A service designer stuck in an "illogical limbo"

A Service Designer working in Nordic countries shares his struggles with the Finnish Immigration Service:

"Being a resident in Finland as a non-EU citizen may get you confined in Finland, and that can be terrible for your work (and also for the many other events related to your life). Let me explain why.

As a non-EU citizen, you may be living in Finland with a Finnish residence permit. It is a precious piece of card. Based on its type, it grants you the right to work in Finland besides many other rights. One of those other rights is the right of passage into Schengen countries, Nordic countries, and of course, Finland. So for you, it is also a visa. It is a great benefit as long as you keep it valid.

The problem begins when you attempt to renew/extend your residency permit. The authorized body for this process is the Finnish Immigration Services (Migri). They recommend placing this application at a specific time. It shouldn't be earlier than three months before the expiry date of the existing permit. What they do not clarify is the length of their process and how it contradicts their original recommendation. Should there be a delay in their decision process, you keep every right a residency permit grants except the right of passage. Therefore, the applicant loses the chance of traveling to countries where they were once allowed to travel. More terribly, if you choose to go outside of Finland, you are not allowed back. Unlike the other countries, there is no temporary visa for you in Finland. That means you are confined unless you want to give up on your life in Finland. All you can do is wait.

Now at this point, you may ask, "But why?!?" I genuinely do not know. After a grueling research period, reaching out to Ulkoministeriö, Rajavartiolaios, any foreign embassy in Finland, including the Turkish Embassy in Helsinki, and the Finnish Embassy in Turkey, all I got was "Migri has to deal with this". When I was finally able to contact a human Migri representative, I asked the "7 whys". That made me learn about this untenable legislative loophole. Today, I am inside that illogical limbo of a loophole.

Here is why I said this could be terrible for your work in the beginning. If you ever find yourselves in the same position, I hope you are lucky enough to have a compassionate and supportive employer like mine . They will understand the circumstances you are in and support you when you need it. Their support has the potential to decrease the processing time of your application. But after all, we all know there is more to life beyond work. So, I also hope you are lucky enough to not deal with events about your life that require your attendance (like your dear relative's funeral) outside of Finland, unlike me. Such events may put you in a position where you consider your choices in life and question all that time you spent building a life in Finland. And that's terrible."