Help! Immigration to Finland is possible for us?

[Iveta]

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[AldenG]

Sweden.

[CH]

If no ties to Finland and no Citizenship of any European country, as well as already being married to someone who also doesn't have either of the things I just mentioned = you have 'buckleys' (no chance) of getting into Finland.

Well, they do if one of them can secure a job first. Otherwise, yeah, no chance.

I do agree with AldenG on the Sweden suggestion. It's more or less the same type of countrey as Finland, but with a much easier language to learn. Heck... any Nordic/Scandinavian country, really.

The cold isn't such a big deal of the winter. Just bundle yourself up and stay mostly indoors, problem solved. But it's the long, long dark period that will get you. It actually gets much better when it finally snows, as it gets less gray as the snow reflects the light. (On the other hand, the constant freezing-your-face-off winds of Helsinki sure suck!)

[kjscot2]

As an American who has been living here for a few years, I would have to agree with the other posts. Although they welcome your money as a tourist, the EU is designed to protect its workforce against 'outsiders', and Finland is one of the most cautious countries in the EU about letting in too many foreigners. I actually had a worker at Migri tell me once, "If we make it easy for Americans to come to Finland, they will all want to." Now, I highly doubt that most Americans would be willing to put up with all the Finnish rules, but that shows the general attitude of the Immigration authorities.

I came to Finland for research and was fortunate enough to have a specific reason for coming to Finland, a university affiliation and living stipends that were designed only for Americans living in Finland. In other words, when I came I wasn't competing with the Finnish work force, had a reason for coming here, and had sufficient funds, so it was fairly easy for me to get a residence permit and establish my residency here. Unless you and your fiance have a lot of assets and can afford to rent/buy a flat without needing a job, and then move here and live off your own money for 2 years while you wait to establish permanent residency and the right to work (think $80,000+ USD over 2 years for two people for a menial standard of living), I highly doubt you being able to make the transition without one of you having a job secured prior to moving here. And if you don't have a job and you say on the permit application that your reason for coming to Finland is that 'we like your social system', you can pretty much be assured that your applications will be denied.

Don't get me wrong, I think Finland is a great country to live in, but you need to have a reason for coming here or be wealthy enough to live off your own money for a few years. If you're really determined to come here, graduate or post-doc research/teaching positions in science may be a good route to go. There are lots of fellowship programs in the US. You may be lucky enough to get one or two. As far as teaching English, you may get lucky and find a job as a nanny or in an English-language daycare, but probably not since English is not your mother-tongue and your coming from outside the EU. Even for those, you'd have to establish residency first, or have your fiance find a job.

[Oho]

Not only your high standards in livelihood, education, technology, etc., are appealing to us, but we also share and agree with your ideal of "we are all in the same boat". Social classes do not play a big part in Finnish society, an equality that is largely taken for granted in Finland.

Well, I am afraid that boat is about if it has not already sailed.

[Fleurecarlate]

I don't undestand why you have to explain your reasoning for wanting to move here. That is your drcision only and nobody has a right to tell you if your reason is good enough. Nevertheless, I believe your reasons to move to Finland are great. Yes, it's hard, but nothing great is found at the end of the path of least resistance. My question is what are all these expats still doing in Finland since obviously they hate it there...

[Hämeen Hitain]

That is your drcision only and nobody has a right to tell you if your reason is good enough.

Finnish authorities (Migri) have the right and they will use it.

[Kutittaa]

I don't undestand why you have to explain your reasoning for wanting to move here. That is your drcision only and nobody has a right to tell you if your reason is good enough.

How about you give the OP some useful advice instead of sticking in what you perceive to be the truth eh? What you said is entirely incorrect. So I could just walk into your country and stay simply because I want to without a good reason?

Do you even bother to engage your brain before you start writing?

[AldenG]

My question is what are all these expats still doing in Finland since obviously they hate it there...

Maybe they're thinking about all the others who gave up and left.

It's a popular thing for US Presidents to say that their election proves that anyone can becomes President in America. And that may be true. But it does not prove that everyone can become President, for that is a patent impossibility. So it is with thriving in Finland. A few will always make it. Most will not.

People should know that if they're smart enough, hard-working enough, and lucky enough, there is a chance for them to succeed and thrive in Finland. I'm with you there. I genuinely like to meet immigrants who assimilate well and thrive, and who appreciate and support Finnish culture, wherever they came from.

But why should the comparative difficulty be hidden from seekers? Why should it be kept a secret that most blithe immigrants do not succeed and thrive in Finland, and that for a native English speaker there is a tenfold easier experience awaiting in other Nordic countries? That includes the easier language, the easier time conducting affairs in English (especially with bureaucracies), and the greater number of jobs open to people who don't speak the country's language well -- or at any meaningful level, as with so many immigrants to Finland. If I had no particular connection to any of those countries, I'd kind of like to know that before choosing one to try moving to.

Chris McCandless thought that his enthusiasm and natural gifts would make him an Alaskan frontiersman, too.

[Rob A.]

Every single social situation involving Finns will have me *completely* forgotten from the conversation as soon as it switches to Finnish - yes even among my RELATIVES. NOBODY will wish you a nice day on the street, ever. Or even in a shop, not even as a pleasantry when counting out your change. You can say you know all this (as you might, if you've researched the place) but the reality is that the people are cold. Icy cold. They don't talk. They're all friends with each other and don't need you, and indeed will go out of their way not to chat to even the nicest foreigners. It's not personal, they don't think they're cold, but it's just the way they are. For people who are used to human interaction, it's an enormous, gradually-unfolding culture shock. Americans are seen as idiots, Mexicans are seen as dirty foreigners (harsh generalisation, but please believe me, it only takes 10% of people to think that way before it becomes very hurtful, and I've had friends suffer some very nasty racism here).

Hmmm... Well all I've done is visit Finland I haven't lived there, but the picture you're painting was not at all what I experienced... When the conversation switched to Finnish I did what I could to keep up, but I never felt I was being forgotten... I might have had to be a bit patient, though, but eventually a translation of the basics...would be provided...if necessary. I found the shop clerks were quite pleasant...and patient with my poor Finnish... Nor did I find people "cold"....well, no "colder" than Vancouver.... Maybe some cultures expect more...I don't know....

Overall I was quite surprised with what I encountered in Finland...the country was far nicer and the people far more pleasant than what I had been expecting.... I suppose I had read too many posts like yours in Finland Forum...

I would honestly suggest you prepare a pros & cons list. And then prepare one for Australia vs Finland, Canada vs Finland, UK vs Finland, NZ vs Finland...

I can't speak for the other countries ...and I suppose barely speak for Canada ...when it comes to the medical profession.... But I wouldn't be so sure that it will be "easy sailing" in Canada if you come with foreign medical credentials.... In fact there have been some recent high profile issues....deaths apparently resulted... with poorly trained radiologists...both foreign trained and older personnel who hadn't kept their skills current... This became such an issue and was considered so unacceptable that the otherwise hard-nosed conservative provincial government issued an almost unprecedented "public apology"....

http://www.vancouversun.com/health/pati ... story.html

Needless to say there is an inquiry and a long list of recommendations ....so I would say foreign medical credentials ...probably even if they come from Finland... ...will be much more carefully scrutinized...

[biscayne]

Yes, you have the perfect right to have your dream about coming to Finland and living happily ever after in this blissfull classless society...................

First of all with the "classless equal society" bit - don't make me laugh. Finland is just as class driven as most of the other countries I've ever been to. Your average resident of Westend, Kauniainen,bits of Tapiola, Eiranranta,Marjaniemi etc. do not consider themselves equal to your average resident of Itakeskus. And the house prices in that first bunch of places I mentioned bear me out on that one.............Kauniainen - min. 500k for a shack. Some of the houses I viewed there in that price range made me think the estate agent was having me on. But he said "its Kauuuuunianen"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A degee in radiology? Does that mean he is an MD who is a consultant radiologist, or a radiographer? If he's a top class radiologist - then there could be a chance. A radiographer on the other hand is a radiology technician (with or without a degree) who is qualified to do x-rays, but not interpet them. I don't think there is a lack of them in Finland - so competition with the local, Finnish-speaking population.

English teaching - possible, particularly in a private school, but there would probably be a fair bit of competition.

Finnish? Again, nothing is impossible, - and there is always that one guy, of whom everyone has heard, but never actually met, - who learnt Finnish in 3 months. But, in general Finnish is one of those languages where you really, really, need to be in the country to get any grasp of it whatsoever.

If you can manage to live off your own money for about 2 years, then ok, go for it.

If we are all wrong, then come back to the forum and tell us about it!!

[tizlit]

Finland seems to be paradise, but in reality, it is only a postcard, a nice postcard. Everything runs like a Swiss clock, organized, but when actually living here, the reality kicks on the face.
Welcome to the Paradise !

[Oombongo]

You'll be earning less that what you can earn in the US, taxes are higher, everything is expensive (unless someone can correct me here), and what you can take home after taxes would be pretty less than what you may take back in the US.
We might sound a bit hard on you but it is our style of saying "no no, don't make this mistake unless you're absolutely sure about what might be waiting for you". Finland simply changed many of us, and we simply forgot how to express ourselves in a polite way

[Upphew]

Finland simply changed many of us, and we simply forgot how to express ourselves in a polite way

From polite to honest... that is what Finland does to you.