How much time does it (normally) takes to get visa and..

salmanmanekia · Post by **salmanmanekia** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 5:03 pm

Hi,
Today, I called espoo police station to make an appointment for applying for my visa. They have given me 25 of november for coming to the police station.
Now, my question is
1 : If i go directly to police station espoo/kirkonummi, will they accept my application or is it necessary to get an appointment first.
2 : my current visa expires on 22nd of november and the appointment time i have been given for making my next RP application is 3 days after that (i.e 25 of november). So, is it ok ?, it not then what could be done ?
3 : I am traveling to my home country on dec 15 and would want to have visa before that. So, how much time does it usually takes for getting an answer (visa).
BTW, I would be applying for employment visa and this time i should get 4 years one because i have been employed in the same company for last one year and its permanent job

Thanks

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Flossy1978 · Post by **Flossy1978** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 11:01 am

You aren't applying for a visa at all....

A visa is a three month permit to come here on holiday. No working, no benefits, nothing. Just a holiday maker or whatever. Different if you are EU of course.

You need to call them and tell them your current permit is going to run out before the appointment. So YOU MAKE A NEW APPOINTMENT before the time runs out. That's kind of dumb asking that. It's not alright..... You will be living here illegally without any type of permit at all for three days.... Kind of a big 'no no'.

It's not up to you if you will have the new permit before 15.12. You wait like everyone else. I believe you can use your passport if needed. But it's not guaranteed you'll get back into the country without a permit, I suppose. Take your chances.

And stop calling it a VISA. It's obviously a working permit you have. Two different things.

cors187 · Post by **cors187** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 11:23 am

salmanmanekia wrote:Hi,
Today, I called espoo police station to make an appointment for applying for my visa. They have given me 25 of november for coming to the police station.
Now, my question is
1 : If i go directly to police station espoo/kirkonummi, will they accept my application or is it necessary to get an appointment first.
2 : my current visa expires on 22nd of november and the appointment time i have been given for making my next RP application is 3 days after that (i.e 25 of november). So, is it ok ?, it not then what could be done ?
3 : I am traveling to my home country on dec 15 and would want to have visa before that. So, how much time does it usually takes for getting an answer (visa).
BTW, I would be applying for employment visa and this time i should get 4 years one because i have been employed in the same company for last one year and its permanent job

Thanks

Different news coming your way-
It will take more than 1 month to process as the application still goes to mol.fi for verification and then back into the immigration police system.
The 1st A permit for employed immigrants is for 1 year.
Dont forget to ask the immigration police if you can travel outside schengen with your application receipt,mine had not valid for travel printed on the lower part.
To be honest they change the rules often, what was correct info 6 months ago may not apply now.

rinso · Post by **rinso** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 12:17 pm

On November 22nd you'll become an illegal alien. Which means no more working, no Kela and so on.
On November 25th they tell you you have to leave the country.
If they are willing to process your application it can be seen as a new application (one year only) and processing can take a long time.
So better make sure you hand in your renewal application before the present one expires.

And for traveling to your home country; make sure you have a valid residence permit to return.
Airlines are rather critical when you show up for a flight without the proper paperwork. If you haven't got the new RP they'll probably deny you the flight.

ritan7471 · Post by **ritan7471** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 3:23 pm

I never had any trouble from the airline, in fact the only time I had to show the RP was when I left the US to move to Finland, but never since. However, the passport control both leaving and returning to Helsinki always want to see my RP. And then usually they just want to chat about how my name is SOOOO Finnish, for some reason. I think they're entertained by my bad accent.

Edit: That said, I'm not disagreeing with what's been posted and would absolutely not recommend that the OP leave the country and see what happens. When I applied for my RP extension in February 2013, they told me NOT to leave the country until I got my new RP.

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 3:48 pm

ritan7471 wrote:I never had any trouble from the airline, in fact the only time I had to show the RP was when I left the US to move to Finland, but never since. However, the passport control both leaving and returning to Helsinki always want to see my RP. And then usually they just want to chat about how my name is SOOOO Finnish, for some reason. I think they're entertained by my bad accent.

Edit: That said, I'm not disagreeing with what's been posted and would absolutely not recommend that the OP leave the country and see what happens. When I applied for my RP extension in February 2013, they told me NOT to leave the country until I got my new RP.

Op talked about visa, so s/he probably needs one to get here. Without RP or visa the airline is liable to pay the way back if they have accepted someone whose entry will be denied.

onkko · Post by **onkko** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 4:28 pm

Upphew wrote: Op talked about visa, so s/he probably needs one to get here. Without RP or visa the airline is liable to pay the way back if they have accepted someone whose entry will be denied.

+ fine what can be thousands.

rider1000 · Post by **rider1000** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 10:12 pm

salmanmanekia wrote:BTW, I would be applying for employment visa and this time i should get 4 years one because i have been employed in the same company for last one year and its permanent job

This is assuming you have a current, valid, 1 year RP on a work basis and just called it a visa by mistake...

You NEED to change your appointment with the Police to a date before your current PERMIT expires. Otherwise you will be illegal and they won't like you...
And yes, you need an appointment. They don't accept walk-ins for RP applications.

After you have applied, you are legal to stay in Finland until a decision is made. BUT, if you leave before you have the new permit in hand you will need to wait outside the Schengen area until you can pick up the permit at a Finnish embassy.

The best idea would be for you to just wait inside Finland and not risk your job by being stuck in your home country for 6 months. If you're permit is approved before you travel, great! If not... I hope you have travel insurance that will reimburse some of your ticket.

If you are lucky, the 2nd permit may come faster than your first did IF it's filed for the same reason as the original (ie. same job, income, etc...). However if it is different, be prepared to wait a while again.

salmanmanekia · Post by **salmanmanekia** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:21 pm

Thanks All,
Rider, but how do I convince them to give me an appointment before my RP expires. I told them that on phone but they said that they did not had any other dates before that. Also, how effective is the online form (https://e-asiointi.migri.fi/eServices/F ... px&lang=en) which i think has been introduced recently. I am planning to fill and submit that form online and hope that this somehow makes the process more faster for me.

rider1000 · Post by **rider1000** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 4:17 pm

Beg and plead? You need that appointment to be before you are illegal. Do whatever it takes to get it.

On the form, I have no idea if it will help or not. I haven't used it...

salmanmanekia · Post by **salmanmanekia** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 7:13 pm

Ok, I have got a reservation in Tammasari on 11th of November. I hope everythings ends well and they process my request quickly.
BTW,
1 : does it matter where you stay and where you apply. I mean, can i apply anywhere in Finland for the extension or does it has some restriction that one could only apply to the poilce station of his city/state(province)
and
2 : Does the application processing speed depends on where one apply. Like for example does it matter if a person applies in Helsinki or outside of metropolition area
3 : Where is the decision for the application take place, is it that everything happens at a central police station or the one where person resides or the one where the person applied.

Thanks guys,

rider1000 · Post by **rider1000** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 8:43 pm

Glad you got an appointment figured out! That's the first step in the right direction.

1. As far as I understand it, you are supposed to apply in the Police Station of your city/province. (Or something like that...) Not sure if this is 100% true or not.

2.Probably not, but again not 100% sure.

3. The police make the decision, but again I don't know the specifics. Sorry...

Basically, you apply for a permit extension. Then you wait. And wait some more. And finally you get a letter in your box giving you the verdict. You can call and ask about the progress all you want but you will only get 1 of 2 answers. (1. It's being processed, or 2. A decision has been made and you'll get a letter soon) So... just wait.

Good luck.

Check this for more questions --> http://www.migri.fi/working_in_finland/permit_extension

cors187 · Post by **cors187** » Wed Oct 23, 2013 9:28 pm

Flow chart
http://www.migri.fi/download/15991_Oles ... 31ec45d088

A renewal can be applied at
a police station before the
permit expires. The police
grants a renewed permit, if
the conditions for granting a
residence permit are still met.

For the Immigration Police to know if the Conditions of granting a residence permit is still meet.
It goes back to-

First, an Employment and
Economic Development Office
makes a partial decision on the
employee's application.

Now the Immigration Police take this part from Migri-

After that, the Finnish
Immigration Service (Migri)
investigates whether the other
conditions for granting a
residence permit are met, and
makes the final decision.

and the flow chart continues.

By Law Employer must be given decision-

The employer receives the
decision by mail.

salmanmanekia · Post by **salmanmanekia** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 5:49 pm

Just to tell people checking this thread afterwards, my experience has been very good with immigration services. I got reply(i.e new rp) delivered at my home in one week. i live in espoo and had applied in raseborg police station. so, all good

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