i want to move to Finland

hobbit1 · Post by **hobbit1** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:17 am

Hi , My name is Shaun and i currently live in Birmingham, England , my girlfriend is Finnish and is currently living just outside Helsinki , i travel there once a month for a ;ong weekend so we can be together , she has asked me permanently move out there with her but we dont know what we have to do legelly to make this happen , can anyone help us so i can start the ball rolling from here in England ,and what do we have to do to make this dream a reality ?

Thanks all
Shaun

**Sponsor:**

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:29 am

Paperwork isn't a problem. Your problem is to find a job, prince charming.

interleukin · Post by **interleukin** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 11:06 am

To be allowed to stay in Finland as a resident and not just a tourist, you have to have an excuse. That can be one of three things: Married/living with a Finnish person for more than two years, a job, or a study place.
You could get married and move to Finland, but then you sit there, without a job and without a life or any kind of social stimulation. If you CAN get a job already, that is the best option, but it is likely to be very difficult. Depends on your education and your field of work.
Easiest is probably that you apply for a place at a Uni or polytechnic. If you can support yourself through several years of studying, that is, living off your girlfriend´s income. This way you can stay with her, and maybe get contacts with people who could hire you after your studies. And you have more time to learn Finnish.

Good luck!

SteveS · Post by **SteveS** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 8:08 pm

You don't need any excuse to come and live here as you are an EU citizen.

You don't need a job, study place or marriage. There are no preparations to do beforehand either (although you might consider telling the UK tax authorities you're leaving).

When you get here you just pitch up at the police station (no rush), fill in a form, pay some Euros and show your passport and you will get a 5 year residence permit in the post. Then you can register yourself at the maistraati and at KELA to get an insurance card (same as NI card).

Thats it, easy..

Your life will be much better the closer you can live to the city and finding work will be a real challenge... BUT sod it.. nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Steve

Karhunkoski · Post by **Karhunkoski** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 8:57 pm

SteveS wrote:You don't need any excuse to come and live here as you are an EU citizen.

You don't need a job, study place or marriage. There are no preparations to do beforehand either (although you might consider telling the UK tax authorities you're leaving).

When you get here you just pitch up at the police station (no rush), fill in a form, pay some Euros and show your passport and you will get a 5 year residence permit in the post. Then you can register yourself at the maistraati and at KELA to get an insurance card (same as NI card).

Thats it, easy..

Your life will be much better the closer you can live to the city and finding work will be a real challenge... BUT sod it.. nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Steve

That's not altogether true now, is it Steve? (Unless your post is a joke?)

interleukin · Post by **interleukin** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:17 pm

The OP can come to Finland and as an EU citizen, he can STAY as long as he wishes. But he is just a tourist. To actually be registered as a resident in Finland he needs an excuse.

Try living without a bank account, without health care, without a bus pass, without making any kind of purchases over 50 euros or so. That is what it is like to not have the magic ID number in Finland (and you only get that if you are registered).

So stop the !"#¤% SteveS, you are either a troll or do not have a clue about things.

Karhunkoski · Post by **Karhunkoski** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:27 pm

As a Union citizen, you are free to enter Finland without a visa and reside in Finland for a maximum period of three months without registering your right of residence.

= Tourist Class

As a Union citizen you must register your right of residence at the latest when three months have elapsed from your entry into the country.

= Aspiring to stay longer than 3 months

you may register on the basis of Union citizenship if you have sufficient means of livelihood, in other words, if you do not need to resort to income support and you have the necessary health insurance cover.

= Requirement if you want to stay longer than 3 months.

http://www.migri.fi/netcomm/content.asp?article=3444

It's actually a shame when people give blatantly false advice on this forum. Do they not realise that it is someone's life decisions that they are playing with. And the false information also reduces the credibility of the forum as a whole.

Vallu · Post by **Vallu** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:32 pm

You will not be registered at the police station neither at Kela or Maistratti without a reason: work contract in your hands, studying here or being married or officially registered as living with a Finnish person. And the unemployment office won´t consider you as a job seeker if you have not one of these credential..more or less.
Nevertheless, you stay here as a tourist for 3 months and no one will have anything to say....

SteveS · Post by **SteveS** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:46 pm

So that's one, two, three of you calling me a bullsh!tter then..

Why don't you read your own links instead of selectively picking out the bits you like to preach..

"As an EU citizen, you will not need special grounds for your residence in Finland. If you wish, you may , however, register your residence on the basis of employment, self-employment, studying or family ties. EU citizens registering as students or on some other basis are required to provide an explanation of their means of livelihood and where necessary, to have health insurance. Those registering as employees or self-employed persons are not required to give an explanation of their livelihood. If you register yourself as a family member of an EU citizen, the need for an explanation of your livelihood depends on the basis on which your family member is residing in Finland.
The registration of the right of residence is valid indefinitely. A Union citizen is entitled to permanent residence after an uninterrupted period of five years of legal residence in Finland."

Is it me or are you all wrong then?

Have you been through the process? I have...

Vallu · Post by **Vallu** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:54 pm

SteveS wrote:Have you been through the process? I have...

I have...

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 10:52 pm

Well Steve, the problem is at the police station they will tell you to "piss off" if you have no "reason"; and the maistraatti won't domicile you unless you present them the police registration. Any EU citizen like the romanian gyppos can come freely to pray on their knees until kingdom come, but they are not "residents" as we're not giving the dole to people just coming over... you don't need "special grounds" but you still need a "reason" - which basically means you have means to support yourself.

Karhunkoski · Post by **Karhunkoski** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 7:25 am

SteveS wrote: Why don't you read your own links instead of selectively picking out the bits you like to preach..

It's more helpful to quote just the important bits, but I can spell it out for, seeing as you've chosen to call us on it:

SteveS wrote:"As an EU citizen, you will not need special grounds for your residence in Finland. If you wish, you may , however, register your residence on the basis of employment, self-employment, studying or family ties.

The above means that you can choose whether to register yourself on basis of "employment, self-employment, studying or family ties". Let's call this Group A

If you don't wish to register yourself on the basis of one of the above criteria, by default you fall into Group B:

SteveS wrote: EU citizens registering as students or on some other basis are required to provide an explanation of their means of livelihood and where necessary, to have health insurance.

SteveS wrote: Is it me or are you all wrong then?

Possibly bad news with your breakfast, but you're wrong.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 7:41 am

Add to this that there is a Finnish word for "resident" as in "residing someplace" and a "resident" that is "domiciled in the county", as theres two levels of "residence". Its being domiciled that counts when you go ask for anything as its the county responsible.

SteveS · Post by **SteveS** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 8:59 am

SteveS wrote:"As an EU citizen, you will not need special grounds for your residence in Finland. If you wish, you may , however, register your residence on the basis of employment, self-employment, studying or family ties.

"The above means that you can choose whether to register yourself on basis of "employment, self-employment, studying or family ties". Let's call this Group A"

I'm sorry but you're wrong. As an EU citizen you do not need any reason to register yourself. They like to have a reason, they want you to have a reason, they even make your life difficult if they can help it but if you stand your ground at the end of the day you simply check the Muu box..

Read the sentence above closely. Maybe you're not a natural English speaker? It is NOT saying that you must fall into one of the groups, it says if you want, you can register in one of those groups.

I'm not trying to call you out, but you flamed me for telling the facts rather than your interpretation of them.

Pursuivant is also correct when he says "the problem is at the police station they will tell you to "piss off" if you have no "reason". That is correct unfortunately, they don't have the right to do that and because they do that, people think they need to have a reason.

Karhunkoski · Post by **Karhunkoski** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 9:17 am

SteveS wrote: you simply check the Muu box..

In which case you fall into Group B:

EU citizens registering as students or on some other basis are required to provide an explanation of their means of livelihood and where necessary, to have health insurance.

I don't know your own case, but if you ticked the "Muu" box, then they must have asked you to provide an explanation of means of livelihood. This could be something as simple as flashing a bank statement showing a decent amount of cash. Did you do that?

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