Monday, July 30, 2007

Visa, visa, visa

One of the main things that's going to be interesting in this whole process of moving to Finland is getting a visa that will allow me to work there. This is important, mainly because i am not independently wealthy and will need to work as soon as i get there.

I was informed of something i didn't know existed called a "working-holiday visa" which is easier to get than a straight up working visa and lasts a year in some cases. In my preliminary investigating, however, i found Americans aren't eligible for this. Suck. After more investigating and screwing around on the Directorate of Immigration website for Finland, i looks like in order to work in Finland, i need a residence permit. Now i'm confused. I don't think a residence permit is the same as a visa, but at the same time i wonder...

There's a Finnish consulate here in Atlanta that i just need to go to and figure everything out, but i've been putting it off, because i'm scared they're going to hate me and make sure i can't get into their country ever again. I realize this is an irrational fear, but it's very real in my mind. Hopefully i'll summon up the courage soon, but i really should get the ball rolling on this thing.

That reminds me, i need to renew my passport...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I vote for you going to the Embassy. I'm clueless when it comes to these things.

Of course, you could just skip getting the visa, move to Finland anyway, and be an illegal immigrant while working at a shady kebab restaurant where they pay you in cash.

Ben said...

Haha, that would be awesome.....

Amanda said...

My brother lived in Prague for several years and went through this whole process. He has just moved to Luxemburg and is starting all over again. He has an atlanta number if you ever want to pick his brain.