How to get started as EU citizen?

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primuszoon
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 25, 2019 7:05 pm

How to get started as EU citizen?

Post by primuszoon » Fri Aug 16, 2019 12:08 pm

So moving within the EU should be fairly easy, however some problems arise in our mission to move to Oulu, Finland. In fact we find ourselves in a vicious circle:
  • Henkilötunnus: This Finnish ID number is often needed to get many services. Companies use it to get your credit history (even if you state: I'm not living in Finland yet so I don't have any credit rating/history in your country, they still deem it necessary to check). You can get this number only after registering your right of residence after you arrive in finland at the local migrations office (for which you need an address in Finland), and with that right of residence you need to go to Maistraatti to get your Finnish ID card and henkilötunnus. Takes about a month as far as I researched. Non EU Citizens get this number in advance when they apply for their residence permit. They don't need to have an address I assume when applying?
  • Bank account: You can open a bankaccount only when in Finland (when you are on a visit is ok). However without the Henkilötunnus you will not get full features like the very often used "Login with your bank account" or "Bank Account ID verification". So registering without this id number, it'll just be a simple card to pay at the shops, which I can do with my card I already have in my country of origin (Belgium).
  • Renting a place to live: Now here comes the loop: it is very difficult to rent a flat without a Finnish bank account to verify your ID and make an account to apply for a flat (e.g. lumo.fi). And almost every company asks for a Finnish ID number to get your credit rating. Remember you already need to have an address to get this number... . You can apply to this companies to be "selected" for a flat, but let's be reasonable: We're a family from outside Finland without any hard proof that we can give them that we have sufficient funds (unless they accept my bank statement in Dutch). We'll not be high up the list to be picked and since planning to move requires some certainties, being chosen as a lucky winner to have a place to live is not really something you want. I need to book the boat to move our stuff to finland, airplane tickets, sell my current apartment, ...
Is their any EU citizen who made the move and give some tips that I am probably overlooking? I lived their once as student, which is very easy as the housing company only needs your universities acceptance letter, but just to move to go live in Finland really seems like impossible just to get a place to live...



How to get started as EU citizen?

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betelgeuse
Posts: 4353
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:24 am

Re: How to get started as EU citizen?

Post by betelgeuse » Sat Aug 17, 2019 10:12 am

primuszoon wrote:
Fri Aug 16, 2019 12:08 pm
So moving within the EU should be fairly easy, however some problems arise in our mission to move to Oulu, Finland. In fact we find ourselves in a vicious circle:
  • Henkilötunnus: This Finnish ID number is often needed to get many services. Companies use it to get your credit history (even if you state: I'm not living in Finland yet so I don't have any credit rating/history in your country, they still deem it necessary to check). You can get this number only after registering your right of residence after you arrive in finland at the local migrations office (for which you need an address in Finland), and with that right of residence you need to go to Maistraatti to get your Finnish ID card and henkilötunnus. Takes about a month as far as I researched. Non EU Citizens get this number in advance when they apply for their residence permit. They don't need to have an address I assume when applying?
  • Bank account: You can open a bankaccount only when in Finland (when you are on a visit is ok). However without the Henkilötunnus you will not get full features like the very often used "Login with your bank account" or "Bank Account ID verification". So registering without this id number, it'll just be a simple card to pay at the shops, which I can do with my card I already have in my country of origin (Belgium).
  • Renting a place to live: Now here comes the loop: it is very difficult to rent a flat without a Finnish bank account to verify your ID and make an account to apply for a flat (e.g. lumo.fi). And almost every company asks for a Finnish ID number to get your credit rating. Remember you already need to have an address to get this number... . You can apply to this companies to be "selected" for a flat, but let's be reasonable: We're a family from outside Finland without any hard proof that we can give them that we have sufficient funds (unless they accept my bank statement in Dutch). We'll not be high up the list to be picked and since planning to move requires some certainties, being chosen as a lucky winner to have a place to live is not really something you want. I need to book the boat to move our stuff to finland, airplane tickets, sell my current apartment, ...
Is their any EU citizen who made the move and give some tips that I am probably overlooking? I lived their once as student, which is very easy as the housing company only needs your universities acceptance letter, but just to move to go live in Finland really seems like impossible just to get a place to live...
Tax Administration issues personal identity codes on the spot for people needing it for income purposes. It’s possible to use poste restante to get started.

https://www.vero.fi/en/individuals/tax- ... n-finland/

Mackee23
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2017 2:22 pm

Re: How to get started as EU citizen?

Post by Mackee23 » Tue Dec 17, 2019 8:16 pm

I came to Finland in 2014 as an EU citizen to work, just for the summer. I got a interview for a temping agency who offered me part time work, working at the Pori Jazz Festival for one weekend. They gave me a letter as evidence of a job offer. I took the letter to the local tax office and told them I needed a national I.D. number and a tax code. I filled in a form, showed them my I.D and was told to come back in an hour. When i came back they gave me my tax code and I.D number. I then went back to the temping agency and they took copies of the tax code and I.D number and then gave me a employment contract. I took everything to the local bank and opened an account. I then gave my bank details to the temping agency so they could pay me. The whole progess took me 2 hours in total. I worked at the Jazz festival and had a great time. Then as I already had everything in place I was able to get another part time job.

You do not have to register your right to residency to get the I.D code. You only need to register if you plan on staying in Finland for more than 3 months. Maybe one of you can travel to Finland and look for a job first? If you have a job offer everything else is easy.

Also it does not take 3 months to register your right to residency as an EU citizen, you just need to do it if you are planning on staying for more than 3 months. You need to have a reason for registering though; a job, a Finnish spouce, studying. If you have a job and you register for right to residency you can complete an application, pay a small fee and then attend an appointment to show your documentation. If everything is in order you will get a certificate of residency at the end of your appointment.

The key thing is that you need to show that you have a good reason to be in Finland, like a job and you must prove that you have enough money to support yourself and any family members who you are bringing with you. If you cannot show evidence of this your application will be rejected.

heretostay
Posts: 637
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2017 12:54 pm

Re: How to get started as EU citizen?

Post by heretostay » Tue Dec 17, 2019 8:58 pm

For apartment solution, look for a private landlord. They will often consider individual circumstances more than a large corporation.

Mackee23
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2017 2:22 pm

Re: How to get started as EU citizen?

Post by Mackee23 » Tue Dec 17, 2019 9:20 pm

I agree that a private landlord is your best chance of getting an apartment.


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