First months in Finland

Here's some high-level info I sent to Stella. Obviously, this isn't very detailed as everyone's circumstances will be slightly different, but this is the general process to follow. Note that this based on my own personal experience, & may not be suitable/applicable for everyone.

In theory the process should be quite simple - unfortunately, in practice it isn't. Despite having a child who's a Finnish citizen, it took me about 6 months to get registered everywhere & get the appropriate support etc. The way it should work is (& apologies if you know some/all of this already);

1. Residence permit

2. Maistraatti

3. Employment office (if required)

4. Kela (if required)

1. You'll need to book an appointment at a police station (doesn't have to be your local one) to apply for a residence permit (if you plan to be here more than 6 months). The booking website will list all the permits & then show which stations you can go to. As you don't have any family etc here, you'll probably have to apply for a type of 'spouse permit'. If you're not sure which specific one it is, head to your local station, take a number & discuss with them there. As you're staying due to your relationship, you'll more than likely have to provide proof of this relationship i.e. documents which show you've been together for a while such as a property lease/tenancy agreement, emails, bank statements etc - the police should be able to advise what to bring.

2. Once you have the permit, head to your local Maistraatti office. Fill in a simple form for a ID number & give them a copy of your residence permit, passport etc.

3. If you need/want to claim any benefits while looking for work, take the residence permit & your ID number to the Employment Office. You can normally take a number & speak with someone who can register you on the system as a job-seeker. You may have to make an appointment to come back & complete this as it requires an 'interview' so they can understand why you're here & what work you can/want to do.

4. Once you're done at the Employment Office they'll review your stuff & if you're eligible for benefits they'll pass your info on to Kela. Once the Employment office send you the letter to confirm this, get down to Kela & make sure they've received all the paperwork etc. Also fill in the form for a Kela card (you can do this once you have your ID number if you want - probably worth doing it early as it can take 4-6 weeks for them to process it).

Unfortunately all of the above is very dis-jointed & can take quite a while. I was doing all of this in the summer when everyone is on holiday, so I was waiting up to 6-8 weeks sometime & had my paperwork 'lost' twice. The best advice I can give is to keep on calling them. I did this with the employment office & Kela every day almost & it got things sped up a little bit (as they just get tired of you calling all the time!).

There are also plenty of others in your position, & people like myself who have gone through it, too - so you have lots of options for information. It's worth checking out the IESAF & Helsinki Expat Meetup groups on Facebook - lots of us foreigners who can offer advice & information. If you need any specific information, feel free to drop me a message, & as with everything in this country, it's all about networking & getting to know people, so I'm always happy to meet up for a coffee/drink if you have any questions or just want to meet some new people.