Applying for Citizenship 2024

[mamutti]

Hi

Today I have been in the process for 17 months, so I have asked Migri about the processing time of my application, so they told me it is 21 months. During Summer 2023 they told me that it is 18 months. So they just told that they have high number of applications. Despite they knew that there is a large number of applications backlogged in 2021 https://migri.fi/-/kansalaisuushakemust ... -ruuhkaa-1 , the number of decisions has not gone to the level of applications: it has only gone worse, so the backlog has been increasing all the time. So probably those 21 month is not a limit: we can expect that to grow, if Migri cannot make more decisions… Kinda sad tbh, because the feeling is that nobody wants you here

[ihalainen]

"Dobby is free!" Today I finally received my positive decision after almost 21 months of waiting. There were three emails to migri during this time without any specific answer. After lunch I received an email about moving to the 2nd stage and just after half an hour I saw the decision on Enterfinland. The last queue number this morning was 146*. I have no emotions now, it was one of the most hard and unfair processes in my life. I sincerely hope that you all will get your positive decisions faster than me!

[millenialpain]

I have plotted the current active applications and would like to ask you how you cut off the other two queues?

I used a simple ML algorithm for that.
You can check queue_number/sequence_number ratio. That will help you divide applications in three groups.
Let's move that discussion to a DM or some messenger to avoid littering the thread.

Also, in Migri stats it says that in 2023 there were ~17500 applicants for citizenship application (not declaration or determination). I get positions for all 17k applications and I got 3 queues on the picture, so I guess they should all be citizenship applications, but who gets into these other two queues?

I don't know who gets in these two other queues, but all people who write here are from that middle queue.
So it looks like the middle queue is at least for "general" purpose applications (on the basis of work/family/etc).

Also, you can see that those two other queues are almost not growing in queue numbers with new applications. Maybe those are queues where migri puts all hopeless applications/refugees and they are almost not moving and are going to wait forever?

This graphs are excellent. RU.IT already posted this graph for me and I appreciate it.

Could you please give us an update about these different queues and what does it mean for applicant in each queue? and overall an explanation about the graphs?

I am quite worried about my situation and that I am in a slower queue even though my application is supposedly "straight forward". (married to a Finn, studied bachelor in Finland, have been working last 3 years, passed the YKI etc.)

But here is my situation:

Applied: 28.12.2023 - Diary no: 1692x

queue on 02.01.2024: 867x

queue on 31.01.2024: 850x

It moved only 170 places in the queue in one month. So, it is quite slow and with this pace I will get decision after 2 (assuming I get an answer around queue 4000).

Can I assume then the queue will move in the same pace and I am probably in the slow line?

Thank you both!

[quillcentaur]

As I know, 2 yeras is only for special cases: like you came here on tourist visa or you are refugee

Made me nervous when you mentioned tourist visa. But I asked around from people who already got citizenship. Many of them arrived on tourist visa (and applied for Residence Permit while inside Finland) but still received citizenship decision within 6 months.

I know that in the Processing Time Checker page ( https://migri.fi/en/processing-times ), it asks "Did you arrive in Finland without getting a residence permit in advance?" and if you say yes, it's giving you the longer estimate (28-29months). HOWEVER when you ask Kamu Chatbot about processing times, the question it asks is "When you arrived in Finland, did you have a residence permit and/or a national passport?" (notice the and/or). And when I write yes there, it gives me 6-21 months duration.

So it's really more about the refugees than the people who came on tourist visa.

[TUserFin]

As I know, 2 yeras is only for special cases: like you came here on tourist visa or you are refugee

Made me nervous when you mentioned tourist visa. But I asked around from people who already got citizenship. Many of them arrived on tourist visa (and applied for Residence Permit while inside Finland) but still received citizenship decision within 6 months.

I know that in the Processing Time Checker page ( https://migri.fi/en/processing-times ), it asks "Did you arrive in Finland without getting a residence permit in advance?" and if you say yes, it's giving you the longer estimate (28-29months). HOWEVER when you ask Kamu Chatbot about processing times, the question it asks is "When you arrived in Finland, did you have a residence permit and/or a national passport?" (notice the and/or). And when I write yes there, it gives me 6-21 months duration.

So it's really more about the refugees than the people who came on tourist visa.

You need to ask migri an estmate for your case, otherwise it is just a guess

[quillcentaur]

As I know, 2 yeras is only for special cases: like you came here on tourist visa or you are refugee

Made me nervous when you mentioned tourist visa. But I asked around from people who already got citizenship. Many of them arrived on tourist visa (and applied for Residence Permit while inside Finland) but still received citizenship decision within 6 months.

I know that in the Processing Time Checker page ( https://migri.fi/en/processing-times ), it asks "Did you arrive in Finland without getting a residence permit in advance?" and if you say yes, it's giving you the longer estimate (28-29months). HOWEVER when you ask Kamu Chatbot about processing times, the question it asks is "When you arrived in Finland, did you have a residence permit and/or a national passport?" (notice the and/or). And when I write yes there, it gives me 6-21 months duration.

So it's really more about the refugees than the people who came on tourist visa.

You need to ask migri an estmate for your case, otherwise it is just a guess

Nah, I wouldn't bother migri. It's not a guess, it's based on real people's experiences and based on Migri Kamu chat's answer. I would just wait and panic after 21 months.

[mamutti]

"Dobby is free!" Today I finally received my positive decision after almost 21 months of waiting. There were three emails to migri during this time without any specific answer. After lunch I received an email about moving to the 2nd stage and just after half an hour I saw the decision on Enterfinland. The last queue number this morning was 146*. I have no emotions now, it was one of the most hard and unfair processes in my life. I sincerely hope that you all will get your positive decisions faster than me!

When did you apply?

[Auringon_kukka]

"Dobby is free!" Today I finally received my positive decision after almost 21 months of waiting. There were three emails to migri during this time without any specific answer. After lunch I received an email about moving to the 2nd stage and just after half an hour I saw the decision on Enterfinland. The last queue number this morning was 146*. I have no emotions now, it was one of the most hard and unfair processes in my life. I sincerely hope that you all will get your positive decisions faster than me!

Congratulations!!! The emotional rollercoaster is over.

It also gives hope to those of us in the same boat!

[salmonsoupforthesoul]

This graphs are excellent. RU.IT already posted this graph for me and I appreciate it.

Could you please give us an update about these different queues and what does it mean for applicant in each queue? and overall an explanation about the graphs?

I am quite worried about my situation and that I am in a slower queue even though my application is supposedly "straight forward". (married to a Finn, studied bachelor in Finland, have been working last 3 years, passed the YKI etc.)

But here is my situation:

Applied: 28.12.2023 - Diary no: 1692x

queue on 02.01.2024: 867x

queue on 31.01.2024: 850x

It moved only 170 places in the queue in one month. So, it is quite slow and with this pace I will get decision after 2 (assuming I get an answer around queue 4000).

Can I assume then the queue will move in the same pace and I am probably in the slow line?

Thank you both!

Take this with a grain of salt since I am still waiting after 5 months, but I have been quite obsessively following my position in the queue. The first month my application moved about 150 places and the following four months it has moved 500+ on average. So it seems there is maybe some initial readjustment and then things have sped up a lot.

[Aasinkinttu]

I applied on the 4th of December and visited Oulu service point on the 5th of December. When I checked Kamu two or three Days later I was 8500 on the queue but as at today I am 7918 on the queue. We hope for the best and hope that within six months we will get a decision.

Noniin!
We are quite close in the que and approx. same application/service point visit date. I did things in Tampere so I guess service point really doesn't matter.

Did you get to stage 2 yet?

Hi, I applied end of December, 2023 and got queue number 86xx in 2.1.2024 and at the moment it is 85xx and it only moved only 150 places, but for you it moved 600 places in two months even though there was Xmas break.

I’m curious and frankly worried a bit, how your queue number progressed so much faster while mine is so slow. Could it be because I’m in a slower queue? Because it goes so slow and it seems with this pace I’ll be around 4000 queue after more than 2 years . Many people here on the other hand got to queue 4-5k after approx 6 months.

I would appreciate anyone helping me to make sense of this because it’s quite important for my case to get a decision by the end of summer.

For what it's worth, I applied during the first week of December and visited the service point early in the second week of December.
From what I understand, the que/processing doesn't start until the service point visit.

[just_passing_by]

.

[TUserFin]

Hi, I applied end of December, 2023 and got queue number 86xx in 2.1.2024 and at the moment it is 85xx and it only moved only 150 places, but for you it moved 600 places in two months even though there was Xmas break.

I’m curious and frankly worried a bit, how your queue number progressed so much faster while mine is so slow. Could it be because I’m in a slower queue? Because it goes so slow and it seems with this pace I’ll be around 4000 queue after more than 2 years . Many people here on the other hand got to queue 4-5k after approx 6 months.

I would appreciate anyone helping me to make sense of this because it’s quite important for my case to get a decision by the end of summer.

It's something like 30-40% chance that you will get it by the end of summer, but with the current citizenship application chaos, might be even much lower. Expect 21 months, and have a plan just in case (renew PR etc).

[oct.2023.RU.IT]

Thanks for the great graph! I wonder what does the y-axis represent? I guess the x-axis is the queue number?

You right about X.
Y is absolute position of application among active applications from 2021.
1/310/2021 - 1 place on Y
1/310/2022 - 2*** place on Y
1/310/2023 - 10*** place on Y
Something like that.

[Maaria]

It's something like 30-40% chance that you will get it by the end of summer, but with the current citizenship application chaos, might be even much lower. Expect 21 months, and have a plan just in case (renew PR etc).

May I ask what is the current citizenship application chaos is about?

[quillcentaur]

For what it's worth, I applied during the first week of December and visited the service point early in the second week of December.
From what I understand, the que/processing doesn't start until the service point visit.

I met some people who only visited on the same day as the day I applied(I didn't need to visit). But their queue number are so much lower and the diary number ends in 2023. Mine is 2024. So feels like the queue number follows the day you applied, not visited.