late residency permit, will they throw away the key?

[ormeau]

Howdy, i got my residency permit last summer, i'd been living here for 6 years prior to that but was unregistered. I've always had the social security number, a full time job and am an Eu citizen. So after the long wait in Malmi police station, i was told i would get the permit but was in trouble for not registering within the 3 months... I have an appointment later this week to find out the verdict. What should i expect? A fine? Slapped wrists? Hard labour?
Anyone else been down this road? Should i plead ignorance on the fact i believed that i as i am an Eu citizen.....

Thanks for any feedback.

[Rip]

You did not get a residence permit, as those are not relevant for EU citizens, but you registered, and did that late. According to the Aliens Act:
http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset ... 040301.pdf

Chapter 12
Penal provisions
Section 185
Violation of the Aliens Act
(1) An alien who
1) resides in the country without the
required travel document, visa or residence
permit, or through negligence fails to comply
with the obligation to register his or her
residence or apply for a residence card or
permanent residence card,
---
shall be sentenced to a fine for violation of
the Aliens Act. (360/2007)

I don't think the amount is going to be anything earth shaking...

By the way, I'm surprised by the way that you managed to get a personal ID code ('social security number'). Did you pay your taxes here as you should have (tax authorities might be much more ferocious than police if you failed to do your duties towards them)?

[ormeau]

thanks for the reply Rip, yes been paying tax here since Nov 2001, interestingly enough, over the years ive been paying a small percentage to Kela, although i only got their card, after i got the registery thingy almost 7 years later. Wanna get something back from them Not sure how i managed to get the ss number?

[Pursuivant]

The direction of information flow is "up" not "down" (of course you need a bureaucrat to understand the difference), so now you are lieble to get fined for abt. 150 euros... you can try and say that you were registered at the magistrate once and thought the information flow was two ways... you can also point out that "resident of county" and "domiciled in county" are not clear terms unless to bureaucrats.

[Rip]

thanks for the reply Rip, yes been paying tax here since Nov 2001, interestingly enough, over the years ive been paying a small percentage to Kela, although i only got their card, after i got the registery thingy almost 7 years later. Wanna get something back from them Not sure how i managed to get the ss number?

I wonder what would have happened if you had needed medical care in a hospital. Unnecessary bureaucratic hassle at best, and it might have been worse than that. Anyway, I would not worry about that now because I'm quite sure they will not pay you back anything; paying the fees is not optional. Do you know if you have got your pension benefits credited properly? You must have paid the usual amounts (and your employer as well)-

[ormeau]

thanks for the replies, i gave them a quick call to rearrange the appointment time as i work till late afternoons. The police constable said she would give me the least possible fine, as im from the eu around 200 euro can i appeal?

[ormeau]

no sure about the pension credits as i have to check, it was actually the man in Kela who suggested i could try and claim back as i was paying them a tax for no reason.

[Rip]

thanks for the replies, i gave them a quick call to rearrange the appointment time as i work till late afternoons. The police constable said she would give me the least possible fine, as im from the eu around 200 euro can i appeal?

Almost anything can be appealed, but just as my I-am-not-a-lawyer-but opinion, it is probably not worth trying. You did break the law after all and the punishment is not draconian.

Regarding pension benefits - if you have been working for the private sector, you should have actually got a letter some time last year (so perhaps you're not recorded properly there either) Here is an online link: http://www.tyoelake.fi/Default.aspx?Lang=2

I surprised about the Kela thing, but if they (well, one of them..) say so, I guess you could give it a try (the monetary value though I think is considerably less than of the pension benefits). Did you get any details how to proceed? (maybe they even have a standard form to fill for recovering unnecessarily paid charges?)