RP for Employment Processing Queue

mikejlemon · Post by **mikejlemon** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 6:58 am

Hi all,

Don't know if anyone can provide some insight... I obtained work at a design studio in Helsinki with a starting date in August (08.2015) and have applied for my Residence Permit for Employment at the LA Consulate in USA on June 15th (15.06.15) and was told by the consulate it should take 4 - 6 weeks for the permit... but everywhere online says it takes 4 months, this I did not know!! Now I'm completely freaking out as this puts my employment contract at risk...

Today I submitted a request to expedite my application as this is urgent. Any suggestions or tips? I'm going to call them tonight to get an estimated date.

6/12/2015 We have received the processing fee for your application.
6/12/2015 We have received your application and it is pending.
6/16/2015 You have proved your identity and a diary number has been created for your application. You can see the diary number at the top of the page. Your application has been placed in a processing queue.

H E L P!

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rinso · Post by **rinso** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 7:35 am

4 - 6 weeks is not unrealistic in a no problem situation. What you might worry about is the check for EU applicants in the same field. If your future employer tried to find people in Finland or the EU before he hired you there will be no problem. If not, .....

Beep_Boop · Post by **Beep_Boop** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 8:09 am

The embassy/consulate know better about your case than we do. My application took close to 8 months, despite perfectly filling the form and having all the documents. A Russian friend of mine had to wait less than 2 months.
Each case is different. They can see when your employment starts, so just wait. Plus, it's not like your employer will suddenly decide to fire you because you were late due to RP problems.
Relax! Nothing to do but wait.

mikejlemon · Post by **mikejlemon** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:50 am

Wow... Just got off the phone with the TE-office (Employment office for partial decision for RP Employment), which she said they're backlogged with permit applications still from February (5 months ago) and said mine should take about 4 months to process!!!

Brain = Exploded.

betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:34 am

mikejlemon wrote:Wow... Just got off the phone with the TE-office (Employment office for partial decision for RP Employment), which she said they're backlogged with permit applications still from February (5 months ago) and said mine should take about 4 months to process!!!

Brain = Exploded.

The categories that get priority are specialists (>=3k salary and university degree), scientific researchers and students (permits before semester starts). It's unfortunate that you were caught off guard with this but the average of 3 months is available at the website:

http://www.migri.fi/services/processing ... sing_times

mikejlemon · Post by **mikejlemon** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 8:42 pm

Has anyone tried expediting their Residence Permit? (the websites try to defer people from doing this, however it seems possible... Any chance this would reduce the waiting period by a couple months? - I sent a request in yesterday, they received it and hopefully it works!)

mikejlemon · Post by **mikejlemon** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 8:45 pm

tummansininen wrote:4 months if you are very lucky, they are currently processing all the student permits for people trying to start school in August/September and we have far more reports in here of wait times such as adnan's. Put it this way, what's in it for Finland if we spend money to make queues shorter? Not much. We get to lose more jobs to foreigners such as yourself, and it's in a job field where we actually have unemployed people capable of doing the job (hence rinso asking that question... the employer is supposed to demonstrate they could not fill that job locally before you are even considered). So you can probably see why speed is not a priority for Finland.

I can partially understand this reasoning, however, coming from Canada where Immigration is completely valued + encouraged, our queue times aren't this long + unreasonable! It's a bit crazy how any employer would hire an employee 5 months down the road... Anyways, just my opinion - doesn't mean it's the right one

Kiitos for the message + outlook.

Beep_Boop · Post by **Beep_Boop** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:56 pm

mikejlemon wrote:however, coming from Canada where Immigration is completely valued + encouraged, our queue times aren't this long + unreasonable!

This is veeery far from what is actually happening.
I had been in the skilled workers immigration visa queue for 19 months before I withdrew the application and decided to stay in Finland.
I personally know 4 other people who stayed in the queue for 1.5-2.5 years. Of course, all 4 of them kept waiting, eventually got accepted and moved to Canada.

All 5 of us are highly educated, have an extensive work experience, young and healthy, and 2 of us even lived in Canada for a couple of years when we were young.

Of course, I've heard of other cases that had much shorter waiting times. They're usually people on the "Golden Arses" list, like bakers moving to Quebec or welders moving to Alberta.

mikejlemon · Post by **mikejlemon** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:46 pm

adnan wrote: I personally know 4 other people who stayed in the queue for 1.5-2.5 years. Of course, all 4 of them kept waiting, eventually got accepted and moved to Canada.

Interesting... I guess it varies by each case then, from what I've heard regarding Canadian immigration it's quite quick compared to Finland (Canadian Immigration states it should take approx. 2 months processing time for Employment Visa's on the website vs. Finland's 4 -5 months), but that may be from the experiences I've heard from. But like I said, it's variable for each case, similarly to Finnish immigration as well.

Anyways, I guess it's just time to sit back, relax and cross all my fingers + toes that it proceeds quicker.

Thanks for the information + discussion!

Kiitos,

MJL.

farfaraway · Post by **farfaraway** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 10:29 pm

I submitted my application for specialist permit on the same date as yours (And I am living in Finland at the moment). Based on last year's average processing time for specialist permits, it took 19 days. But I haven't got the decision yet

I think it is normal considering this time of the year with thousands of student permit applications.

mikejlemon · Post by **mikejlemon** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:51 am

farfaraway wrote:I submitted my application for specialist permit on the same date as yours (And I am living in Finland at the moment). Based on last year's average processing time for specialist permits, it took 19 days. But I haven't got the decision yet

I think it is normal considering this time of the year with thousands of student permit applications.

It's crazy... I contacted the Immigration office and they said there's no queue with them, however, there's a large queue at the TE-office. The TE-Office told me that it'll take 4 -5 months for the application to be approved!! Isn't it illegal past 4 months from the start of the application? Unfortunately my contract will most likely be terminated next month since they've been waiting for so long already...

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:27 am

tummansininen wrote:they are currently processing all the student permits

Not really relevant, if the queue is with the TE-office.

betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:33 am

mikejlemon wrote: It's crazy... I contacted the Immigration office and they said there's no queue with them, however, there's a large queue at the TE-office. The TE-Office told me that it'll take 4 -5 months for the application to be approved!! Isn't it illegal past 4 months from the start of the application? Unfortunately my contract will most likely be terminated next month since they've been waiting for so long already...

Yes the Act sets a 4 month limit. If it goes over that, you have a case for damages from the state (need to be shown). It's an interesting question whether the contract can be terminated in this situation. I would try to get consult a union lawyer.

mikejlemon · Post by **mikejlemon** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 2:51 am

betelgeuse wrote: It's an interesting question whether the contract can be terminated in this situation. I would try to get consult a union lawyer.

I presume it's totally acceptable for a terminated contract if the contract starting date is August 4th but my permit won't be approved until October - November due to their large queue... I'm not sure how any employer is able to hire an employee with a contract 4 - 5 months down the road... It's a bit frustrating/unfortunate. But it doesn't seem like there's any other way for me to apply without a current contract... Arg.

Masan · Post by **Masan** » Mon Sep 26, 2016 1:09 pm

mikejlemon wrote:Hi all,

Don't know if anyone can provide some insight... I obtained work at a design studio in Helsinki with a starting date in August (08.2015) and have applied for my Residence Permit for Employment at the LA Consulate in USA on June 15th (15.06.15) and was told by the consulate it should take 4 - 6 weeks for the permit... but everywhere online says it takes 4 months, this I did not know!! Now I'm completely freaking out as this puts my employment contract at risk...

Today I submitted a request to expedite my application as this is urgent. Any suggestions or tips? I'm going to call them tonight to get an estimated date.

6/12/2015 We have received the processing fee for your application.
6/12/2015 We have received your application and it is pending.
6/16/2015 You have proved your identity and a diary number has been created for your application. You can see the diary number at the top of the page. Your application has been placed in a processing queue.

H E L P!

When did you get final decision ?

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