Moving to Finland as a EU citizen-What are the steps to follow?

[Hjördis_28]

Hello all,

I am moving next week to Helsinki from Greece and would like to get enlightened in regards to the steps needed in order to proceed with the respective paperwork of settling in there.
I am planning to live for more than 3 months in Finland, which means that I have to apply for the right of residence.
The only option that fits my case in regards to the ones available for this registration process is the proof of "sufficient resources" .
So, my question is, should I acquire a bank statement from the Greek bank, or can I open a bank account in Finland, once I arrive there in order to prove the sufficient funds?
As far as I know, to open a bank account a proof of address is needed. I am going to stay with my partner (no registered partnership by the way) and use that address, but to do that, I guess I should be registered prior to that elsewhere?
I would appreciate some help here, as I got a bit confused with the steps of registration, what should be done first and afterwards

Thanks in advance!

[FinlandGirl]

I am moving next week to Helsinki from Greece and would like to get enlightened in regards to the steps needed in order to proceed with the respective paperwork of settling in there.
I am planning to live for more than 3 months in Finland, which means that I have to apply for the right of residence.

You do not have to register your right of residence before the end of the 3 months.

The only option that fits my case in regards to the ones available for this registration process is the proof of "sufficient resources" .
So, my question is, should I acquire a bank statement from the Greek bank, or can I open a bank account in Finland, once I arrive there in order to prove the sufficient funds?

There is no requirement to ever open a Finnish bank account.

As far as I know, to open a bank account a proof of address is needed. I am going to stay with my partner (no registered partnership by the way) and use that address, but to do that, I guess I should be registered prior to that elsewhere?

You should register your residence with DVV, and they will also give you a Finnish personal identity code.
From that point you are living in Finland, and all worldwide income/inheritance/gifts you receive might be subject to Finnish taxes.

[jaatelo]

I am planning to live for more than 3 months in Finland, which means that I have to apply for the right of residence.
The only option that fits my case in regards to the ones available for this registration process is the proof of "sufficient resources" .

You need a Finnish bank account to receive any social benefit from Finland. They will not put any money into a Greek bank account.

And if you are moving to Finland because you have enough resources, then please reconsider your position because Finland is at least 4x times more expensive than Greece. You will burn up all your savings very quickly without a job. And jobs are difficult to come by here without language skills.

Finland will very happily take all your inheritance, money, taxes, assets if you choose to live here.

[betelgeuse]

I am planning to live for more than 3 months in Finland, which means that I have to apply for the right of residence.
The only option that fits my case in regards to the ones available for this registration process is the proof of "sufficient resources" .

You need a Finnish bank account to receive any social benefit from Finland. They will not put any money into a Greek bank account.

It’s against EU law to require a Finnish bank account and Kela has no trouble paying a Greek account.

[jaatelo]

It’s against EU law to require a Finnish bank account and Kela has no trouble paying a Greek account.

My Finnish roommate, a 38 year old woman, spent a few months in Estonia with her boyfriend.

Kela called her and asked her why she has purchases recorded on her bank account, some grocery shop in Tallinn, Estonia.

She almost had her payment stopped.

I guess we live in different worlds.

[betelgeuse]

It’s against EU law to require a Finnish bank account and Kela has no trouble paying a Greek account.

My Finnish roommate, a 38 year old woman, spent a few months in Estonia with her boyfriend.

Kela called her and asked her why she has purchases recorded on her bank account, some grocery shop in Tallinn, Estonia.

She almost had her payment stopped.

I guess we live in different worlds.

This is not related to which bank one uses. Many benefits have a residency requirement.

[jaatelo]

This is not related to which bank one uses. Many benefits have a residency requirement.

If anyone is claiming a social welfare benefit and has a bank account outside of Finland, that would naturally raise an eyebrow with Kela. The whole idea behind claiming a benefit is that you are living in Finland and looking for work. Having a bank account in Greece might indicate that you are possibly not even living here.

In Australia, for example, your benefit stops automatically when you leave the country because border guard informs the benefits agency.

[betelgeuse]

This is not related to which bank one uses. Many benefits have a residency requirement.

If anyone is claiming a social welfare benefit and has a bank account outside of Finland, that would naturally raise an eyebrow with Kela. The whole idea behind claiming a benefit is that you are living in Finland and looking for work. Having a bank account in Greece might indicate that you are possibly not even living here.

” Unemployed jobseekers can go to look for work in another EU or EEA country or Switzerland for a maximum of three months. During this time you can receive basic unemployment allowance and earnings-related unemployment allowance to the same amount as in Finland.”

https://www.kela.fi/web/en/from-finland ... jobseekers

[Hjördis_28]

You do not have to register your right of residence before the end of the 3 months.

"However, if you stay in Finland for more than 3 months, you must register with the Finnish Immigration Service within 3 months of arriving in Finland"
(https://www.kela.fi/web/en/from-other-c ... Ho-rISjtYA)
I got a bit confused, the above means that if e.g. I arrive in Finland on Jan 1st, then I'd have to register until Apr 1st. This is why I thought that I have to proceed with the paperwork right away. In addition to this, I am aiming to find a job, which means, I assume, that I'd have to continue with KELA and job seeking.

In connection to that, according to migri.fi "You do not have to register your residence if you are staying in Finland for an uninterrupted period of less than three months. The calculation of the three-month residence always restarts from the moment when you return to Finland after travelling outside its borders."(https://migri.fi/en/eu-citizen) So, what if I don't leave Finland? I suppose that for someone from EU who aims to stay in Finland for >3 months with the purpose of finding a job, the process should be initiated earlier, or?

[Hjördis_28]

You need a Finnish bank account to receive any social benefit from Finland. They will not put any money into a Greek bank account.

And if you are moving to Finland because you have enough resources, then please reconsider your position because Finland is at least 4x times more expensive than Greece. You will burn up all your savings very quickly without a job. And jobs are difficult to come by here without language skills.

Finland will very happily take all your inheritance, money, taxes, assets if you choose to live here.

Apparently I haven't used the right words, as I got quite confused with what I've been told by someone else living in Finland:)
My question should have been "Would I need to open a new Finnish bank account to transfer money in that one and claim a bank statement from the Finnish bank in order to prove that I have sufficient funds or should I use a bank statement from the Greek bank?" I know that opening a bank account requires some documents that I will probably won't have available, dunno how easy it is in Finland to open an account compared to Greece. And I came up with that question, since ,considering the circumstances, in order to register for the right of residence as an EU citizen, I have to register by stating that I have sufficient funds to support myself.

[Hjördis_28]

The whole idea behind claiming a benefit is that you are living in Finland and looking for work. Having a bank account in Greece might indicate that you are possibly not even living here.

The whole idea is to settle in Finland and start the job hunt/continue with language courses. It's just that I got kinda lost with the processes, as in when to register the right of residence and how (considering my previous comment on bank statements), if KELA comes next etc. Sounds quite logical to me for KELA to act like that when bank account activities concern banks other than Finnish ones.

[jaatelo]

"However, if you stay in Finland for more than 3 months, you must register with the Finnish Immigration Service within 3 months of arriving in Finland"
(https://www.kela.fi/web/en/from-other-c ... Ho-rISjtYA)
I got a bit confused, the above means that if e.g. I arrive in Finland on Jan 1st, then I'd have to register until Apr 1st. This is why I thought that I have to proceed with the paperwork right away. In addition to this, I am aiming to find a job, which means, I assume, that I'd have to continue with KELA and job seeking.

Please take my advice and do this:

1) Register your right of residence on DAY ONE. Do not wait for 3 months.

2) Open a bank account in Finland as soon as possible. You need a bank account login to do *everything* here. It is a secure means of proving your identity to various government departments online.

3) Your bank statement from Greece is good enough to prove sufficient means of support. The statement itself would have to be in English or Finnish language.

4) Get your personal identity code as soon as possible.

[betelgeuse]

2) Open a bank account in Finland as soon as possible. You need a bank account login to do *everything* here. It is a secure means of proving your identity to various government departments online.

Strong online auth can also be accomplished with mobile phone (SIM) based authentication.

3) Your bank statement from Greece is good enough to prove sufficient means of support. The statement itself would have to be in English or Finnish language.

Or Swedish.

[jaatelo]

The whole idea is to settle in Finland and start the job hunt/continue with language courses. It's just that I got kinda lost with the processes, as in when to register the right of residence and how (considering my previous comment on bank statements), if KELA comes next etc. Sounds quite logical to me for KELA to act like that when bank account activities concern banks other than Finnish ones.

For moving money from Greece to Finland, I recommend using this service.

https://wise.com/

[FinlandGirl]

The whole idea is to settle in Finland and start the job hunt/continue with language courses. It's just that I got kinda lost with the processes, as in when to register the right of residence and how (considering my previous comment on bank statements), if KELA comes next etc. Sounds quite logical to me for KELA to act like that when bank account activities concern banks other than Finnish ones.

For moving money from Greece to Finland, I recommend using this service.

https://wise.com/

Don't listen to all the nonsense an old troll in this forum with a new account is writing.