How long did you wait for first Residence Permit?

[rob2014]

Abroad
Family ties (spouse of a Finnish citizen)
Applied in JUNE 2014 still waiting

[cheibbbfinlandforum]

Abroad
Family ties (spouse of a Finnish citizen)
Applied in JUNE 2014 still waiting

Welcome to the queue , did they tell you an approximate time of processing? I haven't seen any one who posted a decisions being made this month of September or even last month, I am not sure!!

[rob2014]

HI

they have told me it will take approximatly 4 months . is there anyone who recieved a decisions in this last months?

just an update:
Abroad
Family ties (spouse of a Finnish citizen)
Applied in JUNE 2014 still waiting

any other updates?

[cheibbbfinlandforum]

Just an update for others who are waiting:

We applied in First week of April 2014
Got the letter second week of October 2014 but decision was made in 26.09.2014
Application was submitted to police in Finland, spouse of Finnish citizen (It took nearly 6 months processing), and processed by Migri.

Good luck for others who are waiting patiently

[skylove]

1. still waiting
2. I applied abroad, morocco
3. Family ties (spouse from estonia and work and live in Finnish)

[onephinepeace]

I applied in mid September and the A permit was issued on the 22nd of October. Shortly after I picked it up from Pasila. The whole process this time took about 6 weeks. Honestly, I felt it to be blindingly fast. It was a straight forward application based on my marriage to a Finnish citizen. The wedding was through the Lutheran Church here, in Finland. We went to apply at the police station in another municipality (my wife's hometown) where we were married and not where we live in Helsinki. She needed to renew her passport and change the name on it so we asked if they could forward my residence permit application to Pasila as well. She said it was not a problem and off it went.

Now it was not always that easy. I have been with my wife for three years before we were married this past Fall. For those three years I traveled back and forth from my home country to Finland. Basically, three months here and three months out for that time. I even lived in Turkey for some time and found work as to not violate my visa free entry period (I reasoned Turkey was cheaper and closer than flying home. It is also in the same time zone. I felt that closed the long distance gap a little). My wife and I also put together an, ultimately, unsuccessful residence permit application previously as well. It was based on our relationship but I was also aware that it did not quite meet the criteria for a positive decision. The time it took on that applied for in Helsinki was about 6-7 months from application to me boarding a flight departing from Finland.

It wasn't always rainbows and unicorns like first paragraph suggests so I am thankful for the quick decision. Having experienced both a positive and a negative decision my advice is pretty simple and has been repeated a thousand times on this board. That is, to provide what they ask for. No documentation? Great! No permit. There is no bending of the rules. You are not a special snowflake. You will not be an exceptional case. Provide your papers and do it with politeness. Being contentious on the phone or towards the window agents will, at best, not make them work faster and at worst slow the process down. If you are unable to handle the bureaucracy in the local police station or immigration office then Finland might not be the place for you. The real fun starts after you get the permit.

After lurking these boards for many, many, many years and plucking information from it I thought it was time to share a little of my story and post something that may be useful to someone. Full disclosure: I am an American. That may have expedited the processing time of my recent residence permit decision. If there is a long line I believe "rubber stamping" certain cases is inevitable.

[Kemal]

I have applied it ,due to Family ties; spouse of a finnish citizen
Applied in police office in Finland.
Applied in 9 th of October
still waiting ...

[Hicham.sanna]

I have applied it ,due to Family ties; spouse of a finnish citizen
Applied in police office in Finland (Turku).
Applied in 26.11.2014 - they called me in 22.01.2015. That's my permit ready. Now in my hands

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE

[PvZ2]

This is for the renewal of A permit. Applied September 22, still waiting...

[rob2014]

HI



just an update:
Abroad
Family ties (spouse of a Finnish citizen)
Applied in JUNE 2014 still waiting

any other updates?

[cmart1045]

Los Angeles, California - USA
Family Ties (Spouse of a Finnish Citizen)
Applied February 11th - Took 2.5 weeks to be sent to Finland, one week to be processed and approved and I'm currently waiting for it in the mail

Good luck everyone!

[kitikeyt]

Yeah, just curious, since it seems to vary a lot.

1. How long did you wait for your first residence permit to be granted?
2. Did you apply in Finland or abroad? (Which country?)
3. On which grounds (family, work, study...) did you apply?

Cheers!

1. Applied for residence permit last Dec 29, 2014. I was missing one document (hubby's payslip) which I submitted Jan 6. Got my residence permit on Feb 5 good until 2020.
2. Finland
3. Family

[betelgeuse]

Yeah, just curious, since it seems to vary a lot.

1. How long did you wait for your first residence permit to be granted?
2. Did you apply in Finland or abroad? (Which country?)
3. On which grounds (family, work, study...) did you apply?

Cheers!

1. Applied for residence permit last Dec 29, 2014. I was missing one document (hubby's payslip) which I submitted Jan 6. Got my residence permit on Feb 5 good until 2020.
2. Finland
3. Family

A first residence permit should be valid for a year. I am not aware of any category that would be valid for 5 years. What am I missing?

[kitikeyt]

Yeah, just curious, since it seems to vary a lot.

1. How long did you wait for your first residence permit to be granted?
2. Did you apply in Finland or abroad? (Which country?)
3. On which grounds (family, work, study...) did you apply?

Cheers!

1. Applied for residence permit last Dec 29, 2014. I was missing one document (hubby's payslip) which I submitted Jan 6. Got my residence permit on Feb 5 good until 2020.
2. Finland
3. Family

A first residence permit should be valid for a year. I am not aware of any category that would be valid for 5 years. What am I missing?

I am not sure. I was surprised myself that they gave me 5 years. Anyone else had this? I am not from an Eu country but my husband is.

[Upphew]

1. Applied for residence permit last Dec 29, 2014. I was missing one document (hubby's payslip) which I submitted Jan 6. Got my residence permit on Feb 5 good until 2020.
2. Finland
3. Family

A first residence permit should be valid for a year. I am not aware of any category that would be valid for 5 years. What am I missing?

Not a first permit? P permit, but the card is only valid for 5 years.