Sponsoring family

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androidian90
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2021 9:22 am

Sponsoring family

Post by androidian90 » Fri Feb 19, 2021 10:01 am

I've been living in Finland for over 5 years, studied there, and now work with a permanent job. My mother passed away recently, which is why I would like to bring my father and younger sister over to Finland by sponsoring them. I'm currently not in Finland due to my mother's death and will only go back around summer.
I read the info on migri.fi and it looks like I need to become the official guardian to my sister. However, there's no information on how I could sponsor my father, not even under the "other relatives" section. Another option I looked into was the visit visa. But there's no finnish embassy in my country so it might be really difficult for my father to get a schengen visa for Finland. As the German embassy (designated acting european embassy on Finland's behalf) is really stingy on giving out visit visas due to high number of fake cases I guess.

Does anyone know how I could bring my father to Finland? And do I need to be in Finland for that? Just need advice on how I could start.



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FinlandGirl
Posts: 1322
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:43 am

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by FinlandGirl » Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:14 pm

androidian90 wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 10:01 am
I read the info on migri.fi and it looks like I need to become the official guardian to my sister.
Yes, assuming she is under 18 years old and unmarried.
androidian90 wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 10:01 am
However, there's no information on how I could sponsor my father, not even under the "other relatives" section.
Parents of adults are not family for residence permit purposes, your father cannot get a residence permit through you.
androidian90 wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 10:01 am
Another option I looked into was the visit visa. But there's no finnish embassy in my country so it might be really difficult for my father to get a schengen visa for Finland. As the German embassy (designated acting european embassy on Finland's behalf) is really stingy on giving out visit visas due to high number of fake cases I guess.
Even with a visa he would not be allowed to enter Schengen since the external Schengen borders are closed for visitors from most countries due to COVID-19 and unlikely to reopen in 2021.

betelgeuse
Posts: 4350
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:24 am

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by betelgeuse » Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:32 pm

androidian90 wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 10:01 am
Does anyone know how I could bring my father to Finland? And do I need to be in Finland for that? Just need advice on how I could start.
It’s not easy. The routes to investigate are the non family categories (work, study) or EU law through Surinder Singh route. EU law has a wider family member definition.

FinlandGirl
Posts: 1322
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:43 am

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by FinlandGirl » Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:36 pm

betelgeuse wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:32 pm
or EU law through Surinder Singh route.
This would require EU/EFTA citizenship.

androidian90
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2021 9:22 am

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by androidian90 » Fri Feb 19, 2021 7:27 pm

Oh, right! I completely underestimated the COVID situation. That's such a bummer. I wish there was an easier or faster way apart from a visit visa.
Last edited by androidian90 on Fri Feb 19, 2021 7:30 pm, edited 3 times in total.

androidian90
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2021 9:22 am

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by androidian90 » Fri Feb 19, 2021 7:34 pm

FinlandGirl wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:36 pm
betelgeuse wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:32 pm
or EU law through Surinder Singh route.
This would require EU/EFTA citizenship.
I'd never heard of the Surinder Singh route, but just read up on it. Alas! I am not a Finnish national yet. So, it doesn't really help right now. But thank you nevertheless :)

androidian90
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2021 9:22 am

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by androidian90 » Fri Feb 19, 2021 7:37 pm

betelgeuse wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:32 pm
androidian90 wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 10:01 am
Does anyone know how I could bring my father to Finland? And do I need to be in Finland for that? Just need advice on how I could start.
It’s not easy. The routes to investigate are the non family categories (work, study) or EU law through Surinder Singh route. EU law has a wider family member definition.
Work and study options are a far cry as my father retired last year. I guess I'll have to keep looking into it until I find a way. Thank you :)

FinlandGirl
Posts: 1322
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:43 am

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by FinlandGirl » Sat Feb 20, 2021 11:50 am

androidian90 wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 7:27 pm
Oh, right! I completely underestimated the COVID situation. That's such a bummer. I wish there was an easier or faster way apart from a visit visa.
You are spending the next half year with him.

What would be the urgency in getting a visa that would allow him to visit you for up to 90 days?

androidian90
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2021 9:22 am

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by androidian90 » Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:44 pm

FinlandGirl wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 11:50 am
androidian90 wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 7:27 pm
Oh, right! I completely underestimated the COVID situation. That's such a bummer. I wish there was an easier or faster way apart from a visit visa.
You are spending the next half year with him.

What would be the urgency in getting a visa that would allow him to visit you for up to 90 days?
There's no urgency as such. But, since I was planning to apply for my sister's visa as her guardian, I wanted that my father could come with us as well. But since there are no visitors allowed until further discussions, it complicates the situation quite a bit. The processing times for each application has also been extended by 2-3 month thanks to covid.

FinlandGirl
Posts: 1322
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:43 am

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by FinlandGirl » Sat Feb 20, 2021 11:39 pm

androidian90 wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:44 pm
FinlandGirl wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 11:50 am
androidian90 wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 7:27 pm
Oh, right! I completely underestimated the COVID situation. That's such a bummer. I wish there was an easier or faster way apart from a visit visa.
You are spending the next half year with him.

What would be the urgency in getting a visa that would allow him to visit you for up to 90 days?
There's no urgency as such. But, since I was planning to apply for my sister's visa as her guardian, I wanted that my father could come with us as well.
What you need is official documentation from your home country that your father is no longer the guardian of your sister, and that you are the guardian instead of him now.

I would try to avoid any actions that would make it look like a fraudulent guardianship for obtaining a residence permit.
If your father also travels to Finland, this might weaken your case that there was a compelling reason for taking the guardianship away from him.
androidian90 wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:44 pm
since I was planning to apply for my sister's visa as her guardian
How fast is it in your home country to make you the foster parent of your sister?
This might be what takes longest.
androidian90 wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:44 pm
The processing times for each application has also been extended by 2-3 month thanks to covid.
Processing times have decreased with COVID-19 due to fewer applicants.

For spouses or intimate relationship the processing often takes a year despite the Migri webpage claiming only up to 8 months.
In any case I would expect such "brother is the sole guardian of his sister" situations to have a much longer processing time due to their complicated nature.

androidian90
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2021 9:22 am

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by androidian90 » Mon Mar 01, 2021 1:22 pm

FinlandGirl wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 11:39 pm
androidian90 wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:44 pm
FinlandGirl wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 11:50 am


You are spending the next half year with him.

What would be the urgency in getting a visa that would allow him to visit you for up to 90 days?
There's no urgency as such. But, since I was planning to apply for my sister's visa as her guardian, I wanted that my father could come with us as well.
What you need is official documentation from your home country that your father is no longer the guardian of your sister, and that you are the guardian instead of him now.

I would try to avoid any actions that would make it look like a fraudulent guardianship for obtaining a residence permit.
If your father also travels to Finland, this might weaken your case that there was a compelling reason for taking the guardianship away from him.
androidian90 wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:44 pm
since I was planning to apply for my sister's visa as her guardian
How fast is it in your home country to make you the foster parent of your sister?
This might be what takes longest.
androidian90 wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:44 pm
The processing times for each application has also been extended by 2-3 month thanks to covid.
Processing times have decreased with COVID-19 due to fewer applicants.

For spouses or intimate relationship the processing often takes a year despite the Migri webpage claiming only up to 8 months.
In any case I would expect such "brother is the sole guardian of his sister" situations to have a much longer processing time due to their complicated nature.
I have inquired about the guardianship and it does take a while to get the paper. You have to go to court and whatnot. However, I'll still start the process and see where we end up. Another thing that I need to figure out is if my sister would need to travel to an embassy to prove her identity as I had to go to UAE to apply for my permit. I guess I should call one of the embassies and ask them.

SamuelRichards
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2021 9:50 am
Contact:

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by SamuelRichards » Mon Mar 29, 2021 11:38 am

Oh, right! I completely underestimated the COVID situation. That's such a bummer. I wish there was an easier or faster way apart from a visit visa.

androidian90
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2021 9:22 am

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by androidian90 » Wed Jun 30, 2021 6:11 pm

Situation Update: So I've come back to Finland and got the guardianship certificate with me. I started the online application on my sibling's behalf as they're still under 18 and I'm their legal guardian now. The entire application goes smoothly until I have to choose a service point. For some odd reason, it is not giving me the option to go to a service point in Finland, it is only showing service points outside of Finland. I rechecked through the application finder whether I filled out the correct application, it seems that I did but somehow it doesn't show a Finnish service point.

Could someone have an idea of what it could be? Should I just make a paper application and go to a service point in Finland without an appointment? However, in the case of a paper application, I'd need to have all the documents physically. Whereas in the online applications all the documents have been uploaded. Another option would that I choose Norway as the service point and go ahead with the application or just go to a service point first and ask them in person.
Any ideas/information is welcome :)

betelgeuse
Posts: 4350
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:24 am

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by betelgeuse » Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:12 pm

androidian90 wrote:
Wed Jun 30, 2021 6:11 pm
Situation Update: So I've come back to Finland and got the guardianship certificate with me. I started the online application on my sibling's behalf as they're still under 18 and I'm their legal guardian now. The entire application goes smoothly until I have to choose a service point. For some odd reason, it is not giving me the option to go to a service point in Finland, it is only showing service points outside of Finland. I rechecked through the application finder whether I filled out the correct application, it seems that I did but somehow it doesn't show a Finnish service point.

Could someone have an idea of what it could be? Should I just make a paper application and go to a service point in Finland without an appointment? However, in the case of a paper application, I'd need to have all the documents physically. Whereas in the online applications all the documents have been uploaded. Another option would that I choose Norway as the service point and go ahead with the application or just go to a service point first and ask them in person.
Any ideas/information is welcome :)
Even if you make an online application, you still need to bring the originals to the service point.

androidian90
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2021 9:22 am

Re: Sponsoring family

Post by androidian90 » Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:38 pm

betelgeuse wrote:
Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:12 pm
androidian90 wrote:
Wed Jun 30, 2021 6:11 pm
Situation Update: So I've come back to Finland and got the guardianship certificate with me. I started the online application on my sibling's behalf as they're still under 18 and I'm their legal guardian now. The entire application goes smoothly until I have to choose a service point. For some odd reason, it is not giving me the option to go to a service point in Finland, it is only showing service points outside of Finland. I rechecked through the application finder whether I filled out the correct application, it seems that I did but somehow it doesn't show a Finnish service point.

Could someone have an idea of what it could be? Should I just make a paper application and go to a service point in Finland without an appointment? However, in the case of a paper application, I'd need to have all the documents physically. Whereas in the online applications all the documents have been uploaded. Another option would that I choose Norway as the service point and go ahead with the application or just go to a service point first and ask them in person.
Any ideas/information is welcome :)
Even if you make an online application, you still need to bring the originals to the service point.
Yes, I do have some of the original documents but not all. However, the problem remains that how do I go for the service point through online application ?


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