Residence permit application on the basis of family ties when your spouse is a Finnish citizen 2017- 2018

[jarikaija]

I wonder....

My spouse applied for residence permit on 9.7.2018. It goes within week to
"On progress" stage, 13.7.2018... I'll try to find somekind of apprx. time information,
how long it could stay on that "On progress" stage before decision made... Everyone
tells that whole process will take x-month time, but how about that step only?

Yes I know.... WAIT!!! Yep... easy to say but not so easy to follow.

Any idea, even coarse, about processing time on this situation (all papers ok,
done by enterfinland, married 12.6.2018. Engaged 1.1.2018, visited 3 times
at Thailand 2-2-4 weeks. Every time lived same hotel / rented apartment).
Marriage registered to finnish city magistrate too. Anyone had similar
conditions?

[M00nbean]

Hello all!

I am a citizen of the USA and around two months ago I took a huge risk and dropped everything (including my job, car, family, and friends) to move cross-country to the land of the Finns to meet and marry my Finnish fiancée here in Espoo. My fiancée (now husband) and I met in January of this year on an online chat site and immediately knew we were meant for each other. He works a good paying construction job here in Finland, while I worked a not so well paying receptionist job in the states; therefor he paid for MOST of my travel expenses. We met at the Helsinki airport on the 27th of May around 6pm and despite what all of my family, friends, and co-workers warned me about (catfishing, human trafficking, murder) he WAS who I had been chatting/camming with since January, lol. And so we got married at the civil register in Espoo last month on the 27th, after visiting the US Embassy in Helsinki and receiving a statement of non-impediment to marriage which we had to submit along with other paperwork to the civil register beforehand.

Anyway, fast forward a few weeks and we have finally got enough money to apply for my first residence permit (basis of family ties when spouse is a Finn). We would have had money sooner but some unexpected financial circumstances prevented us from applying earlier.

However, we have hit a bump in the road and I have some questions that (hopefully) some of you may be able to answer.

I was previously married in the USA (obviously now divorced and remarried) and so I brought with me my divorce documents from the state I lived in (Kentucky) because I knew they would be needed in order for us to get married and apply for the permit and so forth. The one thing I failed to realize is that the document is not technically legal? Or at least in the eyes of the Finnish government. It has been signed by the judge who issued our divorce as well as notarized by the notary republic in my county. When my husband and I went to the civil register to submit our paperwork for marriage, they did not ask to see my divorce papers, however some of the paperwork that I filled out asked me if I had been previously married and the name of my ex, which I provided.

So my questions are:

1. How do I legalize my US divorce papers when I am already in Finland?

2. Can I go ahead and pay for/submit my application for the residence permit, and add the divorce paper later after it has been legalized?

3. Will I be allowed to stay here after submitting the residence permit application, while I wait for the divorce papers to be legalized and sent back to me?

I have spoke to migri, US embassy, and the civil register office and all of them want to direct me to online links or emails, which I understand, but I am pressed for time as my 90 days expires in late August. It would be nice to have a direct answer, lol.

I spoke with a migri woman a few minutes ago and she said that I would most likely have to send my documents back to USA to be legalized, and then submit the legalized divorce papers to the immigration service point. I asked her if I could go ahead and apply for the residence permit and would be allowed to stay here while I waited for the divorce papers to be legalized and she said YES. She actually advised me NOT to travel back to USA or any other country before I have the residence permit as I may face complications when trying to come back to Finland.

So, if anyone has had a similar experience or any advice feel free to help me out, lol. It would be much appreciated.

[jarikaija]

1) No glue... Asked if US embassy at Finland can help with that?

2) Yes. You can upload copy of it, and they maid ask you to visit and show the original one.

3) Yes

[heretostay]

Hello all!



So, if anyone has had a similar experience or any advice feel free to help me out, lol. It would be much appreciated.

Hi. What you need for it to be legalised is an Apostille. In the USA, each state has their own process. The embassy cannot help. It is fairly simple and cheap though and walk ins are handled typically in a few minutes. Do you have family or friends that can help? It is faster to go in person than to mail it in. Here is a website for Kentucky. https://www.sos.ky.gov/bus/businessreco ... tions.aspx

[M00nbean]

Hi again!

Thanks to those who have replied! (I feel a bit better now, lol)

Before I left the USA to come to Finland, I called my local county clerk's office (the ones who issued the divorce papers) and asked them if they knew where I could get documents stamped with an apostille and they had absolutely no clue what an apostille even was! Said they had never heard of it, lol.

So I assumed my divorce papers would be alright. (guess I was wrong )

My hubby came home from work yesterday and we completed the application together and added a ton of attachments (including pictures of my divorce papers which I haven't sent to be legalized yet). We figured they would contact us and inform us that it needs to be legalized anyway, or would tell us at the immigration service point when we visit on Aug. 3rd. So we will then tell them that we will send them to USA to be stamped with the apostille and mailed back, and we will submit either in person or online (not sure which they will want).

Hopefully everything else goes okay and I will be granted the permit (relatively soon). One thing I am nervous about is the fact that I wasn't legally divorced from my ex until 3 months into our relationship. I mentioned this in the application as it asked my previous marriage date and duration, as well as the fact that my ex and I had been separated since Dec. 2017. (My husband is aware of all this, btw) Because of all these factors I'm almost absolutely certain that they will interview both of us at some point, and probably want to see some of our conversations from FB and Discord which.... which is definitely not suitable for all viewers.

Anyways, I'm going to try and de-stress this weekend, forget about the permit for a minute, and take a mini vacation to my in-laws house in the country with the hubs. (Maybe if I could stand being in the sauna for more than 5 minutes it would help with the stress, sadly I cannot)

[Nadiasafi]

Hei everyone
Sorry im new here and dont queit know where to post but this topic suits my situation.

Im a finnish citizen, My husband is in pakistan applying for his residence permit . He has an interview in Dubai in a month time and after days of search i found out there is an online application he has to fill. Kindly if someone can clarify if its online that he needs to complete and attack documents or paper based ?

The website is called “enterfinland” so he has to make a user name and all complete the form and attach documents ? if anyone has done this step kindly let me
Know so we can complete it soon. Also there is a form that i have to fill to as his spouse , can i do it online and uplod it in his account in”enterfinland “ or do i make my own account ?
Also do we have to upload pictures of us ? Wedding pictures and all?

Any response would be appreciated ,
Thanks in advance
Nadia

[jarikaija]

Yes. Your spouse SHOULD create user account for enterfinland. After that, you send your form (you can get in pdf format)
to your spouse. Your spouse upload it then to enterfinland. (or if he give login details for you, then you upload it to enterfinland).

Use enterfinland, because:
1) You see status of residence permit
2) You can answer faster to possible extra questions by migri.
3) You can see online what is the decision...

When your spouse have filled & paid online application, he should print the form (pdf, about 4 pages)
and take it with him to interview.

-Suomeksi sama-
Kyllä. Siippasi TULEE tehdä tunnukset enterfinlandiin. Sen jälkeen voit lähettää itse täyttämäsi documentin (sen saa pdf muodossa)
hänelle ja hän lisää sen enterfinlandiin. (Tai sitten sinä, jos saat häneltä käyttäjätunnukset myös sinne).

Käytä onlineä, koska:
1) Näet hakemuksen tilan ilman puhelinsoittoja
2) Pystytte vastaamaan nopeasti mahdollisiin lisäkysymyksiin sen kautta
3) Näette onlinenä, jotta mikä oli päätös.

Kun siippasi on täyttänyt online hakemuksen JA maksanut sen, hänen tulee printata sama
hakemus online sivuilta haastatteluunsa mukaan (pdf, Noin 4 sivua).

[Nadiasafi]

Thank you so much for the reply,

That makes it easy for me now . Also for the payment would it be okey if my husband uses my Finnish bank card? We have not completed the application online yet so not fully sure.
Also does my husband need to get a police clearance certificate for himsef ? Or they would check themselves? . And s we scan the documents such as passport photo and ID photo or taking a picture with our phones will be fine ? Since we are taking the original documents anyway.

As we complete the form i might come accross more questions so might be posting more questions. Thank you for your help

[jarikaija]

That makes it easy for me now . Also for the payment would it be okey if my husband uses my Finnish bank card? We have not completed the application online yet so not fully sure.
Also does my husband need to get a police clearance certificate for himsef ? Or they would check themselves? . And s we scan the documents such as passport photo and ID photo or taking a picture with our phones will be fine ? Since we are taking the original documents anyway.

He can use any valid credit card...
Don't need to get criminal clearance. But maid be easier for process, if already uploaded & showed. Migri will do that anyway.
Passport photo should go to take by professional company. Finland have a strict rules about passport photo quality etc...
Oh... And that paper, what you have to fill. He have to print that for interview too.

-ja suomeksi-
Hän voi käyttää mitä tahansa laillista korttia maksuun.
Ei tarvita rikosrekisteriotetta. Voi toki nopeuttaa prosessia, jos sen on etukäteen liittänyt mukaan. Migri tarkistaa kuitenkin.
Passikuva tulee käydä otattamassa osaavassa putiikissa. Suomen passikuvasäännöt ovat hyvinkin tiukat kännykkäkuvia ajatellen.
Aijuu ja se sinun täyttämäsi paperi. Hänen tulee printata myös se mukaan haastatteluun.

As we complete the form i might come accross more questions so might be posting more questions. Thank you for your help

I will help always if I ever can... This is a jungle, resident permit jungle...

[Nadiasafi]

Hei
There is a question in PK2 form,

When does your spouse intend to move to Finland?”

It requires us to give them a date , but isnt that whenever he gets granted he will come so why ask such a question?

[Nadiasafi]

This is another question that kinds of make me wonder, “Could you live together as a family elsewhere than in Finalnd?
I can live in pakistan with him but for short time as i have my work and studies in finland . And obviously finalnd a better place to live .

What would be a best reply for this?

[jarikaija]

Hei
There is a question in PK2 form,

When does your spouse intend to move to Finland?”

It requires us to give them a date , but isnt that whenever he gets granted he will come so why ask such a question?

I wonder that too. So I just write 1.8 to there... Just write something to it .... Oh, if you put 1.2019. Then redicence permit
card will have that "start" day when valid, even get much earlier... Carefull

[jarikaija]

This is another question that kinds of make me wonder, “Could you live together as a family elsewhere than in Finalnd?
I can live in pakistan with him but for short time as i have my work and studies in finland . And obviously finalnd a better place to live .

What would be a best reply for this?

We answered that "no". Because I'm working at finland and can't do my job and get money for living aboard...

[Rasikko]

Finland doesn't like it when people wanna get/apply for resident permits but wanna live somewhere out of Finland, or work out of Finland, or even study out of Finland.

[HannahBanana]

I spoke with a migri woman a few minutes ago and she said that I would most likely have to send my documents back to USA to be legalized, and then submit the legalized divorce papers to the immigration service point. I asked her if I could go ahead and apply for the residence permit and would be allowed to stay here while I waited for the divorce papers to be legalized and she said YES. She actually advised me NOT to travel back to USA or any other country before I have the residence permit as I may face complications when trying to come back to Finland.

This is EXTREMELY odd. My fiancé is from the States and we did the whole notarization - apostille -process for getting our impediments check, he actually had to wait in LA Secretary of State's office ALL DAY (literally from 9am to 5pm) to get the apostille as the lines there are unbearable. And you can get an apostille through mail at least in Sacramento, but even expedited delivery takes about 9 days and costs approximately 60 USD back and forth, so it's not exactly cheap. Cheaper than flying though!

So, back to the bit I thought was weird. My fiancé is coming over on the 15th of August and we're getting married on the 17th. In the beginning of September he'll be going back to California to sort out exporting our car and his personal belongings. I specifically contacted Migri and asked whether this would be a problem and they said NO, as after the application has been made and he has gone to Migri to show his ID, he can stay in Finland for as long as he wants, until the RP has arrived. The person at Migri told me that there is no reason border security would take an issue with this.

I am definitely calling them again on Tuesday and maybe will call border security as well, as it seems to be a typical situation with the authorities - one is saying one thing, the other something else...