I met Ceronne briefly during my last quick trip to Paris. Unfortunately I couldn't chat with him longer since I was on the move, but as usual it was a pleasure.
He commented that, after finishing his masters, he had a small discussion with a social worker who told him that in two years he would be able to apply for French citizenship. I congratulated him, and he mentioned that the process works in such a way that his 2 years as a masters student in France are taken into account in the process. This is beneficial for both parties since the person in question gets an incentive to stay and the country another educated taxpayer.
With this information, I started to think about my own situation, which compares unfavourable with his. Even though I have lived 6 years in Finland, my three years as a student don't count, and neither do two of my years working as I had a B-class residence and working permit for some reason I don't understand. Only one year would count, but I moved to Belgium for a year so I would have to start from scratch, which means that I would be eligible in 4 years (or after 10 years altogether of living in Finland). It would be even longer but I am married to a Finnish citizen now, who has been my companion for the past 7 years. When I compare my case to that of a certain discus thrower, for example, I further lose hope.
For my Finnish readers out there, even though most of the posts in this blog are in English, I do speak Finnish. Furthermore, I will be taking the official language examination soon, if only to have a paper that proves it.
The worst part is when my Finnish friends and acquaintances ask me when am I going to become a citizen of the country I live in and my only answer is not anytime soon, if ever…
Hope it will be real … to become, after 4 years, a #franco-mexican# 🙂
We know each other is not for becoming a "froggie", but to have better opportunities and …. no f"%#$ng papers each year.
Also was a pleasure to met you even if we only chatted in the train 🙂
That's probably the difference, as I do feel a certain identification with the country where I live and its people, however mad the regulations might drive me sometimes.
They fixed the B permit thing via a court decision in summer 2008. However, yes, because you lived in Belgium for a year, you must apply the “8 years total, including the last 2 in Finland” rule, instead of the “6 years continuous” rule, to become eligible. Even then, it doesn’t guarantee anything, because this country’s law allows them to refuse people who successfully passed all criteria.
Now let’s see whether they change anything with the current economic crisis.