Getting Married in Finland

[davin]

Hello there.

Im an English/finnish guy with both Finnish and English passports.
My girlfriend and I are getting married this spring. She is a polish citizen (and her parents will kill me if we are not married before the baby is born!)
We are trying to find out about a civil ceremony. We are based in the UK ath the moment.
Does anyone have experience of this situation? Any info would be great.

Also - I had a very disturbing experience in Helsinki with the department of foreign affairs this summer. I made an appointment to enquire about us settling in Finland. The horrible women who saw me was totally unhelpful, rascist (saying that I could never be Finnish - i am a blue eyed blonde Finn!!) I was shocked and hurt. I wrote a complaint straightaway - I have yet to receive a reply. Anyone else been treated like this?

[ilikepeanutbutter]

Hello there.

Im an English/finnish guy with both Finnish and English passports.
My girlfriend and I are getting married this spring. She is a polish citizen (and her parents will kill me if we are not married before the baby is born!)
We are trying to find out about a civil ceremony. We are based in the UK ath the moment.
Does anyone have experience of this situation? Any info would be great.

Also - I had a very disturbing experience in Helsinki with the department of foreign affairs this summer. I made an appointment to enquire about us settling in Finland. The horrible women who saw me was totally unhelpful, rascist (saying that I could never be Finnish - i am a blue eyed blonde Finn!!) I was shocked and hurt. I wrote a complaint straightaway - I have yet to receive a reply. Anyone else been treated like this?

I was married in a civil ceremony in the Maistratti. It was very beautiful and nice! Super quick, easy, as well as free. I and my husband are 2 different religions and to avoid conflict of parents and what churches, we eloped there They have a judge, flowers, and lit candles. It was very wonderful. I needed a declaration of non marriage thingie from the US Embassy (30 euros) but that's just because I'm American.

Ah, don't you love the greeting you get! Don't take it personally just move on and realize there's alot more nice people you'll meet then the cranks. There are alot of Finns who have dark hair and dark eyes too lol so don't take it personally. She was just a crank. When I went to register at the Maistratti for my residence the lady remarked on how all the Somali's want KELA money.

Your girlfriend should check at the Polish Embassy here in Finland to see about if she needs any special papers to get married in Finland. Are you plannning on settling down here? Or are you just wanting to get hitched?

If you are planning on moving here I'm pretty sure if you have dual citizenship you can just move here, but your girlfriend will need a residence permit. She can apply over here though and wait. Or you can get married here and go back to the UK and then file a residence application for her at the Finnish Embassy. (In case she's due soon.)

Good luck and have a happy marriage!

I hope it works out! Talk to Hank W., he's the king of residence

Kat

[Hank W.]

If you're both resident in the UK - and you an UK citizen' - the most logical place to get married (and fast) is in the UK. Then, as you have the Finnish citizenship as well, you just go to the embassy and register that you are married and show the UK licence or whatever paper you get from there and they'll register your marriage into the Finnish "system". That'll also make it easier for you to then register the baby as well as having a Finnish parent. Poland being an EU country there is much less red tape for moving than before (no visas etc), but Finland still has this restriction of movement of labor that will be an issue if you try moving here before getting married. After being married its just your regular spouse thing from the EU.

Now the thing why I am saying if you want to get married 'express' the problem about getting married in Finland will be the paperwork is slightly challenging because both of you are "foreign". Like unless you've ever actually lived in Finland for example getting the proof you are not previously married is going to be whatever paper the UK will give. The Helsinki magistrate would be the place to ask for the exact details, as they take care of citizens not resident AFAIK. It is better to start looking what all papers you will need - I don't know how complicated the procedure is in Poland, but I suppose your fiance must get the appropriate papers from Poland in any case, getting married, be it in Poland, Finland or UK.

[Hank W.]

but your girlfriend will need a residence permit.

Oh Kat, Poland is on the list of civilized EU-countries these days works different than the non-EU rules, but still has some differences as now theres old-EU and new-EU rules.

[ilikepeanutbutter]

but your girlfriend will need a residence permit.

Oh Kat, Poland is on the list of civilized EU-countries these days works different than the non-EU rules, but still has some differences as now theres old-EU and new-EU rules.

Dangit I should never answer these posts lol I have no clue about this stuff. (I thought I did lol) This is definitly your field! I'm awful with this

Off to laundry I go

Kat

[khu]

Also - I had a very disturbing experience in Helsinki with the department of foreign affairs this summer. I made an appointment to enquire about us settling in Finland. The horrible women who saw me was totally unhelpful, rascist (saying that I could never be Finnish - i am a blue eyed blonde Finn!!) I was shocked and hurt. I wrote a complaint straightaway - I have yet to receive a reply. Anyone else been treated like this?

Unbelievable. I shudder to think how that woman would treat someone who wasn't blonde and blue eyed. How do these people get into UVI? All I got for my residence permit application was a string of broken deadlines and a lot of condescension, most of which was encountered by my girlfriend, a Finn, making enquiries on my behalf.

I would ask (humbly) that you pursue the complaint as high as you need to, and make sure people at the higher levels are aware of the seemingly systemic incompetence that a lot of foreigners have seen while encountering the foreign affairs department. Maybe they'll listen to a Finn.

[Hank W.]

Maybe they'll listen to a Finn.

That is, if they speak Finnish in the formular-triplicate vernacular

[khu]

"I tell you three times..."