Planning to move to Finland, need some clarification please

[Blane75]

Hello,
A little bit of background... I'm a U.S. citizen planning to move to Finland. I'm a musician with good success and demand mainly in the EU so I wanted to move there to further my career by being in a location that is closer to where my working peers and fan-base are. I plan on making my living by performing live music all throughout the EU at clubs, festivals, etc. I have record label and booking agency contacts in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands mostly. So why Finland? Well I met somebody, a Finnish citizen, who I've been developing a close emotional bond with. I went there for a short stay and things are going really well between us. I loved being in Finland. I felt more at-home there than I ever have in the US. So my decision to move to Finland carries with it what I would consider to be some strong reasons; relationship, career, and personal wellbeing. I've been starting to learn Finnish and plan to become a fluent speaker by route of study and immersion.

I've looked at the Migri site in hopes to find more information about moving to Finland as a music producer living in Finland working on a freelance basis. That is the nature of the work. There is no company or boss to claim belonging to. I've come across information online for freelance artists for other countries, such as the very specifically named "Artist Visa" for expats coming to live in Berlin. I'm however not finding such info on Migri for people planning to move to Finland with the same plan. I have come across the fact that some information on Migri does not have a direct link in English. So I'm hoping to find information directly pertaining to artists seeking a residence permit to live in Finland and work throughout the EU on a freelance basis. My Finnish partner found this https://migri.fi/en/work-in-the-field-o ... re-or-arts already and it seems pretty close to what I need except for the part at the end of the list of requirements where it mentions requiring an employer. There are also a couple of options labeled as "Entrepreneur" that have requirements that I also do not meet. Those options on the Migri website are really not right for my specific situation. She also found this https://www.ukko.fi for me, an invoicing service specifically stated as serving freelancers. I've never heard of any of my other peers in my field utilizing a service like this and I'm not seeing on their website how registering for their service will help me meet any unmet qualifications of the aforementioned Finnish residency pathways.

I hope to find some guidance and I'm open to the ideas or input anyone here might have to offer.
Thanks

[betelgeuse]

I've looked at the Migri site in hopes to find more information about moving to Finland as a music producer living in Finland working on a freelance basis. That is the nature of the work. There is no company or boss to claim belonging to. I've come across information online for freelance artists for other countries, such as the very specifically named "Artist Visa" for expats coming to live in Berlin. I'm however not finding such info on Migri for people planning to move to Finland with the same plan. I have come across the fact that some information on Migri does not have a direct link in English. So I'm hoping to find information directly pertaining to artists seeking a residence permit to live in Finland and work throughout the EU on a freelance basis. My Finnish partner found this https://migri.fi/en/work-in-the-field-o ... re-or-arts already and it seems pretty close to what I need except for the part at the end of the list of requirements where it mentions requiring an employer. There are also a couple of options labeled as "Entrepreneur" that have requirements that I also do not meet. Those options on the Migri website are really not right for my specific situation. She also found this https://www.ukko.fi for me, an invoicing service specifically stated as serving freelancers. I've never heard of any of my other peers in my field utilizing a service like this and I'm not seeing on their website how registering for their service will help me meet any unmet qualifications of the aforementioned Finnish residency pathways.

What is the problem with the entrepreneur permit? That is for your situation. You could also go with the artist route by creating a limited liability company as the employer.

[FinlandGirl]

You could also go with the artist route by creating a limited liability company as the employer.

Requires owning less than 30% of the company.
A new company without substantial capital hiring the first employee from abroad might also create doubts whether it is a legit company.

[FinlandGirl]

I'm a U.S. citizen planning to move to Finland. I'm a musician with good success and demand mainly in the EU so I wanted to move there to further my career by being in a location that is closer to where my working peers and fan-base are. I plan on making my living by performing live music all throughout the EU at clubs, festivals, etc.

Living in a small city at the edge of the EU makes travel longer and more expensive than living in a big city in the center of Europe, also makes it harder to find regular gigs that do not require travel.

I have record label and booking agency contacts in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands mostly.

Do you have signed contracts proving sufficient revenue?

So why Finland? Well I met somebody, a Finnish citizen, who I've been developing a close emotional bond with. I went there for a short stay and things are going really well between us. I loved being in Finland. I felt more at-home there than I ever have in the US. So my decision to move to Finland carries with it what I would consider to be some strong reasons; relationship, career, and personal wellbeing.

Do you have strong business ties to Finland?

She also found this https://www.ukko.fi for me, an invoicing service specifically stated as serving freelancers. I've never heard of any of my other peers in my field utilizing a service like this and I'm not seeing on their website how registering for their service will help me meet any unmet qualifications of the aforementioned Finnish residency pathways.

This is one of several companies charging around 5% for doing the financial formalities around taxes and mandatory social security payments.
They handle the invoices and pay the money as a salary but for most purposes it counts as entrepreneurship.
Useful for a side business, when earning enough for making a living an accountant is cheaper.

[Maaria]

So why Finland? Well I met somebody, a Finnish citizen, who I've been developing a close emotional bond with. I went there for a short stay and things are going really well between us. I loved being in Finland. I felt more at-home there than I ever have in the US. So my decision to move to Finland carries with it what I would consider to be some strong reasons; relationship, career, and personal wellbeing. I've been starting to learn Finnish and plan to become a fluent speaker by route of study and immersion.

Why not apply in the basis of moving to Finland to be with your Finnish partner?

[rinso]

The artist route is more for limited periods (some gigs or part of a tour). Your situation requires the entrepreneur route.

So why Finland? Well I met somebody, a Finnish citizen, who I've been developing a close emotional bond with.

If this is serious, marriage and an RP based on family ties is much easier.

[betelgeuse]

You could also go with the artist route by creating a limited liability company as the employer.

Requires owning less than 30% of the company.
A new company without substantial capital hiring the first employee from abroad might also create doubts whether it is a legit company.

The 30% limit should not be a problem. I assume the company would mostly pay out the revenue out as salaries. If not, one can use financial engineering to get capital income but own less than 30%.

Regardless of the application route, for one’s own financial sake, it would be best to develop the business plan as much as possible from abroad.

[FinlandGirl]

You could also go with the artist route by creating a limited liability company as the employer.

Requires owning less than 30% of the company.
A new company without substantial capital hiring the first employee from abroad might also create doubts whether it is a legit company.

The 30% limit should not be a problem.

It gives you only a minority vote in your own business.

I assume the company would mostly pay out the revenue out as salaries.

How much liquidity or signed contracts have to be in the company?
If it only pays out revenues it would be useless like a zero hour contract.
Including social security and administrative costs running a company for paying one person the lowest possible income costs around 25k per year.

[fintel]

If this is serious, marriage and an RP based on family ties is much easier.

I find most people even genuine relationships are not always open to the idea of marriage.

Op's best option is to find an entertainment company who will hire him as an employee and then he can basically just get a work permit.

[FinlandGirl]

If this is serious, marriage and an RP based on family ties is much easier.

I find most people even genuine relationships are not always open to the idea of marriage.

Op's best option is to find an entertainment company who will hire him as an employee and then he can basically just get a work permit.

Marriage is a realistic option, your suggestion is not.
OP is a DJ or Rapper or similar and employment does not exist in these areas.

[rinso]

Op's best option is to find an entertainment company who will hire him as an employee and then he can basically just get a work permit.

Although this could lead to an RP, the companies program might not be what he is looking for.