RP - easier from home country or in Finland?

Hanatotori · Post by **Hanatotori** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 3:34 pm

Hey everyone, I am from Malaysia and planning to move to Finland. Apologies if I am asking a repeated question, I may have missed it (although I have gone thru the archive and I am pretty sure this is not.

)

Ok so my situation is I have landed a job in Finland as a an engineering consultant. My employer needs me to report to work ideally in July 2013. I said ideally because my employer is flexible, I have been given the option to start working after summer (I've got the coolest employer, haven't I?

) I am leaning towards the latter option of course, and planning to go there and enjoy the summer first (heard it's super gorgeous in Finland during this time of the year).

I am wondering if it's easier for me to apply for residence permit on employment basis in my home country or will it be easier if I do it in Finland? I can travel to Finland on 3 months' visa-free and will it be easy to apply the RP there while I am on this visa-free period? I am aware that I should apply from my home country but as we all know, the time it takes for RP approval is uncertain and I dont want to miss Finnish summer (and also I suspect my employer wants to pay less for my RP coz it's €500 fee when applying from home country). But there is possibility it's gonna take longer than 3 months when I am in Finland and that means I have to fly back to my country and come back to Finland again.

Anyone has experience/knowledge on how do I go on about this? Would appreciate the advise! Kiitos!

**Sponsor:**

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 6:39 pm

Ah, so you are going for the "specialist" permit. Well, make sure you can get one, as the "must apply at home" is there for a reason. There is a time dilation which makes the processing time go slower the closer you get to Finland. Also, the matter of "easy" is that at the Embassy they usually make sure you have all the papers before they even start processing. You submit to the Finnish police, they take everything and then after 3 months they notice theres a paper missing and then it takes another 3 months for them to put your application back in the bottom of the pile and when your papers finally get somewhere they want fresh papers as its all out of date... so you want "easy" eh?

violashii · Post by **violashii** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:41 am

I'm asian who got a job offer in finland as well.I applied my permit from my home country and wait until they approve.My employer rocks as well.For me I think apply and wait for it at home country is better.
Finland isn't just beautiful during summer and if you miss this year. You can wait to see it next year =D

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 12:10 pm

And remember that you can't work (in Finland..) while waiting for RP and Finland isn't known as cheap holiday destination.

Adrian42 · Post by **Adrian42** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 3:18 pm

Hanatotori wrote:(and also I suspect my employer wants to pay less for my RP coz it's €500 fee when applying from home country)

The fee is the same no matter where you apply.

Adrian42 · Post by **Adrian42** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 3:19 pm

Upphew wrote:And remember that you can't work (in Finland..) while waiting for RP and Finland isn't known as cheap holiday destination.

If he qualifies for a specialist RP he can start working as soon as he arrives in Finland without having to wait for the RP decision.

Adrian42 · Post by **Adrian42** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 3:28 pm

Pursuivant wrote:Ah, so you are going for the "specialist" permit. ... You submit to the Finnish police, they take everything and then after 3 months they notice theres a paper missing

No, the average processing time for a specialist RP is 28 days.

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 3:30 pm

Adrian42 wrote:
Pursuivant wrote:Ah, so you are going for the "specialist" permit. ... You submit to the Finnish police, they take everything and then after 3 months they notice theres a paper missing
No, the average processing time for a specialist RP is 28 days.

Fast denials keep the average in check?

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 3:36 pm

But it is assumed he gets a de ision within 3 months as otherwise it gets a bit interesting...

Adrian42 · Post by **Adrian42** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 4:20 pm

Pursuivant wrote:But it is assumed he gets a de ision within 3 months as otherwise it gets a bit interesting...

Processing of specialist RPs is (for obvious reasons) fast enough that this is not a problem in practice.

Hanatotori · Post by **Hanatotori** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 7:55 pm

Hello everyone! Awww I thank you all for the replies and advises, really helped me a lot in making my decision. So it's apparent that I should do it in my home country. Thanks so much again to Pursuivant, violashii, Upphew and Adrian42 for the light shed.

Btw, can you explain what you mean below? What are the obvious reasons?

Adrian42 wrote:
Pursuivant wrote:But it is assumed he gets a de ision within 3 months as otherwise it gets a bit interesting...
Processing of specialist RPs is (for obvious reasons) fast enough that this is not a problem in practice.

Adrian42 · Post by **Adrian42** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 9:01 pm

Hanatotori wrote:Btw, can you explain what you mean below? What are the obvious reasons?

Adrian42 wrote:
Pursuivant wrote:But it is assumed he gets a de ision within 3 months as otherwise it gets a bit interesting...
Processing of specialist RPs is (for obvious reasons) fast enough that this is not a problem in practice.

Specialist RP requires that your tasks require your Masters degree and that you get an over-average salary.

That skips the "no unemployed person available for the position" check that is otherwise mandatory (and takes time).

And different from non-work RPs the person coming is likely to pay more taxes than the costs he creates, so every day he works in Finland is a net win for Finland.

Hanatotori · Post by **Hanatotori** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 4:04 pm

I see... Thanks man!

chocolate0802 · Post by **chocolate0802** » Tue May 07, 2013 9:00 pm

Adrian42 wrote:
Hanatotori wrote:(and also I suspect my employer wants to pay less for my RP coz it's €500 fee when applying from home country)
The fee is the same no matter where you apply.

I must say this is wrong because you pay only 156e for the 1st permit applied at an immigration police office. In New York it's around 550$.

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Tue May 07, 2013 9:28 pm

chocolate0802 wrote:
Adrian42 wrote:
Hanatotori wrote:(and also I suspect my employer wants to pay less for my RP coz it's €500 fee when applying from home country)
The fee is the same no matter where you apply.
I must say this is wrong because you pay only 156e for the 1st permit applied at an immigration police office. In New York it's around 550$.

https://www.poliisi.fi/poliisi/home.nsf ... endocument
http://www.migri.fi/services/processing_fees

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