Question about marriage in Finland

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meleys
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Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2017 4:30 am

Question about marriage in Finland

Post by meleys » Tue Oct 10, 2017 4:47 am

Hello, I'm an American citizen and getting married in Finland to my Finnish fiancé (we have been together for five years). I'm concerned about a few things about the marriage process in Finland, I've read that a sworn affidavit of non impediment is required for the marriage, along with an apostille stamp on it. Will the apostille stamp on the affidavit be provided at the US embassy in Helsinki or will it have to be given elsewhere? Also how long will it take to receive the affidavit before we can proceed with the marriage? I do apologize if this topic has been exhausted on this forum, I've heard many conflicting reports on this topic and would like to hear other people's experiences.



Question about marriage in Finland

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tavastia
Posts: 527
Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 1:54 pm

Re: Question about marriage in Finland

Post by tavastia » Tue Oct 10, 2017 8:55 am

You don't need any apostille only of the document is issued in US and needs to be made valid in Finland or for other country (of course member of apostille convention). If you take the document from US embassy in Finland it does not require apostille. How long it takes? You better asked from US embassy, for some countries it takes 10 min...check if you need to reserve time at US embassy before going there.

Y77
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Re: Question about marriage in Finland

Post by Y77 » Tue Oct 10, 2017 9:03 am

When I got married in FI everything has been very easy, at the Maistraatti they told me I only needed a declaration form the embassy that I wasn't already married, without apostille.
I brought that paper to them an arranged the wedding day, wedding that took place at the maistraatti, they have a special room for it. On the day we went there and we got married, it lasted about 15mins.

The apostille is needed later, if and when you want to register the marriage in your own country, in that case you go back to the maist. and ask them to apostil the wedding certificate they gave you on the wedding day and bring it to your embassy, the embassy keeps the original wedding certificate and you only get to keep the english version of it, on the wedding day they give you 2 copies, 1 in FI and 1 in EN. Consider however that I'm EU citizen, for US people might be different.

meleys
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Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2017 4:30 am

Re: Question about marriage in Finland

Post by meleys » Wed Oct 11, 2017 7:16 am

Thanks for the replies! Just wasn't completely sure about how the affidavit process worked. I already scheduled an appointment at the US embassy in Helsinki to get the affidavit. After we get married here in Finland I will apply for a residence permit based on family ties (my partner and I decided it would be easier for us to live in Finland together for some time). Since migri now handles the residence permit applications, what is the estimate length of time for them to process the application? (I have heard people quoting one month all the way up to nine months). Does anyone have any experiences to share? Will I be required to leave the country after 90 days if my permit is still being processed or would they require me to stay? I do apologize for all of the questions, but this is my first time living abroad and most of the official Finnish immigration websites don't give enough sufficient information in regards to certain things.

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Oombongo
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Re: Question about marriage in Finland

Post by Oombongo » Wed Oct 11, 2017 9:31 am

meleys wrote:Thanks for the replies! Just wasn't completely sure about how the affidavit process worked. I already scheduled an appointment at the US embassy in Helsinki to get the affidavit. After we get married here in Finland I will apply for a residence permit based on family ties (my partner and I decided it would be easier for us to live in Finland together for some time). Since migri now handles the residence permit applications, what is the estimate length of time for them to process the application? (I have heard people quoting one month all the way up to nine months). Does anyone have any experiences to share? Will I be required to leave the country after 90 days if my permit is still being processed or would they require me to stay? I do apologize for all of the questions, but this is my first time living abroad and most of the official Finnish immigration websites don't give enough sufficient information in regards to certain things.

Wifey applied for residence permit in Helsinki in May 2016 and got it in September 2016. Obviously, during this time, health was not covered by medical.
No you are not required to leave the country since the application is in process and the processing time is not up to you.


No need to apologize. This forum is here for a reason (or make it a few dozen of reasons :D )
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meleys
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Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2017 4:30 am

Re: Question about marriage in Finland

Post by meleys » Wed Oct 11, 2017 9:54 am

Oh that's a relief to hear. I'm currently in Jyväskylä but will probably apply in Kuopio (I heard in different cities the application process times will vary). And upon submitting the residence permit application to the migri office do they automatically register you into the population system database or do you have to request it?

tavastia
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Re: Question about marriage in Finland

Post by tavastia » Wed Oct 11, 2017 10:15 am

It does not matter where you apply, the application will be placed into a queue and can be handled in any other office.

Please note that maximum time for family ties RP is 9 months: http://www.migri.fi/our_services/proces ... ties_16582
Every application is different but in many the processing time is close to 9 months, you can be very lucky if you get it in 3-4 months.

Like said before, during this time you can stay in the country but you don't have personal identity number -> no Kela card -> no medical coverage -> cannot register as unemployed -> cannot go to any integration courses organized by TE -> cannot open a bank account... There can be some Finnish courses where you can go which may not require personal identity number and you will just pay for them.

Good luck!

meleys
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Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2017 4:30 am

Re: Question about marriage in Finland

Post by meleys » Wed Oct 11, 2017 10:34 am

Thanks for the information. Hopefully it won't take as long as nine months, I knew one American who received her permit in less than a month. Fortunately I'm financially stable enough to cover my living expenses in finland until I receive the permit.

betelgeuse
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Re: Question about marriage in Finland

Post by betelgeuse » Wed Oct 11, 2017 1:04 pm

tavastia wrote: Like said before, during this time you can stay in the country but you don't have personal identity number -> no Kela card -> no medical coverage -> cannot register as unemployed -> cannot go to any integration courses organized by TE -> cannot open a bank account... There can be some Finnish courses where you can go which may not require personal identity number and you will just pay for them.
This is not an accurate description of the situation. The law on general access to Kela does not require a personal identity number. What happens is that upon a positive decision from Kela the access is retroactive to the day of moving to the country.

https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/1993/19931573

Medical coverage is not provided by Kela but by municipality of residence. For municipality of residence, having a residence permit is not requirement for family members. This means there is medical coverage (just register in the population register office). You will get a personal identity number. People on this forum should remember that personal identify numbers are available quite easily. When the "computer says no" it's actually about the whether there is permanent address on file.

https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/ ... 40201#L2P4

Access to basic banking services is provided by law to residents. This means it should suffice to be registered in the population register.

In practise you might come across some hiccups since the officials are not always aware of all the nuances when using one's rights to the full extent.

tavastia
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Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 1:54 pm

Re: Question about marriage in Finland

Post by tavastia » Wed Oct 11, 2017 2:38 pm

This is not an accurate description of the situation. The law on general access to Kela does not require a personal identity number. What happens is that upon a positive decision from Kela the access is retroactive to the day of moving to the country.
The day of the moving into country is the 1st day of validity of your RP which also marked into population register as the moving day, it does not matter you have been here before.
Medical coverage is not provided by Kela but by municipality of residence. For municipality of residence, having a residence permit is not requirement for family members. This means there is medical coverage (just register in the population register office). You will get a personal identity number. People on this forum should remember that personal identify numbers are available quite easily. When the "computer says no" it's actually about the whether there is permanent address on file.
You can read the law as you like, go to Maistratti without RP and see what you get. Nothing, you are tourist until you receive your RP. No registration to Maistratti -> no municipality of residence -> no medial coverage.
Access to basic banking services is provided by law to residents. This means it should suffice to be registered in the population register.
The same as above, no population register, no bank, and also the bank is asking the RP.

These things I'm writing are real cases, I or my friends have meet...

betelgeuse
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Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:24 am

Re: Question about marriage in Finland

Post by betelgeuse » Wed Oct 11, 2017 5:15 pm

tavastia wrote:
This is not an accurate description of the situation. The law on general access to Kela does not require a personal identity number. What happens is that upon a positive decision from Kela the access is retroactive to the day of moving to the country.
The day of the moving into country is the 1st day of validity of your RP which also marked into population register as the moving day, it does not matter you have been here before.
It's not.
Muuttopäiväksi katsotaan ilmoitettu päivä, jos ilmoitus on tehty kuukauden kuluessa muutosta. Jos ilmoitus saapuu tämän jälkeen, muuttopäiväksi katsotaan ilmoituksen saapumispäivä. Jos maistraatti tekee väestötietojärjestelmään merkinnän muutosta muulta kuin muuttavalta henkilöltä tai hänen perheenjäseneltään saamiensa tietojen perusteella, muuttopäiväksi katsotaan merkinnän tekemisen päivä.
https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/ ... 0201#L3P10
tavastia wrote: You can read the law as you like, go to Maistratti without RP and see what you get. Nothing, you are tourist until you receive your RP. No registration to Maistratti -> no municipality of residence -> no medial coverage.
If they do not follow the law, I promise to help writing the appeal to overturn it and making a complaint to the state ombudsman.
tavastia wrote:These things I'm writing are real cases, I or my friends have meet...
Where they family members of people with municipality of residence?


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