First Residence Permit Validity for Spouse of Finnish Citizen

[Dudu-penyu]

Hi everyone,
For those who have applied as the spouse of a Finnish citizen and have already received a decision, how long was the validity of your first residence permit?

I’m also curious about your experience—how long did you have to wait for the decision as non-EU applicant?

Thanks in advance for sharing your insights!

[Auringon_kukka]

Hi everyone,
For those who have applied as the spouse of a Finnish citizen and have already received a decision, how long was the validity of your first residence permit?

I’m also curious about your experience—how long did you have to wait for the decision as non-EU applicant?

Thanks in advance for sharing your insights!

Hi there...

My info is from 2018, so the timelines may be different now. I came to Finland (non-EU) as the spouse of a Finnish citizen. The process took around six months, starting from my visit to the Finnish embassy to prove my identity. The application went into processing after about five months, at which point my spouse and I received a list of questions from migri about our relationship. The permit was granted a couple of weeks after that. My first residence permit was valid for one year. When I applied to renew my permit in Finland the following year, the decision came in about one hour (!), and the new permit was valid for four years.

Hope that helps!

[FinlandGirl]

For those who have applied as the spouse of a Finnish citizen and have already received a decision, how long was the validity of your first residence permit?

The first residence permit is granted for one year.

[Dudu-penyu]

Thank you for the responses! So one year permit is what we can expect for first residence permit.