Travel to Germany with a Finnish residence permit (Type B Student)

7/28/2015 1:54:43 PM

In theory, a visa from any of the Schengen states allows you to enter at any border, and since a residence permit is “more” than a visa, this should be possible.

In practice

  • you’re from a country that hasn’t had the best of relations to the EU in the past, even if they’re improving
  • you’re dealing with border guards who haven’t ever been known for lax interpretation of any rules
  • said border guards will probably have instructions to be even stricter right now, with so many refugees entering Germany illegally (see this press release that states more than 1000 illegal entries per day)
  • you will present these border guards a document they’re not familiar with
  • that document is not issued by the german government
  • and it’s written in a language which german border guards generally don’t understand, with little chance of finding an interpreter quickly

I wouldn’t expect immigration to be quick and painless under these circumstances, and going to Finland first, then fly to Germany from there will probably be much easier.

However, if going to Germany first will save you a lot of time, or money, i’d try contacting immigration two weeks in advance, explaining the situation to them, and asking them if there will be any trouble and if there is anything you can do to speed up the process. The German Bundespolizei has a web site that allows you to search for contact information; this leads you to the airport police of Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin. (Other cities will work as well, these are the most likely ones if you’re coming from Iran). Any advice you can get from them should be much more useful than from random people on the Internet.

They will understand you if you email them in English, but writing them in German (maybe your Uncle can help you?) will probably speed up the process.

7/27/2015 9:17:27 AM

Legally you can, although you will have to convince the officer at the border control that you have clear intentions of leaving to Finland very soon and your visit to Germany is definitely temporary. Your residence permit in Finland allows staying in other Schengen countries up to 90 days of any 180-day period.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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