A Candidate's experience of applying for Residence Permit Based on Family Ties to Finland via VFS.

Disclaimer: Please note that the information provided below is merely the experience of a candidate so it might not be comprehensive and can change in future. Please contact VFS helpline Finland or Embassy of Finland for latest and accurate information.

Embassy of Finland has outsourced the appointment booking and acceptance including collecting of biometrics for residence permit applications to VFS Global. Previously, it used to be handled by embassy of Finland itself. Here is experience of a candidate who has gone through the process.

Appointment

You need to book an appointment from VFS online system. Appointment will start from mid-October as per VFS. And VFS will send you an email regarding the appointment date and time. You need to visit VFS Global (3rd Floor, Chhaya Center, Chhaya Devi Complex,Amrit Marg, Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal, Finland Application Centre.

Please note that VFS manages visa of many countries. As per VFS website, it manages visa of 147 countries. Hence, for UK and Canada you can go directly to 3rd floor of Chhaya Center. But for Finland you first need to go to the second floor. From there you will take the escalator. There will be a guard, who will check your appointment time and let you go. From there you will go to the third floor where you need to turn right and then again right in about 50m, to reach Finland visa application centre. There will be many counters each serving a separate country or a group of countries.

There is one counter mainly dedicated for Finland, Norway, Sweden, Croatia, France, Luxembourg and so on. You need to visit that counter.

Please be informed that the guard at the second floor sitting near the escalator will grant you access strictly 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time. For instance, if you have appointment at 9:30 am, access will be granted at 9:15 am. 

At the Counter (Security Counter)

Once you reach the counter, you need to pass through a security check. You are not allowed to take your laptop inside, hence it is advisable not to bring your laptop there. If you brought it, you would need to find a place to keep it until you are done with the process. I personally requested 'Best Visa Office' located at the second floor to keep it, they reluctantly accepted to keep it after I promised them to pay 100 Rs. You can however take your mobile phone inside. Once you go through the door, a lady from VFS will ask which country you want to apply for and she will guide you what to do next. VFS staff are quite helpful, therefore you will not have any problem inside.

Video Interview

Unlike other countries, for Finland you need to take short interview at VFS Office. In my case, there was one representative from Embassy of Finland. She asked me general questions such as when did you get married? Where is your wife studying? Where do you work? and so on. The interview was very short and once you are done you need to leave the interview room and wait there in the chairs for further processing.

For the interview, someone from VFS will call your name.

At the Payment Counter

After video interview you need to wait outside in the chairs, and someone from VFS will give you a token for the payment counter. If the monitor is not working, they might call you by your name otherwise you can wait for your turn. 

At this counter they will check all your documents. If you are applying for residence permit based on family ties you need to have in print the following to furnish to the official there.

• Initiation Certificate (Can be downloaded from Enter-Finland and then you need to have it it print.
• Residence Permit Application Form (This also can be downloaded from Enter-Finland)
• Your recent photograph not old than 6 months 1 Pc.
• 2 Copies of your Passport.
  
  

Also you need to show other original documents. During the interview they will ask for your Passport and Marriage Registration Certificate. Marriage registration certificate must be legalised by Embassy of Finland. See the process of legalisation on Embassy of Finland website.

At this point, if you don't have any document they will let you print it or copy it. Download all the documents to your Laptop or Mobile phone so you could visit second floor where you can print the required documents paying a small fee. You then need to come up and again wait, until they finish, if they are handing another customer. And give the documents you are told to print. After that you need to pay them. You can either pay in cash or by bank card. Make sure you remember the pin code of your ATM Card and it works on the machine if you want to pay it by card. 

For residence permit based on family ties you need to pay NPR 68,200 for Application processing fee and 10,400 VFS charges, total around 80 thousand Nepali rupees.

After the payment they will give you a paper and receipt of your payment. You then need to wait in front of the door where they take biometrics. They will call you by your name, but be close to the door as they usually tell the previous applicants to send you as they leave, and they might should your name not so loudly.

Biometrics

Biometrics will not take much time. They will first take your photo. The photo should show your neck. And then they will take fingerprints of all your fingers. But sometimes the machine might not record your fingerprints in one attempt when your hand is too dry or something. So you might need to try a few times.

At the End

After biometrics, the agent will take your passport and receipt back to the counter where you made the payment. You need to wait for a bit until the official at the payment counter will call your name and hand you over your passport and receipt of payment and then you are done.

Duration

The process can be quite lengthy. I started around 9:30 am and finished around 12:00 noon. If you have all the required documents already printed, cash ready and everything else in proper order you can finish it a bit quicker, but it will take at least 2 hours and depending on your case more than that.

Photocopy, Print & Cash Withdrawal

It is always better to take the required Finland residence permit size photo, photocopies and print (ref. "at the payment counter above") one day ahead. But, if you could not print it, there are places at the entrance of Chhaya Centre. Also for printing and photo copy if you missed something when the officials check the documents you can directly come down to second floor and find a place to print and photocopy.

While you can pay via your bank card, if you want to pay in Cash, there are ATM machines in the parking lot of VFS. Take the escalator and come all the way to the parking lot, you will find ATM machines right in the premises of VFS. If you are in doubt, you can always ask security personnel there.

Lavatory

There is a toilet on the 3rd floor of Chhaya Centre. Go straight, away from where you go for visa application, and turn right, or follow the signs. You will find toilets.

License application at Department of Transport Management (DOTM) Chabahil, Kathmandu

Disclaimer: This blog post is to specifically give information on how to apply for a driver’s license in DOTM- Chabahil Kathmandu. It is based on a candidate's experience of going through the process of acquiring a motorcycle driving license. Though this blog post is not a definitive guide, we anticipate that this will help new applicants clear a lot of the initial confusion. The process might be different in future, so contact DOTM for up-to-date information. Should you have any confusion/suggestions/feedback you can write those in the comment box below.

DOTM Chabahil Office

Photo Courtesy: Suyasha Koirala
Google Maps

It is not rocket science, but it can baffle a lot of new applicants, with the officials at DOTM (Department of Transport Management) being rather unhelpful in terms of giving advice to fresh applicants. At least I felt that way. Thus, it is always a better idea to make conversation (though stilted) and ask other applicants about the things you are unsure about when you visit any government office. Officials at DOTM behave as if applicants already know where to go and what to do, but that's clearly not the case. You will need to dash from one window to another, and it is very easy to get confused.

If you haven’t had your blood group checked already, you can have it checked at the DOTM office. In my case, I had had my blood group checked already from Chirayu Hospital paying around NPR 120, (if I remember correctly, in 2021), and I had also kept a card issued by the hospital with me, so I could furnish it to them.

Actually, I had applied for a motorcycle driving license online before the lockdown. A nationwide lockdown was enforced soon after I applied,  & DOTM was also closed; as a result, I missed a chance to appear for the Biometric on the date mentioned on my application.

Thus I decided to pay a visit to DOTM to inquire if I could still apply for the license. I was told by the stewardess (didi) there that those who missed their appointment dates due to lockdown must come on Thursday. I visited DOTM Chabahil after 5 months, and luckily I was given a date the following Thursday. I was told by the people there, for regular applicants, if they fail to appear on the appointment date which is mentioned on the application, they need to apply the online license application form all over again. But I saw some people visiting room number 15 to negotiate missed dates.

The process of acquiring or applying for a driving license can be divided into 3 phases.

Phase one: It's the date mentioned in the printed online application form: on which you visit DOTM Chabahil for the Biometric, eye test and pay the required fees.

Phase two: It's the next day after you go for your biometric, you need to go to Nepal Trial Centre Dakshindhoka for the written examination. (Please note: Written examination and practical examination are held at Nepal Driving Trial Centre Dakshindhoka, not Department of Transport Management Chabahil).

Phase three: It's usually the next day after you passed your written examination, you need to go for a trial examination. The venue for the trial is very near to the place where you took your written examination.

Please be advised that you can check the exact date of your written examination and trial on the notice board at the Department of Transportation Management (DOTM) Chabahil.

On the day of Biometric

Photo courtesy: Suyasa Koirala / Google Maps

Firstly, as you enter the main gate of DOTM Chabahil, even if you go there before 10 A.M (i.e. before the office opens) you can take a token from the token machine, which is inside a small counter just inside the DOTM main gate and ahead of the main building. And then wait for your turn. There are chairs for you to sit on. Make sure you take with you the printed Online Application Form, original and a copy of your Citizenship Certificate and Blood Group Card/Certificate (if you already have one, if you don't have it, you can have it checked there for a fee). At 10 am their system starts calling numbers. However, I see a few people going inside the biometric counter without taking turns or ahead of their turns. And strangely, officials also were accepting their applications without checking their tokens. A lot of other applicants and I were questioning why distribute tokens if they are going to operate in such an unsystematic manner?

Also, there were some middlemen assisting applicants to get their turns quickly and counter-staff were accepting such applicants without any questions.

For new applicants, after your token is called, you need to first go to the counter, which is inside the zinc-roof building facing the main entrance to DOTM. You can see display boards mentioning Counter 1, Counter 2 and Counter 3 (pic above). After you go to the counter, they will take your photo and your fingerprints. And write a number on your printed online application and ask you to go to another window to buy a token for the eye test.

On the day I visited, those coming for license renewal and retrial were not taking any tokens, and they were directly waiting in line at the corresponding windows.

I was really disappointed, after I finished my eye-examination the officer there asked me to wait in line, pointing to the line in front of me. I waited there for like 15 minutes, only to find out eventually that the counter there wasn’t where I was supposed to go. Actually, I had tried to confirm with the officer earlier, if I needed to wait in line there, but he didn’t respond. Most of the staff at DOTM give instructions very unclearly. And I was so annoyed at this. In fact, the most helpful person I found at DOTM was the stewardess (Didi) there. She was polite and helped me a lot to find the exact rooms. I am very thankful to her, more than unhelpful staff, who get paid from our salary and hesitate to answer when we ask for some clarification. God bless her!

After the eye examination, you go to the counter to pay Rajaswa. I had paid 500 Rupees rajawso for the written examination. After that you need to go to the final window with the red and blue receipt to have your ID card (Applicant Details card) with a photo printed. Then you are done for the day. 

On the day of the written examination

The written examination is held a day after you go for biometrics. It is held at Nepal Trial Centre Dakshindhoka. To reach the Nepal Trial Center Dakshindhoka, where the written examination and trial are held. you can take a bus to Narayantar (the bus that goes to Boudha, Jorpati)  from Ringroad. There you will see a bridge: cross the bridge and turn right and go straight on along the road along the Bagmati river until you see the signpost telling you to turn left to reach Nepal Driving Trial Centre Dakshindhoka. The written examination hall will be on your right and the practical examination venue will be on your left almost two blocks straight up.

There are small halls. Questions are not particularly tough, and the majority of applicants pass the written examination. From my observation, I found that around 95% or even more passed the written examination.

Make sure you have a pen and your valid ID card (Citizenship Certificate or Passport) while going for the written examination. Also bring with you the Red and Green receipt and 'Applicant Details' paper issued by DOTM. A candidate ahead of me forgot to bring his Citizenship Certificate, and he had asked his sister to send it by his messenger and the police officer let him enter after checking the photo of it from his mobile phone.

For the motorcycle /scooter license written examination, you can find the list of probable questions on this page (click here). Moreover, there are a good number of Youtube channels where you can find all the possible questions. You can note down the ones you are confused about. There will be 20 questions in the examination and you will pass the examination even if you get 10 questions right. There will be no negative marking system, hence it’s always a good idea to make a guess even if you are not sure about the answer.

The examination starts at 11 am. In my case, it had started around 11:30, and my turn had come at around 14:30. You do not need to buy any token for the written examination (But for the trial you need to buy a token; It'll be discussed below). Just wait near the parking area, because at 11am, the officials there will stick some papers containing the names of the participants of the written examination on the wall. It is a good idea to stay very close to the wall where they stick the paper so as soon as they stick it, you can note your name and serial number quickly. It is important that you find the name in the list and most importantly, to note the serial number. Then you come forward, towards the entrance of the written examination venue and wait in line for attendance. The serial number you have noted will assist you to find your name quickly when going for the attendance. If you do not have a serial number it will take time to search your name from the list of 300 or more people, and staff there will ask you to check your serial number yourself. 

Expect a disorganised crowd, pushing you,  trampling upon you and jostling to check the serial number. After the attendance, you go to another nearby line for the written examination. They will check your receipt (the green one) and your valid ID card before allowing you to enter the examination room.

The questions will be basic and you can finish the examination within half an hour. You need to write your serial number or candidate number from the Green Receipt (this green receipt needs to be attached to your answer sheet while submitting it, your name, serial number (number where you found your name) on the answer sheet. You could use Nepali or English language whichever you prefer. After submitting your answer sheet, you can return home and prepare for the actual trial examination the next day. And please be aware that the results are usually published on the same day, if you have submitted your form at Chabahil DOTM; you can find your written examination results on Chabahil DOTM’s Facebook Page. When your written examination results are published, the date for the practical examination will also be mentioned there.

On the day of trial

Please note that the venue for the trial examination at Dakshindhoka Nepal Trial Centre is across the road where the written examination hall is located. As you get out of the main gate of the written examination centre, you need to turn right and walk around 50m to get to the trial centre. There will be two halls. First for Category A & K and second for Category B.

If you passed the written examination, the next day, you need to appear for the trial examination. If the next day is a public holiday, your trial could be on the next working day. In my case, I took my written examination on Friday, and my trial was on Monday. You can know the date of the trial examination from 'Yatayat Chabahil' Facebook page at the time your written examination results are published.

The trial examination starts at 11am. But if you go early, you can also practice at the trial spot paying a fee. For motorcycles, you need to pay NPR 300 for 15 mins. Though, the spot will be crowded and you won’t be able to practice freely, you can take this opportunity to understand the biting point and other stuff and familiarise yourself with the motorcycle. 

Unlike the written examination, you need to purchase a token costing 50 rupees for the trial examination. You could also pay for a practice session at the same counter if you wish to and need to practice there. Personally, I felt that it’s very different at the trial centre from the driving instruction school. 

Just like the written examination, at around 11, in front of the written examination hall, the official there will stick the papers containing the name list and the serial numbers of candidates who can appear in the trial examination on that day. This time also you need to note the serial number, which will be useful later when you enter the trial examination venue after your token number is called. Please note that your token number isn’t your serial number, but it (token number) is the number written on the back (or front) of the receipt you get when you make payment (NPR 50) for the trial examination. They will call candidates on the basis of token numbers. So keep this receipt safely with you.

They call 10 or 20 candidates at a time. So if let’s say your token number is 200, you need to wait for a good few hours. After your token number is called you get inside the hall, tell your serial number so the official there can easily find your name. Then you hand him the token for the trial examination, which he’ll keep with him. And you could go directly to the trial spot and wait there. There’ll be one official, who will check your documents and assign you a certain motorcycle. Please check properly if everything is ok with that motorcycle and after ensuring proceed towards the entrance of the figure 8 symbol, and only enter after you get permission from the traffic police officer. And of course, you understand how the trial examination works.

Finally, if you passed the examination you need to visit the small counter near the trial venue. They’ll check documents and stamp your receipt and you then need to visit the DOTM office Chabahil to pay the required fees and you’ll get a paper.

If you failed the practical examination, you will need to pay the fees again at DOTM office Chabahil. And you can visit DakshinDhoka trial center the next day after you pay the fees, for the practical examination. For a retrial, you need to take tokens and from a Facebook group I found out that you need to go after 10 days of failing the trial examination. After 10 days you could go on any day. After passing one written examination, you can appear in 3 practical examinations within 3 months ( It was 3 months before, but now I heard that it’s been extended to 18 months, but please confirm this yourself).

How to write better essays

"When you write an essay you are making a case for the validity of a particular point of view, analysis, interpretation, or set of facts or procedures."
Dawson, J. (2007). The little blue writing book: essays. Bentley, Australia.

Standard Essay Model

Important steps in writing a essay

Introduction
Though many students make mistakes while writing introductions, Tim Squirrel a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh on Guardian says "Introductions are easiest things in the world to get right and nobody does it properly." According to him, “It should be ‘Here is the argument I am going to make, I am going to substantiate this with three or four strands of argumentation, drawing upon these theorists, who say these things, and I will conclude with some thoughts on this area and how it might clarify our understanding of this phenomenon. You should be able to encapsulate it in 100 words or so. That’s literally it.”

Analyse the question: Clearly you cannot write a great essay without understanding the question properly. Most students start writing without understanding the meaning of all the words in the question. Students should look for limiting words and phrases, content words and phrases, and directive words in the question to know the parameters of the task. 

It is important to understand the actual meanings of the directive verbs so that you clearly know what you should do. Here is a list of common directive verbs used in essay questions. This list is adapted from Cottrell, S 1999, The study skills handbook, MacMillan Press, London by Jane Mangano.

• account for - explain (reason)
• analyse - examine closely, examine in parts, show how the parts contribute to the whole.
• argue - present the case for and/ or against
• assess - decide the value of
• judge - measure the importance of
• compare - discuss two or more things in terms of their similarities and differences
  
• critically evaluate - weight arguments for and against something, assessing all evidence. Decide which opinions, theories, models or items are preferable
• define - explain, give full meaning(s), make clear what is meant by, use definition(s) to explore the concept of
• describe - give a detailed account of the features of something without interpreting the information
• discuss - present and give a judgement on the value of arguments for and against, consider all angles
• distinguish - bring out the differences between two possibly confusable items
• enumerate - an item-by-item account, such as all steps in a process
• evaluate - judge, criticise in terms of impact/significance, and investigate the implications
•  examine - make clear the details/ meaning of, look in particular at reasons causes and effects, account for, give reasons, justify, explore describe in detail, and note impact
• illustrate - use example to show a concept
• indicate - focus on specific areas (similar to illustrate)
• interpret - make clear the meaning of, consider implications
• narrate - concentrate on saying what happened telling a story
• outline - describe main features, a broad but thorough account, identify briefly the main features of
• prove - show by logical argument
• relate - show similarities and connection between two or more things
• review - describe chief features, criticise generally (important parts)
• to what extent - consider how far something is true or not true, consider how far something contributes to a final outcome
• trace - identify and describe the development or history of
• what is - describe

Knowing content words and delimiting words gives you a clear sense of direction about what to write. Content words tell you about the topic and the area of study you will be looking at. Similarly, delimiting words limit your research: to a particular place, time or demographic.

example. Critically evaluate two contemporary theories of nursing.
Critically evaluate- directive verbs; two contemporary- delimiting words; theories of nursing- content words.

To what extent does obesity impact upon the coronary health of middle age women.
To what extent- directive verbs; obesity - content words ; coronary health- content words ; middle age women - delimiting words ; 

Some common mistakes to avoid in an essay

• Failing to answer all or part of the question and writing copied or learned response rather than properly deconstructing essay question.
• Writing off-topic and giving inadequate evidence to support viewpoints expressed.
• Using overly casual and informal expressions.
• Writing essay having no paragraph divisions and no logical flow of thought and lacking proper shape and structure.
• Writing paragraphs which have no central or easily recognisable main idea. With no central idea, there is no essay, as there is no thesis and therefore nothing to prove.
• Writing paragraphs which fail to distinguish between a thesis statement, explanation, illustration and summary statement and diminishes the informative and persuasive communication of ideas.
• Ignoring the instructions regarding the essay type. For example, discursive and evaluative essays demand different arrangements of ideas and different choices of language selection.
• Using jargon poorly, thereby making the essay confusing or misusing jargon.
• Using quotations taken out of context. 
• Ignoring word limits, either writing over length or under-length. This is linked to failing to develop the skill of conciseness.
• Obscuring own argument by over-reliance upon the words of others.
• Plagiarism.
• Being too opinionated and not supporting views strongly.
• Cluttering the essay with verbose language.
• Not using referencing and citation properly.
  
• Failing to manage time effectively. 
• Failing to proofread.

Acknowledgement:
This blogpost partially draws from the powerpoint slides 'Success with Writing Online Workshop' prepared by Jane Mangano | University of Notre Dame Australia

Obtaining Tax Clearance Certificate and Pan Card correction from Inland Revenue Department (Antarik Rajaswo Bibhag)

Picture source:-newbusinessage.com

Recently I had visited Inland Revenue Department (Antarik Rajaswo Bibhag) Lazimpat in order to rectify  the date of birth in my PAN Card which was not consistent with my Citizenship Card and to get Tax Clearance Certificate of my salary for visa purposes.

Please note that, though PAN card of, either you or your sponsor, is (almost?) always required to send tuition fees abroad. Tax Clearance Certificate is required only in the case of some countries and in certain cases, and you need to produce it when the embassy specifically asks for it. For example, if you have applied for the residence permit to Finland, and to fulfill the means of support requirement, you have shown your or your sponsors' (who work in Nepal) salary, Finnish Immigration Service usually asks for the Tax Clearance Certificate from Inland Revenue Department. If it is not required for the country you are applying to, do not let it puzzle you.

In order to correct the date of birth on my PAN Card, I had to write an application in Nepali on a piece of paper, and submit there. You will find IRD staff there to assist customers and can consult them about what to do in your specific case. After submitting the application and waiting in the waiting area (which has a fair amount of sofa for you to sit) for almost an hour, I received a new and corrected PAN card. To get that, I did not have to fill out the application form all over again. The PAN number was the same as before on the new card and they even used the same photograph I had initially submitted for my first PAN card.

Now, for the Tax Clearance Certificate of your salary, first you need to make sure that your taxes have been regularly paid from your salary. Sometimes your employer might not have paid your taxes for the fiscal year, and nothing will be shown on the Tax Clearance Certificate. In that case, you need to first contact the person responsible for paying the taxes, in your office, probably the accountant, and make sure if the applicable taxes have been paid. If those have not been paid, request the accountant to pay it so that the amount of taxes paid will be shown in your Tax Clearance Report from Inland Revenue Department(IRD). IRD will issue the document in Nepali, and you can have it translated into English from any registered notary public office. I had mine translated at NPR 300, but the charges may vary; also you can bargain to see if you can bring the price down.