American female needs work in Oulu

[Meghan]

Thank you, I agree.

By the way, just so everyone knows, it costs 200 euros just to turn in the residency permit application...with no guarantee that you will be approved.

I have decided not to do that at this time, instead I will travel to London and then maybe Ireland and stay for at least three months and then I will return to Finland.

So, if there is anyone living in London that has an inexpensive room to rent around January 15th, let me know.

This is who I am for those of you that wanted to know:

http://www.irelandcalls.com/Meghan80USA

[Pursuivant]

take the bf with you he doesn't need permits

[Caroline]

Sorry Meghan, but the replies on here are right on target. Finland is still a very difficult country for non-Europeans to immigrate to. I am American as well and was in your situation almost 10 years ago. As far as I know, since the turn of the century, the only advancement that the Finnish gov't has made in order to facilitate immigration for non-EU citizens is that now foreign spouses of Finnish citizens can remain in Finland after getting married and get their immigration visa within Finland. When we got married in Finland in 2001, I had to leave the country, return to the U.S., wait 4 months for my visa, and re-enter Finland. It sucked, but it makes for good stories to tell the kids and grandkids. There were more recently some rumblings about giving non-EU citizens a visa if they can find work within a certain time limit after arriving in Finland without a visa, but I don't know if that legislation has materialized. We left Finland 3 years ago and I've flat out told my husband that I would not even consider living there again without a definite job offer. And yes I speak fluent Finnish (passed the language exam to qualify for citizenship) but that didn't seem to help much. We lived in Oulu, too.

Unfortunately often times foreign degrees are not recognized or appreciated by Finnish employers. Also, I may be wrong on this but I don't think you can renew a tourist visa anymore by going to another EU country. Since the Schengen agreement was finalized in 2001, the whole European region acts as one country and crossing borders is no longer considered international travel. That is why, if you enter Finland via Germany for example, you do not need to show your passport again...you only need to show it when you arrive anywhere in the EU region. To stay in Finland your best bet is probably either to enroll in school, get married, or get pregnant. Again, sorry to be so negative, (I remember what it felt like when people were telling me why my plans wouldn't work out), but I speak from experience.

I completely agree with you that Finland is presenting a somewhat misleading image when it comes to being open to immigration. A lot of the optimistic "official statements" issued by politicians and essays written by researchers do not reflect day-to-day realities...

[Meghan]

I thank you for your honesty and I agree with everything that you have said. I have quickly learned from being here that you and others are speaking the truth. I will be leaving on the 15th of January, but I will be better prepared when I come back and hope to have a residency permit before entering the country. So......we shall see how things work out.

[Pursuivant]

if you're going to UK/Eire remember the bf is eligible working there w/o hassles...

[dbs]

as a person who used to live Oulu around 27 years, I can confirm that there are no jobs.

A chance that American person would get a job in Oulu is quite likely zero, sorry to say this strongly but thats the way it is.

I am a finn with IT background and I have been in Ireland since 2005 because there was no jobs for me.

Btw I did know one American person from LA that was not able to find any job in Dublin even the celtic tiger times were present and employees were hiring an east european persons who didn´t speak any english to work in the cashier etc.

Well those times are gone now and it is only down where Ireland is going, but my point is that even the boom times employees in Dublin didn´t want to hire a American for visa reasons, so how in earth you think that you would be able to get a job in Oulu, where every job has 100+ applications.

In 2003 I was able to get a cleaning job in Oulu, and that employee had that time in April around one meter of cvs in her desk!

So I don´t think that you have planned this too far, sorry to be negative but I am finn after all...

[JBRasmussen]

Do yourself a favor get married to this Finnish guy visa problem solved. Then apply for your residency card there in Oulu. It will only take a couple of weeks. You will need proof that you aren't married in the US. you can get this from your home state. After they send you that paper take to the Maistratii and your good to go then couple more trips to the police station and you can legally work in Finland. Then you just have to find a job. The finding a job part will make your visa problems look easy as pie.

Good Luck.

[Pursuivant]

sorry to be negative but I am finn after all...

you put shoe polish on your skin, being ethnically othercolored makes you a better person!

[raamv]

sorry to be negative but I am finn after all...

you put shoe polish on your skin, being ethnically othercolored makes you a better person!

so now you can imagine how it is for a non-Finn to be helping Finns to get jobs/connections.. etc..
Some people in this forum think that I am being rude and personal when I trying to help a foreigner..
and Finns alike..
In fact..I have personally provided help for some Finns to start their own Companies ..
So whoever wants to debate their fact/fiction can shut their rainbow mouth up as they have also provided unnecessary information regarding the OPs questions..

[Meghan]

Well, I just wanted to let everyone know that I am in London now. As for Finland, I will go back again but will be better prepared when I do go back. And I will apply for residency from outside of Finland as I should have before.

Just a thought: It would be so much easier if America would join the EU. I know it is impossible, especially since America is not near Europe, but it sure would make things a lot easier for people. But, it is just wishful thinking.

Thanks everyone for your comments, the Finns and non-Finns that have responded to me have been very helpful.

Kiitos ja hei hei,
Meghan

[Meghan]

I have one last question and I was hoping that someone here would know the answer. Pursuivant, you seem to be knowledgable , so here goes:

I know that legally tourists can only stay in Finland for three months. But, I was told that you have to wait at least another 3 months before you can return to Finland or any other Schengen country. Do you know if that is true or not? I have been looking for the answer on the Internet but can't seem to find it any where. Does anyone know for sure what the law is about it?

Thanks, Meghan

[Pursuivant]

"The stay in the Schengen area should not exceed 90 days in a 6 month period"

[Meghan]

Thanks Pursuivant, you're awesome!

[Rick1]

And he still has problems to find a (girl/boy)friend

[Rick1]

Eventhough his picture looks so good