Back in April, we got my daughter her first passport, as the plan was to travel somewhere outside of Finland in the summer, which didn't end up happening. My wife had to renew hers at the same time, so we did the two birds with one stone thing and did them together. Because it was my daughter's first passport, there were a few extra hoops to jump through to ensure both parents were onboard with it and, I needed my passport too - which expires next year. However I am a permanent resident in Finland and, my card had expired...

in 2018

Oops!!

While the policeman (it is done at the police station) said he was meant to, but wouldn't fine me, I still had to get it renewed as soon as possible. That meant booking in with the immigration services for an interview.

Today was my appointment.

Yes - there was a four month queue to get in!

And then yesterday, they sent me a reminder SMS to make sure I had a photo and to bring my passport and all the paperwork I needed to have, unless I filled it online, in which case they will have it there.

Paperwork?

I had nothing.

Online it is.

However, with only a few hours left in the day, getting all of the attachments was going to be a hassle, if I was going to apply as I had before. My last residency permit was as a worker, which means in order to get it again, I would have to get all the paperwork from my employer too - that wasn't going to happen. So luckily, I also happen to be married to a Finn and have a Finnish child, so - family reasons it will be.

There were questions about how we met (in a bar), if we live together (yes), when I proposed (May 1), are we currently getting getting divorced (it is always on the edge) and other things. However, I also needed to attach our marriage certificate and, my wife's divorce papers from a previous marriage.

Due to the renovation of kitchen and office, our house is a mess, with everything from both rooms piled in the middle of the loungeroom in boxes.

So, I sent a message to my wife and asked,

Do you know where our marriage certificate is?

"Do we have one?"

And your divorce papers?

"No idea."

Brilliant.

So, I decided I would fill what I could pay the 160 euros to submit, go to the interview and at least be able to get the process started. However, I also asked my wife to call the magistrates office in the morning if she had time, to see if they could send a digital version of the documents.

And, this is something that I like about Finland;

The government services generally work.

So, while I went to the office in the morning (as it is close to the migration service center), my wife made the call (it had to be her to get the divorce confirmation) and a few minutes later, I had the email in my inbox and had uploaded it to the application as an attachment.

All good!

And then I went to the migration office.

Not gonna lie, I don't really have overly good experiences when it comes to "being foreign" in my life, nor really with the police in the early years in Finland, as I was "randomly" pulled over every two weeks for all kinds of checks on the road, while none of my friends had been pulled over in the last five years. So, I was expecting some kind of wrinkle, at least.

Due to the four month wait, I was expecting there to be a throng of people there, but the large building was almost deserted and when I first entered, I thought I was in the wrong place. However, on the first floor up, I was met by security and similar to the airport, I had to empty my pockets, take off my belt and have everything passed through a scanner, while I went through a metal detector. This is rare in Finland. Very rare.

There were very few people there waiting, and despite the building being quite new, it was very depressing. There were maybe 10 all together, and I was wondering how long they had been there, because a few seemed like they had been there a while. My appointment was for 14:15 and I was there 15 minutes early, just to make sure, but expecting a delay.

14:15

My name was called.

Unexpected.

I walked down through a hallway that I will call "non-descript" due to its beigeness, past about 10 closed office doors and into the numbered room I had been summoned. It had a couple chairs on the "foreigner side", some safety glass between and a woman sitting behind it. Sitting down, I noticed that the ground her chair was on, was significantly higher than mine, meaning she was looking down at me.

I hate that belittling ploy.

But, without a valid permanent residency permit, it was,

"If you don't like it, leave."

Maybe not.

So, the interview.

"Do you speak Finnish or would you prefer English?"

English please.

I wasn't going to get trapped into some kind of incrimination because they use a funny word.
(Note: All Finnish words are funny words to me.)

She took my passport as she would need to scan it and create a copy and then looked at her screen.

"So, you have filled out the wrong application".

I knew it... wrinkle.

"Here is a piece of paper with an email address on it. Email them so you will get your 160 euros refunded to you."

My eyes narrowed....

There is a trick here somewhere.

But apparently, I didn't have to go through all the hassle of filling out all of the many details and get the documents. If I had just gone to renew the card instead, it would have been 54 euros. She took my fingerprints with the machine, I paid with the other machine and then,

"Now, it will have to go through approval and after that, you will have the card sent to you by post."

How long is the approval process?

She looks at the screen.

"Well, I will approve it in a moment, but the card will take up to two weeks, but you'll likely get it earlier."

Cool.

Literally ten minutes after going into the room, I was walking out of the building and back to my car, calling my wife as I did so:

It has been too long and they aren't going to approve the application. I am going to have to go out of the country first...