I am interested in applying for a residence permit for an entrepreneur - see https://migri.fi/en/entrepreneur
I am a non-EU citizen and non-EU resident. (Also not UK or EFTA if that is relevant.)
From that link -
This is basically what I have in mind. I have a solo business that works for international organisations in multiple countries doing software development. These are "clients", not employers. (So I send them invoices and they pay me and I handle all pension, tax, social security etc payments. No sick leave, no holiday pay etc.) My idea is to relocate this business to Finland, where I would continue to work with existing clients, and hopefully also find clients in Finland and/or the rest of the EU. I am not selling products - it's purely service-provision/consulting.Freelance work means that you work independently, and usually for several contractors, without having a permanent employment relationship. You are considered a ‘light entrepreneur’, if you employ yourself and perform entrepreneurial activities. You provide services...
I have lived in Europe or its overseas territories for about 13 years, but have no citizenship or long-term residence advantages. I have 20+ years' experience in IT, plus 5 years with my solo business. Each of these 5 years, gross income has been over EUR120K. I have two contracts in place till the end of 2022. I have relevant university qualifications. I took a look at the application form for the RP and it seems OK in terms of my background.
Mother tongue is English. I speak Swedish and German to B2 level, no Finnish.
So the application costs EUR490 and takes 4-6 months to process, according to that link above. But the next link says the processing time for "RP on other grounds" is 14-16 months. https://migri.fi/en/-/updates-in-estima ... -23-3-2022
So, given the cost and the potential processing times, I was hoping to hear if anyone had some feedback on my chances of being approved and if the processing times they state are accurate. Anything from "don't bother" to "yeah, I have a friend who did this and it worked". Thanks in advance for anyone who has tips on this.
I see here only about 30% of applications are approved. https://tilastot.migri.fi/index.html#de ... /2/10?l=en - but it's hard to guess at the quality level of the rejected applications...