Current Average Processing Times for Spouse of Finnish Citizen RP. NON-EU

[nawa]

Hi!

Any update for those who have their application processed? Or any experiences with processing times?

I'm just wondering how this reform to the citizenship affects the residence permit application (if in any way). But I did notice that they have updated the processing times in the migri website have now been lowered from 6 months to 4 months (for spouse of finnish citizen) and 3 months (for spouse of a person with a residence permit). I find it out that the easier application (Finnish spouse) takes longer. Don't you?

Hello! I received a positive decision today I am so happy. It took us exactly 1 month and 12 days to get an answer.

Congratulations! I'm really happy for you. Welcome to Finland!

May I ask you if your application was a simple one where you had only your and your spouses passports, the form filled and the marriage contract legalized and translated? For me it's also the divorce certificate of my previous marriage. I just hope that processing these things don't get decided randomly or that my application doesn't get passed on to be processed later just because it has some additional documents.

You don't need to answer in detail of course. I'm just curious and I'm really excited to get my wife here as soon as possible and trying to figure out if we are talking about weeks or months.

If I base it on just the previous 3 examples it would be slightly over 1 month + whatever time it would take to get that residence permit card.

Once again, congrats. Tervetuloa!

[Winchester1405]

Hi!

Any update for those who have their application processed? Or any experiences with processing times?

I'm just wondering how this reform to the citizenship affects the residence permit application (if in any way). But I did notice that they have updated the processing times in the migri website have now been lowered from 6 months to 4 months (for spouse of finnish citizen) and 3 months (for spouse of a person with a residence permit). I find it out that the easier application (Finnish spouse) takes longer. Don't you?

Hello! I received a positive decision today I am so happy. It took us exactly 1 month and 12 days to get an answer.

Congratulations! I'm really happy for you. Welcome to Finland!

May I ask you if your application was a simple one where you had only your and your spouses passports, the form filled and the marriage contract legalized and translated? For me it's also the divorce certificate of my previous marriage. I just hope that processing these things don't get decided randomly or that my application doesn't get passed on to be processed later just because it has some additional documents.

You don't need to answer in detail of course. I'm just curious and I'm really excited to get my wife here as soon as possible and trying to figure out if we are talking about weeks or months.

If I base it on just the previous 3 examples it would be slightly over 1 month + whatever time it would take to get that residence permit card.

Once again, congrats. Tervetuloa!

Thank you so much! And yes, I would say my application was pretty simple. No previous marriages or anything. But from my experience, the fact that your application is a bit more complicated and has more papers doesn't mean it will get stalled or anything. They'll process it the same as any other application. The only case where it would take longer is if you forgot to add something crucial in it, in such case, they would have to ask you for additional information, and therefore, it will take longer overall for the application to get processed. So as long as you have uploaded everything correctly and there are no issues with your paperwork it should be fine, it will not be processed later or stalled because it's not as simple as other applications. Do not worry

[nawa]

Hello! I received a positive decision today I am so happy. It took us exactly 1 month and 12 days to get an answer.

Congratulations! I'm really happy for you. Welcome to Finland!

May I ask you if your application was a simple one where you had only your and your spouses passports, the form filled and the marriage contract legalized and translated? For me it's also the divorce certificate of my previous marriage. I just hope that processing these things don't get decided randomly or that my application doesn't get passed on to be processed later just because it has some additional documents.

You don't need to answer in detail of course. I'm just curious and I'm really excited to get my wife here as soon as possible and trying to figure out if we are talking about weeks or months.

If I base it on just the previous 3 examples it would be slightly over 1 month + whatever time it would take to get that residence permit card.

Once again, congrats. Tervetuloa!

Thank you so much! And yes, I would say my application was pretty simple. No previous marriages or anything. But from my experience, the fact that your application is a bit more complicated and has more papers doesn't mean it will get stalled or anything. They'll process it the same as any other application. The only case where it would take longer is if you forgot to add something crucial in it, in such case, they would have to ask you for additional information, and therefore, it will take longer overall for the application to get processed. So as long as you have uploaded everything correctly and there are no issues with your paperwork it should be fine, it will not be processed later or stalled because it's not as simple as other applications. Do not worry

Thank you! I guess it's just a waiting game for now. By the way, did you register the marriage in Finland before you filled the residence permit application? I'm waiting to get the original marriage certificate to arrive before sending it to DVV.

[Winchester1405]

Congratulations! I'm really happy for you. Welcome to Finland!

May I ask you if your application was a simple one where you had only your and your spouses passports, the form filled and the marriage contract legalized and translated? For me it's also the divorce certificate of my previous marriage. I just hope that processing these things don't get decided randomly or that my application doesn't get passed on to be processed later just because it has some additional documents.

You don't need to answer in detail of course. I'm just curious and I'm really excited to get my wife here as soon as possible and trying to figure out if we are talking about weeks or months.

If I base it on just the previous 3 examples it would be slightly over 1 month + whatever time it would take to get that residence permit card.

Once again, congrats. Tervetuloa!

Thank you so much! And yes, I would say my application was pretty simple. No previous marriages or anything. But from my experience, the fact that your application is a bit more complicated and has more papers doesn't mean it will get stalled or anything. They'll process it the same as any other application. The only case where it would take longer is if you forgot to add something crucial in it, in such case, they would have to ask you for additional information, and therefore, it will take longer overall for the application to get processed. So as long as you have uploaded everything correctly and there are no issues with your paperwork it should be fine, it will not be processed later or stalled because it's not as simple as other applications. Do not worry

Thank you! I guess it's just a waiting game for now. By the way, did you register the marriage in Finland before you filled the residence permit application? I'm waiting to get the original marriage certificate to arrive before sending it to DVV.

I don't understand what you mean exactly by that. But in my case we got married outside of Finland. So yes, we went to the Finnish embassy in my country to register our marriage contract in the Finnish DVV. And then we went straight ahead to submit the RP application. We did not wait till a decision on the contract certification was made. However they sent us a notification of the marriage contract being successfully registered about 5 days before I received my RP decision. So in my experience, the marriage does not have to be registered in the DVV for you to apply for the residence permit. As long as you have the original marriage contract translated and legalized, you should be fine to apply for the RP.

[nawa]

Thank you so much! And yes, I would say my application was pretty simple. No previous marriages or anything. But from my experience, the fact that your application is a bit more complicated and has more papers doesn't mean it will get stalled or anything. They'll process it the same as any other application. The only case where it would take longer is if you forgot to add something crucial in it, in such case, they would have to ask you for additional information, and therefore, it will take longer overall for the application to get processed. So as long as you have uploaded everything correctly and there are no issues with your paperwork it should be fine, it will not be processed later or stalled because it's not as simple as other applications. Do not worry

Thank you! I guess it's just a waiting game for now. By the way, did you register the marriage in Finland before you filled the residence permit application? I'm waiting to get the original marriage certificate to arrive before sending it to DVV.

I don't understand what you mean exactly by that. But in my case we got married outside of Finland. So yes, we went to the Finnish embassy in my country to register our marriage contract in the Finnish DVV. And then we went straight ahead to submit the RP application. We did not wait till a decision on the contract certification was made. However they sent us a notification of the marriage contract being successfully registered about 5 days before I received my RP decision. So in my experience, the marriage does not have to be registered in the DVV for you to apply for the residence permit. As long as you have the original marriage contract translated and legalized, you should be fine to apply for the RP.

That's what I meant. Registering the marriage through DVV in Finland. So her residence permit application started on the 1st of October and I'm sending the application to DVV about registering the marriage in Finland in a couple of days (as I would be getting the original marriage certificate translated/legalized only then). I'm hoping the RP would take 6 weeks max like others here even though we are prepared for at least 4 months as suggested by MIgri. Are you now still waiting for the residence permit card to be delivered/picked up from the embassy?

[Winchester1405]

Thank you! I guess it's just a waiting game for now. By the way, did you register the marriage in Finland before you filled the residence permit application? I'm waiting to get the original marriage certificate to arrive before sending it to DVV.

I don't understand what you mean exactly by that. But in my case we got married outside of Finland. So yes, we went to the Finnish embassy in my country to register our marriage contract in the Finnish DVV. And then we went straight ahead to submit the RP application. We did not wait till a decision on the contract certification was made. However they sent us a notification of the marriage contract being successfully registered about 5 days before I received my RP decision. So in my experience, the marriage does not have to be registered in the DVV for you to apply for the residence permit. As long as you have the original marriage contract translated and legalized, you should be fine to apply for the RP.

That's what I meant. Registering the marriage through DVV in Finland. So her residence permit application started on the 1st of October and I'm sending the application to DVV about registering the marriage in Finland in a couple of days (as I would be getting the original marriage certificate translated/legalized only then). I'm hoping the RP would take 6 weeks max like others here even though we are prepared for at least 4 months as suggested by MIgri. Are you now still waiting for the residence permit card to be delivered/picked up from the embassy?

Yes then you have nothing to worry about. Certifying the marriage in DVV and the residence permit application are two unconnected things. However, what do you mean by (as I would be getting the original marriage certificate translated/legalized only then)? Because to apply for a residence permit OR to apply for certification of the marriage contract in the DVV you would have to legalize and translate the marriage contract first, not after.

[Winchester1405]

Thank you! I guess it's just a waiting game for now. By the way, did you register the marriage in Finland before you filled the residence permit application? I'm waiting to get the original marriage certificate to arrive before sending it to DVV.

I don't understand what you mean exactly by that. But in my case we got married outside of Finland. So yes, we went to the Finnish embassy in my country to register our marriage contract in the Finnish DVV. And then we went straight ahead to submit the RP application. We did not wait till a decision on the contract certification was made. However they sent us a notification of the marriage contract being successfully registered about 5 days before I received my RP decision. So in my experience, the marriage does not have to be registered in the DVV for you to apply for the residence permit. As long as you have the original marriage contract translated and legalized, you should be fine to apply for the RP.

That's what I meant. Registering the marriage through DVV in Finland. So her residence permit application started on the 1st of October and I'm sending the application to DVV about registering the marriage in Finland in a couple of days (as I would be getting the original marriage certificate translated/legalized only then). I'm hoping the RP would take 6 weeks max like others here even though we are prepared for at least 4 months as suggested by MIgri. Are you now still waiting for the residence permit card to be delivered/picked up from the embassy?

And yes! I am still waiting for delivery of the card. Nobody has contacted me yet. Hopefully soon!

[nawa]

I don't understand what you mean exactly by that. But in my case we got married outside of Finland. So yes, we went to the Finnish embassy in my country to register our marriage contract in the Finnish DVV. And then we went straight ahead to submit the RP application. We did not wait till a decision on the contract certification was made. However they sent us a notification of the marriage contract being successfully registered about 5 days before I received my RP decision. So in my experience, the marriage does not have to be registered in the DVV for you to apply for the residence permit. As long as you have the original marriage contract translated and legalized, you should be fine to apply for the RP.

That's what I meant. Registering the marriage through DVV in Finland. So her residence permit application started on the 1st of October and I'm sending the application to DVV about registering the marriage in Finland in a couple of days (as I would be getting the original marriage certificate translated/legalized only then). I'm hoping the RP would take 6 weeks max like others here even though we are prepared for at least 4 months as suggested by MIgri. Are you now still waiting for the residence permit card to be delivered/picked up from the embassy?

Yes then you have nothing to worry about. Certifying the marriage in DVV and the residence permit application are two unconnected things. However, what do you mean by (as I would be getting the original marriage certificate translated/legalized only then)? Because to apply for a residence permit OR to apply for certification of the marriage contract in the DVV you would have to legalize and translate the marriage contract first, not after.

I mean that I wasn't able to get the marriage contract legalized/translated before I had to come back so she did it there and sent me the letter containing the original marriage contract legalized and translated right after visiting the consulate so I will be getting it in couple of days. Then I will be sending it to DVV with the form filled out and asking them to try to process it soon (as according to DVV it might otherwise take 3-4 months). Even if it doesn't affect the residence permit, I would feel better to have it done sooner than later. Also, I'm hoping that you get the card next week. Do you know if it's going to be sent to you or if you need to go and pick it up from the consulate?

[Winchester1405]

That's what I meant. Registering the marriage through DVV in Finland. So her residence permit application started on the 1st of October and I'm sending the application to DVV about registering the marriage in Finland in a couple of days (as I would be getting the original marriage certificate translated/legalized only then). I'm hoping the RP would take 6 weeks max like others here even though we are prepared for at least 4 months as suggested by MIgri. Are you now still waiting for the residence permit card to be delivered/picked up from the embassy?

Yes then you have nothing to worry about. Certifying the marriage in DVV and the residence permit application are two unconnected things. However, what do you mean by (as I would be getting the original marriage certificate translated/legalized only then)? Because to apply for a residence permit OR to apply for certification of the marriage contract in the DVV you would have to legalize and translate the marriage contract first, not after.

I mean that I wasn't able to get the marriage contract legalized/translated before I had to come back so she did it there and sent me the letter containing the original marriage contract legalized and translated right after visiting the consulate so I will be getting it in couple of days. Then I will be sending it to DVV with the form filled out and asking them to try to process it soon (as according to DVV it might otherwise take 3-4 months). Even if it doesn't affect the residence permit, I would feel better to have it done sooner than later. Also, I'm hoping that you get the card next week. Do you know if it's going to be sent to you or if you need to go and pick it up from the consulate?

Ah okay! that makes more sense, you had me worried there. I really hope it will go quicker for you because certifying the contract in the DVV took about 11 weeks for us and IMO that's too long. However, it might take less for you since you're sending it from inside Finland. For me, we went to the embassy and it had to be shipped from a whole other continent so maybe that caused the delay
And no, I actually do not! I think it differs for each country. But I think in my country you have to go pick it up from the embassy yourself. I remember the employee at the embassy during the identification visit told me something of the sort. Anyways! I will let you know when I hear something from them.

[Winchester1405]

That's what I meant. Registering the marriage through DVV in Finland. So her residence permit application started on the 1st of October and I'm sending the application to DVV about registering the marriage in Finland in a couple of days (as I would be getting the original marriage certificate translated/legalized only then). I'm hoping the RP would take 6 weeks max like others here even though we are prepared for at least 4 months as suggested by MIgri. Are you now still waiting for the residence permit card to be delivered/picked up from the embassy?

Yes then you have nothing to worry about. Certifying the marriage in DVV and the residence permit application are two unconnected things. However, what do you mean by (as I would be getting the original marriage certificate translated/legalized only then)? Because to apply for a residence permit OR to apply for certification of the marriage contract in the DVV you would have to legalize and translate the marriage contract first, not after.

I mean that I wasn't able to get the marriage contract legalized/translated before I had to come back so she did it there and sent me the letter containing the original marriage contract legalized and translated right after visiting the consulate so I will be getting it in couple of days. Then I will be sending it to DVV with the form filled out and asking them to try to process it soon (as according to DVV it might otherwise take 3-4 months). Even if it doesn't affect the residence permit, I would feel better to have it done sooner than later. Also, I'm hoping that you get the card next week. Do you know if it's going to be sent to you or if you need to go and pick it up from the consulate?

I received an email informing me that I am able to go pick up my card tomorrow from the embassy so that's approximately 12 days after decision.

[nawa]

Yes then you have nothing to worry about. Certifying the marriage in DVV and the residence permit application are two unconnected things. However, what do you mean by (as I would be getting the original marriage certificate translated/legalized only then)? Because to apply for a residence permit OR to apply for certification of the marriage contract in the DVV you would have to legalize and translate the marriage contract first, not after.

I mean that I wasn't able to get the marriage contract legalized/translated before I had to come back so she did it there and sent me the letter containing the original marriage contract legalized and translated right after visiting the consulate so I will be getting it in couple of days. Then I will be sending it to DVV with the form filled out and asking them to try to process it soon (as according to DVV it might otherwise take 3-4 months). Even if it doesn't affect the residence permit, I would feel better to have it done sooner than later. Also, I'm hoping that you get the card next week. Do you know if it's going to be sent to you or if you need to go and pick it up from the consulate?

I received an email informing me that I am able to go pick up my card tomorrow from the embassy so that's approximately 12 days after decision.

I'm happy to hear that. Congratulations! Are you planning to come to finland right away? If so, you might need to get prepared for much colder weather as winter is right around the corner.

[nawa]

So. It has been exactly 4 weeks since my spouse went to the consulate and started her application and no updates since then. I did get an email from migri at 1am in the morning and got really excited only to find out that it's an automatic message that comes is sent every month but the application itself is still in the "waiting for processing". Anyone else who have received their residence permits in the last months and willing to share how long it took to get it?

[nawa]

Over 7 weeks and no update at all. I was really hoping that she would be able to come here for christmas as I have 2 weeks off from work and can spend that time with her but with every passing day the chances for that happening goes lower. Still not losing hope

[Winchester1405]

Over 7 weeks and no update at all. I was really hoping that she would be able to come here for christmas as I have 2 weeks off from work and can spend that time with her but with every passing day the chances for that happening goes lower. Still not losing hope

Don't lose hope! There's still plenty of time for it to happen you should be receiving an answer soon. And trust me it doesn't take much time for the process to be done once you get to that "Now in process" stage. I really hope you'll spend Christmas with her.

[Winchester1405]

I mean that I wasn't able to get the marriage contract legalized/translated before I had to come back so she did it there and sent me the letter containing the original marriage contract legalized and translated right after visiting the consulate so I will be getting it in couple of days. Then I will be sending it to DVV with the form filled out and asking them to try to process it soon (as according to DVV it might otherwise take 3-4 months). Even if it doesn't affect the residence permit, I would feel better to have it done sooner than later. Also, I'm hoping that you get the card next week. Do you know if it's going to be sent to you or if you need to go and pick it up from the consulate?

I received an email informing me that I am able to go pick up my card tomorrow from the embassy so that's approximately 12 days after decision.

I'm happy to hear that. Congratulations! Are you planning to come to finland right away? If so, you might need to get prepared for much colder weather as winter is right around the corner.

Unfortunately not, I will come in late January (Yes I know. Cold. Don't know what to fully expect yet but I am ready ) and stay for 3 months then I will unfortunately have to leave temporarily for 5 months.