Two Positive Decisions After the Administrative Court Said No

What an incredible case.

This family came to us at one of the most difficult stages of an immigration matter. Their cases had already been handled by another representative, appealed to the Administrative Court, and the Administrative Court had issued negative decisions. At that point, many people understandably feel that the process is over. It is important to understand, however, that filing an appeal does not guarantee the result you are hoping for, and once the Administrative Court has ruled against you, the time available to react becomes extremely limited.

When the family contacted us, we had to assess the entire situation immediately. There was a short period in which an application for leave to appeal could still be prepared for the Supreme Administrative Court, while at the same time we had to examine whether there was any realistic way to regulate the family’s residence in Finland through a new application before enforcement of the earlier decisions changed the situation completely.

The strongest available route concerned employment. The father had circumstances that allowed us to prepare a new extended residence permit application based on employment, and the underage child’s situation had to be handled at the same time. This was particularly demanding because the legal clock was already running. Under section 84 of the Finnish Aliens Act, an employment-based application falling within that chapter should generally be decided within two months once a duly completed application has been submitted, the applicant has provided the required biometric identifiers, and the applicant and employer have fulfilled their statutory obligations. Two months may sound like a reasonable processing period in an ordinary case. It feels very different when you have just received a negative decision from the Administrative Court and the remaining time to protect the client’s position is measured in weeks rather than months.

We therefore had to move quickly, but speed alone would not have been enough. The new applications had to stand on their own legal and factual basis. They had to reflect the current employment situation properly and give the Finnish Immigration Service a clear reason to assess the matter differently from what had happened before.

Then came the result.

On 11 September 2026, the Finnish Immigration Service granted both our client and the underage child continuous A residence permits based on employment, valid for four years until 11 September 2030. The decisions were issued concurrently, changing the family’s position completely after the earlier negative outcome before the Administrative Court.

The family’s situation is not yet completely finished. The mother will now continue through a family-ties application based on the residence permit granted to their partner, while the older child, who is already over eighteen, requires a different approach because the legal rules are no longer the same as for a minor child.

This case shows why a negative Administrative Court decision should be taken seriously, but not necessarily treated as the end of every available path. Once that decision arrives, there is very little room for delay and even less room for mistakes. Sometimes the only realistic solution is to understand that the old case has reached its limit and identify whether the person’s current circumstances create a new legal basis for residence.

Two negative court outcomes were followed by two four-year residence permits under extremely difficult circumstances. We never give up simply because a case has become difficult. We look for the lawful path that still remains.

Challenge us.