Which residance permit should I apply for?

[Lula]

Thank you everyone for the answers and the info!

I moved to Finland at the begining of 2016 and my first RP was B, I have not mentioned it because I read somewhere that this time does not count.
So if I understand correctly I have to get a new RP no matter what and only then I can start asking for citizenship? Should I already start applying? I will ask all of that from migri just to be sure.

Another question from the category of paranoya: A few months befor I left my ex I asked migri what will happen to my RP if I leave him, they said that due to the cirumstanses nothing will change, but I should let them know if and when I do that to update my info or something. This marriage ended with a violent incident and after it I was in a bad imotional state for a while so I forgot all about that I should have tell migri about the changes. Can I get in trouble because of that? Will it effect anything?

Another thing is that I still have my ex's last name, the only reason is that until now I did not have the about 100€ it cost to change it and to get a new ID card, but now I'm going to do that asap. Should I file for the RP with the name as it is, or is it better to wait until it's without the ex's name?
And speaking of money, I noticed that the fees for the application(s) can be high, anybody know if it will be possible to split them to payments, or only possibility is to pay all at the same time?

Thanks again for takeing the time to answer my questions, even though some of them seem a bit stupid

[FinlandGirl]

I am divorced for more then a year and in a relationship with another man (also a Finnish citizen), we are living together for almost 2 years (will be 2 years at the end of December). We where planning to get married but had to cancel for now because of corona situation. My spouse suggested to have just a ceremony without a wedding so we will be legally married and things may go easier like that, but I'm worried that migri will think it's a bit too convenient that I happen to get married a few months before my residence permit expires, and once again with only an official ceremony and no wedding.

Question 1- Do you think I'm being paranoid for nothing, or does it realy look bad? Should we do the ceremony just in case or will it just make things worse this close to the expiration time of my rp?

It is quite common that people in a relationship marry quickly for getting a residence permit for one partner. This is only a problem when the relationship itself is not genuine.

There is no requirement for a wedding other than the official ceremony, and having cancelled the wedding festivities due to COVID-19 is nothing unusual these days.

Migri cannot deny residence permits at will, the fraud has to be pretty clear. Having lived together for 2 years in Finland will make this marriage look very solid compared to the many cases where residence permits are granted to people who married after having been together for just a few weeks.

Also, will it be a problem that I was still technically married to my ex when my current spouse moved to live together?

It is not uncommon that people find new partners while a divorce is pending, in many cases the new partner was even the reason for the divorce.

Since you were anyway planning to marry, I would suggest you follow the advise of your spouse and do it.

[FinlandGirl]

So if I understand correctly I have to get a new RP no matter what and only then I can start asking for citizenship? Should I already start applying? I will ask all of that from migri just to be sure.

There is no need to hurry with the citizenship.

Another question from the category of paranoya: A few months befor I left my ex I asked migri what will happen to my RP if I leave him, they said that due to the cirumstanses nothing will change, but I should let them know if and when I do that to update my info or something. This marriage ended with a violent incident and after it I was in a bad imotional state for a while so I forgot all about that I should have tell migri about the changes. Can I get in trouble because of that? Will it effect anything?

I doubt it will affect anything, but you have to ask Migri.

Another thing is that I still have my ex's last name, the only reason is that until now I did not have the about 100€ it cost to change it and to get a new ID card, but now I'm going to do that asap. Should I file for the RP with the name as it is, or is it better to wait until it's without the ex's name?

Which last name are you planning to use after your next marriage?

[betelgeuse]

I moved to Finland at the begining of 2016 and my first RP was B, I have not mentioned it because I read somewhere that this time does not count.

It counts 50% for citizenship.

So if I understand correctly I have to get a new RP no matter what and only then I can start asking for citizenship? Should I already start applying? I will ask all of that from migri just to be sure.

You can submit the applications in any order you choose. If you submit the citizenship application soon, there's a slim probability that they will process it before you need to submit the residence permit application.

And speaking of money, I noticed that the fees for the application(s) can be high, anybody know if it will be possible to split them to payments, or only possibility is to pay all at the same time?

It needs to be paid in full before they start processing. Households on low income and assets can get residence permit fees paid from social assistance.

[ruusu25]

So if I understand correctly I have to get a new RP no matter what

Correct. As betelgeuse mentioned, it doesn't matter which application you submit first; all that matters is that you renew the RP before the old one expires, as it would be very unlikely that they would process the citizenship application in time to make you not need a new RP.

It counts 50% for citizenship.

To expand on this, it means that you can count half the total time you had a B permit and add it to the full time you were on an A permit.

For example, if you had the B permit from August 2016 to August 2017 (1 year) and have had an A permit since then (3 years and 3 months), your residence period would be:

50 % x 1 year + 100% x (3 years and 3 months) = 6 months + 3 years + 3 months = 3 years and 9 months.

It sounds like you are either past or very close to the 4-year requirement in any case; it comes down to when, exactly, you arrived in 2016 and for how long you stayed on the B permit before switching over to A.

If you aren't quite at 4 years yet, as I mentioned, you can probably submit the citizenship application anyway, since the processing time is so long (10–16 months). If you want to be 100% safe, just wait until it's been 4 full years before you start the application. Obviously, that point is moot if the math for your situation puts you past 4 years already.

[Lula]

Thanks again everyone for the answers and the help

According to what people said here I can definantly ask a permenant RP, will check later about the citizenship.
One more thing: Me and my spouse are thinking what to do about the getting married thing, how much faster and easier will it make my residance/citizenship things go? We thought about it and it feels lame to get married for a pice of paper, but how important this pice of paper actually is right now? We would prefer to wait that the corona situation will get at least easier and have at least some kind of a wedding instead of just sign papers, but we will if it is a big game changer. What do you think?
I will writ to migri and ask precise info about everything else I was asking about, but I was thinking that maybe they will not see this kind of question in a good light

[FinlandGirl]

One more thing: Me and my spouse are thinking what to do about the getting married thing, how much faster and easier will it make my residance/citizenship things go? We thought about it and it feels lame to get married for a pice of paper, but how important this pice of paper actually is right now? We would prefer to wait that the corona situation will get at least easier and have at least some kind of a wedding instead of just sign papers, but we will if it is a big game changer. What do you think?

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=101758#p592558

I would recommend asking Migri first whether one can be in a marriage-like cohabitation with one person while still being legally married to another person, or whether cohabitation only starts after the divorce.

This is the only situation where marriage would be a game changer.