Interruption and New Citizenship Laws from Oct. 01, 2024

[Xzero]

Hi,
I need a bit guidance/oppinion.

As of today concept of interruption exists in the citizenship laws and once when interruption occurs, Time on B residence permit is not counted.

Under the new laws from Oct. 01, 2024, concept of interruption is removed from the approved draft. Interruption happens only if you are out of Finland for 5 years.

My question is: will the time on B residence permit counted under the new laws of previously interrupted time period.

05 years of residence time period is required under new laws. Can it be like 1.5 year on a job specific A and 3.5 on General A? Or will the different type of As ( worked based restricted, entrepreneur's A and Gen A) be all counted? I have lived 1.5 year on Posti A, then 2 year interruption, then 1 year on Posti A, then 1 year on Entrepreneurs A, then 2.5 years Gen A(based on degree completed in Finland).

I was wondering how new laws will calculate residence time period in my case .

[betelgeuse]

My question is: will the time on B residence permit counted under the new laws of previously interrupted time period.

” Jos hakija on ennen jatkuvan oleskeluluvan myöntämistä oleskellut Suomessa tilapäisellä oleskeluluvalla, puolet tilapäisellä oleskeluluvalla oleskellusta ajasta otetaan 14 §:n 1 momentin 2 kohdassa säädetyn estämättä huomioon asumisaikaa laskettaessa. Edellytyksenä on, että hakija on oleskellut Suomessa jatkuvalla oleskeluluvalla vähintään vuoden välittömästi ennen hakemuksen ratkaisemista.”

https://finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/2003/20030359#L3P15

[Xzero]

My question is: will the time on B residence permit counted under the new laws of previously interrupted time period.

” Jos hakija on ennen jatkuvan oleskeluluvan myöntämistä oleskellut Suomessa tilapäisellä oleskeluluvalla, puolet tilapäisellä oleskeluluvalla oleskellusta ajasta otetaan 14 §:n 1 momentin 2 kohdassa säädetyn estämättä huomioon asumisaikaa laskettaessa. Edellytyksenä on, että hakija on oleskellut Suomessa jatkuvalla oleskeluluvalla vähintään vuoden välittömästi ennen hakemuksen ratkaisemista.”

https://finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/2003/20030359#L3P15

Thanks fir the reply. Migri website as of today states that:

"Accumulated period of residence in Finland
If there is an interruption in your continuous period of residence in Finland, an accumulated period of residence will be calculated for you.

Your accumulated period of residence may consist of several periods during which you have lived in Finland.
You must have lived in Finland for at least seven years in total. In some situations, six years of accumulated period of residence is sufficient.
You must have lived in Finland for the past two years without interruption, meaning that you have not moved away from Finland during that time.
Holiday trips abroad are allowed but there is a limit for their durations: In total, you may spend four months outside Finland during the two years preceding the decision on your citizenship application.


Only the time you have lived in Finland after reaching the age of 15 can be counted towards your accumulated period of residence in Finland. The time you have lived in Finland with a temporary residence permit (a B permit) is not counted towards your accumulated period of residence."


The last three lines state that under current laws (before october 1), time with B Permit will not be counted towards accumulated period of residence.

I wonder how will this change under new laws from Oct. 01, 2024?

Anyplace where I can find the amended Alien Act?

[betelgeuse]

Anyplace where I can find the amended Alien Act?

Using the link I already posted and quoted. Aliens Act is irrelevant. Citizenship Act is separate.

[Alpenuser]

Hi, did you manage to figure out how it's counted?

[Xzero]

Hi, did you manage to figure out how it's counted?

Yes, to quite an extend. I have been writing to authorities and they confirmed that:

1. Under new rules, interruption only happens if you stay out of Finland for 5 years continuously.

2. If there is a gap between residence permits, it would not be counted as interruption. It will be counted as absence.

3. If there is gap between residence permits, interruption does not happen thus time spent on B residence permit will be counted.

Lets hope the new rules help the ones with interruption.

[Alpenuser]

Hi, did you manage to figure out how it's counted?

Yes, to quite an extend. I have been writing to authorities and they confirmed that:

1. Under new rules, interruption only happens if you stay out of Finland for 5 years continuously.

2. If there is a gap between residence permits, it would not be counted as interruption. It will be counted as absence.

3. If there is gap between residence permits, interruption does not happen thus time spent on B residence permit will be counted.

Lets hope the new rules help the ones with interruption.

Hi, that you very much for the reply. I have been also thinking about contacting the authorities about my questions but decided to wait until October 1.

Do you happen to know how the residence period is counted in case you have sufficient language level? It's written that you have to live in Finland for 5 years. Does this one also allow absences?

[Xzero]

Hi, did you manage to figure out how it's counted?

Yes, to quite an extend. I have been writing to authorities and they confirmed that:

1. Under new rules, interruption only happens if you stay out of Finland for 5 years continuously.

2. If there is a gap between residence permits, it would not be counted as interruption. It will be counted as absence.

3. If there is gap between residence permits, interruption does not happen thus time spent on B residence permit will be counted.

Lets hope the new rules help the ones with interruption.

Hi, that you very much for the reply. I have been also thinking about contacting the authorities about my questions but decided to wait until October 1.

Do you happen to know how the residence period is counted in case you have sufficient language level? It's written that you have to live in Finland for 5 years. Does this one also allow absences?

What I understood from the replies I got was:

1. If there is gap between residence permits, time will not be accumulated between the residence permits. For example, your RP expired on 20th Sept. but you applied for renewal on 20th Nov., it will be counted as 2 months absence instead of interruption.

2. With language skills, you have to live for 5 years. Now the tricky part is that since there is no interruption according to new definition of interruption so your time with absences is still counted as continuous.

3. According to my understanding, lets assume that you have lived here since 2018 with RP, then there was an absence of 3 years and then again with RP from 2021- 2014, then you qualify as 5 years are completed.

4. One of my friend had interruption of just 1 day as he went to migri after 1 day of expiry of his RP for renewal. According to new rules, his stay is continuous.

5. All the side effects of interruption (as per my understanding) are gone as the concept of interruption is redefined.

6. In the new amendment, continuous and accumulated division of time has been removed.

Please let me know if I understood a bit wrong.

[Alpenuser]

Yes, to quite an extend. I have been writing to authorities and they confirmed that:

1. Under new rules, interruption only happens if you stay out of Finland for 5 years continuously.

2. If there is a gap between residence permits, it would not be counted as interruption. It will be counted as absence.

3. If there is gap between residence permits, interruption does not happen thus time spent on B residence permit will be counted.

Lets hope the new rules help the ones with interruption.

Hi, that you very much for the reply. I have been also thinking about contacting the authorities about my questions but decided to wait until October 1.

Do you happen to know how the residence period is counted in case you have sufficient language level? It's written that you have to live in Finland for 5 years. Does this one also allow absences?

What I understood from the replies I got was:

1. If there is gap between residence permits, time will not be accumulated between the residence permits. For example, your RP expired on 20th Sept. but you applied for renewal on 20th Nov., it will be counted as 2 months absence instead of interruption.

2. With language skills, you have to live for 5 years. Now the tricky part is that since there is no interruption according to new definition of interruption so your time with absences is still counted as continuous.

3. According to my understanding, lets assume that you have lived here since 2018 with RP, then there was an absence of 3 years and then again with RP from 2021- 2014, then you qualify as 5 years are completed.

4. One of my friend had interruption of just 1 day as he went to migri after 1 day of expiry of his RP for renewal. According to new rules, his stay is continuous.

5. All the side effects of interruption (as per my understanding) are gone as the concept of interruption is redefined.

6. In the new amendment, continuous and accumulated division of time has been removed.

Please let me know if I understood a bit wrong.

Hi, thank you for the clarification.

I also understand the new changes the way you do, or maybe it is just because I want it to be that way

I looked at the new law link provided above and there it is written that if you have sufficient language skills then "2) his actual apartment and home is and has been in Finland for the last five years." The link is in Finnish and I read it with Google Translate so the translation might not be fully correct.

Me not being a lawyer, I understand the point that I cited above as "you have to live for the last 5 years in Finland without interruption." But then again it is not fully clear because they do not specifically mention interruptions in the new law, unlike in the old version.

[Xzero]

Hi, that you very much for the reply. I have been also thinking about contacting the authorities about my questions but decided to wait until October 1.

Do you happen to know how the residence period is counted in case you have sufficient language level? It's written that you have to live in Finland for 5 years. Does this one also allow absences?

What I understood from the replies I got was:

1. If there is gap between residence permits, time will not be accumulated between the residence permits. For example, your RP expired on 20th Sept. but you applied for renewal on 20th Nov., it will be counted as 2 months absence instead of interruption.

2. With language skills, you have to live for 5 years. Now the tricky part is that since there is no interruption according to new definition of interruption so your time with absences is still counted as continuous.

3. According to my understanding, lets assume that you have lived here since 2018 with RP, then there was an absence of 3 years and then again with RP from 2021- 2014, then you qualify as 5 years are completed.

4. One of my friend had interruption of just 1 day as he went to migri after 1 day of expiry of his RP for renewal. According to new rules, his stay is continuous.

5. All the side effects of interruption (as per my understanding) are gone as the concept of interruption is redefined.

6. In the new amendment, continuous and accumulated division of time has been removed.

Please let me know if I understood a bit wrong.

Hi, thank you for the clarification.

I also understand the new changes the way you do, or maybe it is just because I want it to be that way

I looked at the new law link provided above and there it is written that if you have sufficient language skills then "2) his actual apartment and home is and has been in Finland for the last five years." The link is in Finnish and I read it with Google Translate so the translation might not be fully correct.

Me not being a lawyer, I understand the point that I cited above as "you have to live for the last 5 years in Finland without interruption." But then again it is not fully clear because they do not specifically mention interruptions in the new law, unlike in the old version.

Hahahha...you are absolutely right. May be we are wishing that its helps. According to Migri official email, it helps . Lets hope when they edit their website on 30th September, it helps too.

If you read the proposal submitted to the parliament and the subsequent amendments:

Section 16 states that:

A continuous stay outside of Finland for more than five years interrupts the calculation of the residence time. In that case, the calculation of the residence time starts again in accordance with section 14, subsection 1.

Since the definition of interruption is that you are continuously away from Finland thus apparently it helps.

Migri can however interpret in their own sense the phrase, "last 5 years".

Lets assume a hypothetical case:

A person came here in 2015 on RP. He got a "gap between residence permits" in 2022 for 1 year. He applies for citizenship in 2024. The question is: " will migri see/account his stay from 2015 or will check from 2019-2024 (last 5 years)?

If from 2015, it favors the applicant. If from 2019 onwards, then it is problematic.

I wish if some person of knowledge may guide. The last 5 year phrase is really interpretable in any way.