Chaotic and anxiety-inducing

My experience with Migri can only be described as chaotic and anxiety-inducing.

I came to Finland in August 2016 to pursue a Master’s Degree. As such, I had a student visa that was valid for one year. In order to support myself, I got a full-time job in July 2017. As a work-based permit would give me more stability, I decided to apply for one instead of extending my student visa. I submitted my application in July 2017 and got a decision in February 2018. Even worse than the time it took to get the decision was its validity: Migri granted me the permit from July 2017 to July 2018. In practice, the permit that was supposed to be valid for one year was valid for less than six months!

Fast-forward to June 2018, when I applied for the extension of that work permit. It took months to get an appointment. So long, in fact, that when I went to Migri, I had already started a position in another company. That meant submitting paperwork all over again and basically starting the process from scratch.

July 2019 came and the decision was still pending. I gave up. I had recently gotten married to an EU citizen, so I withdrew my work-based application and filed a new one based on family ties. According to Migri’s website, the processing time for that was one to three months.

Six months had passed and still no answer. I contacted Migri several times and heard that the information on the website is just an estimate and that Finnish law allows them to take longer.

Under European law, however, EU citizens have a right to be with their families, so I informed Migri that my husband would file a complaint against them with European authorities. Note that in this situation, my husband’s right was violated, not mine! As a non-EU citizen, I have seemingly no rights when it comes to a fair process with the Finnish immigration service.

Finally, in February 2020, I got a new permit, this time valid until 2025. I have lived in Finland for 57 months now. In 24 of those, I was waiting for a decision from Migri and existing in a limbo. I was working, paying my taxes, but didn’t have access to most services, couldn’t travel abroad, couldn’t have any certainty about my future. I love this country and my entire life is here, but Finland’s treatment of foreigners can sometimes be downright awful. My first child is about to be born, meaning that in a few months I’ll have to be waiting for a Migri decision again. Wish me luck.

-- Please sign the petition: bit.ly/ReformMigri