question.

My situation: I am a US citizen with a reasonable stable and successful career as a freelance editor and writer. I can do this work from anywhere with a fast internet connection. I would not, therefore, need to work for a Finnish company if I moved to Finland. (And since I'd be learning Finnish as I went, I'm sure I wouldn't be an attractive candidate.)

My question: Does anyone know how difficult it would likely be for me to obtain a Finnish residence permit, given my circumstances? Would I be required to demonstrate that I have substantial savings? (I don't at the moment, though I would before I moved.) I noticed a "self employment" option for permits, but that seems geared toward those with tangible businesses. Help?

Thanks,
Erin

It sounds like your business does not require you to be in Finland, so it is difficult to see how this alone would constitute grounds for giving permission to reside in Finland. If you have any reason for choosing Finland in particular, as opposed to Chad or Madagascar for example, then it might be wise to give those reasons, however trivial they may seem.

Paragraph 3 of section 72 of the Aliens Act requires the authorities to investigate the operating conditions of a business and to verify that it has prospects of success. In the case of a business that is already operating, this boils down to examining the financial statements and operations in general (in other words, an audit). You will probably need to submit a business plan for operations from a base in Finland, including some fairly obvious points such as how you will arrange your pension coverage.

daryl

[Hank W.]

And, of course, there is the issue of taxes.
You have a residence permit in Finland = taxoffice says all your base are belong to us... there is a muddle of tax agreements between different countries... but... hrm... to be able to avoid taxes or other tax-like payments...

[blissbat]

Thank you both for your replies.

I want to move to Finland for reasons that have nothing to do with business, and but was concerned about the possibility that my employment situation might present an obstacle to obtaining a residence permit. My application for a permit would definitely include on the reasons I want to move to Finland in particular, but I wanted to try to get an idea about how much trouble self-employment is likely to be. If a well-documented business plan seems likely to help, I'll put that on my list.

Oh, and I would be delighted to pay taxes in Finland! Given the tax rates, I know how that sounds, but I'd certainly be prepared to pay up.

[Hank W.]

Ah, then you also need to remember the US has the IRS who is all your base belong to us even in space...