late brexit permit application - AFTER 30 September

[mojo88]

I made a late brexit application - 6 days late !

Reasonable grounds was that I did not receive any notifications by email- letter -or phone.

Quote from TE office website..

From 1 January 2021, the TE Office will check whether a British citizen is covered in the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement or whether they have any other legal grounds to stay in Finland in order to determine if the requirements to register as a jobseeker are met.

- and they did not say anything at all.
- only when I went for an interview on 06.Oct.2021 for an unrelated matter
my TE officer found out that I have no residency status!

Anybody been in a situation like this

[FinlandGirl]

I made a late brexit application - 6 days late !

Reasonable grounds was that I did not receive any notifications by email- letter -or phone.

Quote from TE office website..

From 1 January 2021, the TE Office will check whether a British citizen is covered in the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement or whether they have any other legal grounds to stay in Finland in order to determine if the requirements to register as a jobseeker are met.

- and they did not say anything at all.
- only when I went for an interview on 06.Oct.2021 for an unrelated matter
my TE officer found out that I have no residency status!

Until a week ago there was nothing wrong with your status from the TE point of view when the population register shows that you moved to Finland before 2021.

Many unemployed customers of TE are on a residence permit, it is not the job of TE to help people with residence permit matters.

[tavastia]

Great reason...you were not informed personally... If you applied over the due date you probably go as 3rd country application, including TE decision. So good luck and I hope you get your country back

[ricey84]

I am in the same situation.
I did not know i had to do this.
I have lived here over a decade and was told if you have been here over 5 years that it was fine and i didnt need to do anything.

Did you speak to anybody at immigration about it and what does 'reasonable grounds' cover?

[FinlandGirl]

I have lived here over a decade and was told if you have been here over 5 years that it was fine and i didnt need to do anything.

Who told you?
Verbal or in any provable way?

If you are able to show that you did not register in time due to Migri or any other part of the government giving you incorrect information, this might help convincing that it was not your fault.

[ricey84]

Yes i went to a service centre today and showed them the part of the migri website that was not incorrect but it was misleading for me.

An EU citizen who has resided legally in Finland for a continuous period of five years is entitled to right of permanent residence. Applying for a such a certificate is voluntary for EU citizens; they automatically have right of permanent residence even if they do not apply for the certificate if they fulfil the requirements for continuous and legal residence.

So basically i thought i was automaticaly granted permanent residency years ago and that it was 'permanent' as in forever however now i am no longer an EU citizen it is not permanent anymore and i should of applied throught the brexit application.
The woman there agreed it could be confusing for some people and said it is most likely an acceptable reason for the application being late though she cant gaurantee it.
She also said i can continue to work whilst the application is being processed and that i shouldnt worry about it now i have made the application. So hopefuly she is right

[mojo88]

I applied late with the reason that nobody told me anything like the government usually does - she said to my face its not a valid reason and that its up to the individual to pursue and follow foreign affairs personally and not upto the Finnish authorities.

I am now not able to work and supposed to wait 8-13 months for a decision
which is likely negative.

I am planning my exit from Finland.

[ricey84]

Ah sorry to hear that. Maybe you should of lied about the reason it was late.
But the woman told me that even though it was late that it i can still work. She printed the part of the migri website that stated so.

The Application Finder at Migri.fi helps you find the right application. Even though you submit your application for a Brexit permit late, your right to work or study will continue while your application is being processed.

you can find it on this page https://migri.fi/en/brexit/en

Do you not have another reason to stay in Finland eg family members? I am married to a finn, so she said if the decision is negative ,i can just then apply for residency like any other none EU citizen would.

[tavastia]

Is it nice to be 3rd country citizen right now? Brexit was served!

[FinlandGirl]

Ah sorry to hear that. Maybe you should of lied about the reason it was late.

Any good excuses for being late have a good proof (like the mentioned doctor’s certificate).

But the woman told me that even though it was late that it i can still work. She printed the part of the migri website that stated so.

The Application Finder at Migri.fi helps you find the right application. Even though you submit your application for a Brexit permit late, your right to work or study will continue while your application is being processed.

you can find it on this page https://migri.fi/en/brexit/en

That's surprising since it contradicts what Migri writes several times elsewhere, and it was not there at the beginning of the month:
https://web.archive.org/web/20211001084 ... /brexit/en

One complication you should keep in mind are the usual travel rules when an application is still being processed after the previous permit expired. While you are allowed to stay in Finland while your application is being processed, your 90 days visa free in Schengen are now running and after that it might not be legal for you to be in any other Schengen country (like Estonia or Sweden) or enter the Schengen area at non-Finnish borders.

The woman there agreed it could be confusing for some people and said it is most likely an acceptable reason for the application being late though she cant gaurantee it.

Most likely the general decision what to do with slightly late applications without good reason like yours has not yet been made, chances are Migri will first process all applications that were made in time and then make a general decision how to handle such cases.

The decision might also depend on how your government treats Finns who are applying slightly late in the UK.

[mojo88]

The Swedish government has decided to extend the application to 31 December 2021. As informed in our previous TaxNews, a consequence of Brexit is that British citizens and their family members who lived in Sweden before 1 January 2021 need to submit an application for residence status.15 Sep 2021

The application period in Denmark is from 1 January 2021 until 31 December 2021. During this period all resident UK citizens and their family members must submit applications for a new residence status in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement.

All UK citizens who were legal residents of Norway before 31st December 2020 will need to apply for residence under the Separation Agreement before the end of this year. “There will, however, be UK nationals in Norway that have another type of residence permit other than according to the Separation Agreement.4 Oct 2021

[So maybe Finland will adopt the same extension - and all of the late applications will be forgiven].

[ricey84]

Is it nice to be 3rd country citizen right now? Brexit was served!

why would it be nice?

[FinlandGirl]

[So maybe Finland will adopt the same extension - and all of the late applications will be forgiven].

A formal extension after the end of the application period was already reached is unlikely.

Approving all late applications that were received in Q4 without a good reason is at least plausible, this is a decision they have to make by Easter 2022.

[riku2]

I have lived here over a decade and was told if you have been here over 5 years that it was fine and i didnt need to do anything.

The last time I went through immigration at HEL (arriving from MAN) they asked for my residence card (I have a british passport and have lived in Finland for 20 years and applied for the card last year). I had no trouble entering Finland again but the passenger at the next desk was also british and lived in Finland but didn't have the card with him, he got some severe questioning from the border official. I don't know the result but it's a lesson to carry the card when you travel because then you can identify yourself as a resident and not visitor.

[ricey84]

Just giving an update on my late brexit application. They approved the applictaion today and i should get my residency card in the next 2 weeks or so. Phew.