That was the last bit of paperwork type stuff I had to take care of before I left Canada to head over and now I'll be allowed in the country with no problem. When I went on exchange to Helsinki I didn't have my permit before I left because I needed a new passport and didn't get that until mid-way through August (it was really just my own fault for not applying for a new passport early enough). In Canada, at the time, (and possibly elsewhere) you needed to submit your passport when you applied for the permit because they have to put the actual permit into a page on your passport (think of it like a sticker. A very important sticker) and it was going to take a month or so before I was going to be able to get my permit. It would have been cutting it really close had I had to send my new passport away to get the permit in it and it wasn't going to do me any good when I needed to catch a flight to Finland if my passport was in Ottawa! I asked both the Finnish Embassy (in Ottawa) and the Finnish Consulate (in Toronto) if I could apply for my permit in Finland. Both said yes but that I should still apply, and pay, to have it done in Canada. Now let me just say that it costs, at the time, about $345 to just apply for your permit and if you leave the country before you are approved for your permit, your application is void and you lose you money. Basically, they wanted me to apply, not get my permit on time because I've left and therefore they'd get $345 from me without having to lift a finger. LAME. I was pretty freaked out that I wouldn't be allowed into the country when I was at the airport but I had all the information necessary so they let me in! (also shows the benefits of being a Canadian and holding a Canadian passport. Sad but true fact of getting profiled at the borders. Im sure I have more stories about that to tell.)
But the fun thing about getting residence permits now is that it's no longer a sticker in your passport! It's just a little card that you can keep in your wallet. I was assured by the Finnish Embassy in Ottawa that even if, for some reason, I left before my permit was ready, I could get it sent to me in Finland and that the Embassy would write a letter for me to show the border security that I had the permit. This is SUCH a better idea than the old way. But they now make everyone applying for a residence permit visit the closest Finnish Embassy so that they can submit original copies of the requirements in person (like your degree certificate, health insurance, bank statement, acceptance letter) and also so you can submit a passport photo. I also had to get my fingerprints taken. It was a pain for me to have to go to Ottawa to get it done. It's about a 5 hour drive from downtown Toronto to Ottawa and I had to do it on about 4 hours sleep because it was the day after Mayhem Festival.While it was a pain for me just to go to Ottawa to do it, a girl in my program that is from Venezuela had to go all the way to New York to get her stuff done and another girl from Bangladesh had to go to India. I guess I shouldn't complain so much.
All in all, Im stoked to have my permit now and now it's just stickin' it out over the next few weeks and then I'll finally be back home again!
I realize that this was probably a boring post about residence permits but it'll get more interesting soon.
To tide us all over, have a picture of me being a typical tourist on a canon on Suomenlinna
Is that a canon in your pants or are you just happy to see me?
Don't forget to follow me on Tumblr and Instagram (which is sort of on hiatus right now cause my poor phone bit the dust)! My user name on both is lilacviking. Also, if you have a question or comment, don't be afraid to comment here or send me an ask on Tumblr!
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