looking for cut and dry answers

[Kristiina218]

Hello everyone,

I'm Kristiina, I'm 26, and I currently live in Ohio, USA. Somewhat relevant, in 2009, I studied at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland through my home university, Kent State. I currently hold a B.S. in Russian and German translation. I have studied Finnish on and off through the years and plan to again more aggressively once I am there again. The eventual goal is permanent residency. Though I hold this degree, I do not have the necessary experience and skill level to acquire a job in my field at this time. I plan to continue my studies once in Finland.

My current situation is that my boyfriend and I would like to move to Finland and get residency, work, and attend university. There's tons of information online, yes. But nothing is straight forward. I know we need a visa, I know we need a permit for residency and another one for work. But in what order does one acquire these things? Would simply intending to get jobs at something like a restaurant or a factory for the time being be reasonable? And is it possible to secure these jobs before actually getting to Finland? Also, I know that one must have a certain amount of money saved up before a full year of residency will be granted. Can anyone give me an idea of how much that needs to be? Clearly it has to cover housing, food, and other living expenses, but I have really no idea how to calculate that.

So, I suppose what I'm asking is:

1. What do I apply for first? Visa? Work permit? Residency permit?
2. Do I apply for these things here in the USA or must it be done once there?
3. What is a reasonable amount of money to have saved before applying for a year of residency?
4. Also, we have 2 dogs and a lizard that will be coming with us. Does anyone have info on how that works?

Thanks in advance

[betelgeuse]

My current situation is that my boyfriend and I would like to move to Finland and get residency, work, and attend university. There's tons of information online, yes. But nothing is straight forward.

I think migri.fi is straight forward enough: http://www.migri.fi/frontpage

1. What do I apply for first? Visa? Work permit? Residency permit?
2. Do I apply for these things here in the USA or must it be done once there?
3. What is a reasonable amount of money to have saved before applying for a year of residency?
4. Also, we have 2 dogs and a lizard that will be coming with us. Does anyone have info on how that works?

1. Visa == tourists, Work permit == the residence permit type determines this, so the only thing left if residence permit
2. It's best to apply in the USA http://www.finland.org/public/default.a ... ture=en-US
3. For students the minimum is here http://www.migri.fi/studying_in_finland ... of_support
You should plan to have more. The other way to enter are the work permits and then the salary will take care of supporting you. If only one of you gets a job see http://www.migri.fi/moving_to_finland_t ... equirement
4. http://www.evira.fi/portal/en/animals/i ... nd+export/

[rinso]

1. What do I apply for first? Visa? Work permit? Residency permit?

First: find a job or secure a study place at an university. Then apply for a resident permit.