One thing I think some people are forgetting though is Chris is American and that means American Spousal visa an passport - eventual citizenship.
Agreed, and this is something I've also mentioned before. Having the ability to prove an active relationship to immigration authorities in both the US and Finland would serve to grease the wheels of obtaining an immigration visa in either country. When you're constantly flying back and forth to visit each other, that helps to demonstrate (legitimately or otherwise) that the applicant isn't in a sham relationship.
It's entirely possible that Flutter is doing a reverse mail-order bride with Chris, or that Chris heard about the Finnish social welfare system and decided that would be his new tugboat for life. Frankly, the former seems a lot more likely since that's a scenario played out thousands of times per year with US authorities. Besides, Chris would likely be in for a rude awakening if he thought that a Finnish residency visa entitled him to immediate free money and titty skittles ad infinitum.
it is easier for someone from the EU to get an American Spousal visa than it is for an American to get one in a EU member state (i've been told this by someone my mrs knows who's been through the process but the situations where different massively as both parties where making £160k+ a year so the income threshold was more than exceeded, an could have qualified on there own merits) but there is some quirk of American law that makes the process easier in one direction.
Good point. I don't know that it's really down to a quirk of American law, necessarily, but rather that the US has traditionally been a destination for immigrants as well as returning citizens and servicepeople. In other words, this isn't a situation viewed as unusual by the USCIS. By no means do I want to make it sound as though the process is a breeze - it's not, and comes with plenty of bureaucratic obstacles to overcome - but rather that it's common enough to not throw the authorities for a loop.
Americans can only stay in the Schengen Zone for 90 days in a 180 day period. Obviously this isn't enforced rigorously (as in no one will check on people overstaying as tourists but it can bite those people in the ass when they leave Schengen if they've been here too long) and Chris is dumb so he might just flout the rules.
This is 100% correct. In general, overstaying the 90-day limit typically won't cause much trouble when exiting the EU, provided you're not on a round-trip ticket, a wanted criminal, have been there for years, etc. However, there's a high chance of it a) raising the chances of a turnback if attempting to re-enter the EU in the future and/or b) making US authorities unhappy with you, and that is very likely to result in an, "I GOTS TO LOOK IN YOUR AYASSHOOOLE" moment, or worse.
Source: dual national with one blue and one purple passport. Not a powerlevel, just something I've run into before when travelling between the US and EU. Re-entering the EU through the blue channel has generally been fairly straightforward: the person at the immigration check typically understands the concept of, "lives in America, is a citizen both here and there, and can walk right in," The US, though... Not so much, though it's pretty far from what I would describe as a nightmare. Being stopped and there being confusion over why I stayed in the EU for more than 90 days (despite being entitled to) has been something I've run into, and trying to explain why that's perfectly fine usually involves having to call a supervisor or shift manager over when it happens.
It’s way easier to become wealthy from working class in the US.
This is 100% true. Upward mobility in America is way more possible than in most of Europe.
It’s a bit easier in the UK, especially London, than the rest of Europe, but not as plausible as in the US.
London's a tough place to make a living in, too. Great city, but it's amusing to me how American it feels in a number of ways. You'd never mistake it for being anything other than what it is, but that vibe is there in certain parts of it.
Another factor is that the mindset required to be a big success in a personal business, arrogant and self assured, is heavily frowned upon.
From the American perspective: in most lines of work, being arrogant and self-assured generally won't help, but being passive-aggressive generally will. Obviously there are exceptions to this (some professions, such as law, practically require prickishness), but from my experience if you want to climb the ladder at work, learning how and when to lie, omit facts, and make others look bad will go further than actual ability.
I don’t get the feeling that this is Flutters motivation however.
She may not even have a plan beyond obtaining a spousal visa just to be with Chris. America may just be a change of scenery and not much else for her if she's actually in love with him.