Kela Dispute

I am quite disappointed in the Kela system currently.  Granted, the staff are very friendly in person and very helpful....but for some reason - I was not credited the proper amount of funds for staying at home to care for our son.

Remember, when I first got here, my residence permit status was listed as "B"?  Well, that's fine.  I guess that means I am not entitled to a stay-at-home allowance etc.
Then in August of 2010, I became an "A-Permanent" status.  Which entitles me to work here with no restrictions.
So I had applied closer to V�in� being 1 (if not after he turned one so at least November 3, 2010) - and was rejected for the stay-at-home allowance.
I went back recently, realizing that perhaps this puts a different spin on things, being "A-Permanent" status and the lady was very kind and gave me some information.  But she looked on the system and said, "I'm sorry, you don't qualify because you are not permanent status here."
But I am.  So I showed her my Passport with the Residence Permits, and she gave a quick call over to another representative higher-up, and she said, "Oh yes!  Of course you qualify if you're Permanent status!  Here, fill out the forms and send them back and we can retro-credit you as far back as 6 months."
So here I am, going onto my 2nd year of living here, and feel a little miffed that I was out an extra 4-6 months (as there is a 180-days waiting period to ensure you really will live here) of stay-at-home allowance.  Which totals to be about 319,00� a month (on average)!!!
Compared to Canada, where you only get 100$/month for 1 child...319� is about $430 Canadian!!!  To some friends of mine who are Finnish moms, 319� isn't a lot compared to their salary.  But for me, not having a salary to rely on when returning back to work after maternity leave...319�/month is A LOT of money!

Ah well, better than not getting it at all!

So please be aware: KELA DOESN'T KNOW IF YOUR STATUS HAS CHANGED!!!!
As soon as your status has changed and you have that label in your Passport - re-apply for all of your benefits because you may end up getting more than you previously did!!!

What's Your Status?

No it's not Facebook related or a bad pick-up line...I really mean it!
What is Your Status?

The reason for me finding out what my status meant, is because I recently had an offer for a potential job with Arnold's as a franchisee.
How in the world did I get this offer? Remember that review I did awhile ago, of Arnold's in Turku and in Jyv�skyl�? (Click the above link to read it again if you wish!)

Well, I was requested to contact someone, who turned out to be one of the co-founders of Arnold's and is the current Managing Director.
After a meeting and several discussions via phone and email, I was offered a potential position as a franchisee of the Arnold's location downtown Jyv�skyl�.
Nothing is official or has been signed.


So after all these discussions, we realized one important factor: "Can I even work here in Finland?"
Off to the Finnish Police station I go! There's the Police station and there's the separate building across from it that's for licensing...and they have foreign assistance.
After a quick review of my current residence permit - there was confirmation that yes, I CAN work in Finland! AND there's no restrictions.

Why?  Because my residence permit status starts with an "A".  If my status started with a "B" - then it would've been a no go.  (It was "B" status my first year here and is now an "A" status).
So by "no restrictions" - I was advised that I can work as many hours as I'd like and make as much money as I wanted....

I'll keep y'all updated on everything!  Thanks for the support!