CITIZENSHIP LAW OF FINLAND SUOMI - FINLAND The Finnish-Nationality Act (401/68), issued on the 28th of June 1968. Section 1 A child acquires Finnish citizenship at birth: 1) if the mother is a Finnish citizen; 2) if the father is a Finnish citizen and married to the child's mother; 3) if the father is dead, but was a Finnish citizen at his death and married to the child's mother; or 4) if the child is born in Finland, and does not acquire the citizenship of another country at birth. (10.8.1984/584) A foundling encountered in Finland shall be considered a Finnish citizen until shown to be the citizen of another country. Section 2 The term alien used in this Act shall denote a person who is not a Finnish citizen. Section 3 (10.8.1984/584) If a Finnish citizen marries an alien woman, their mutual child, born prior to their marriage, shall become a Finnish citizen, provided: 1) the custody of the child belongs to both parents or either of them; and 2) the child has not reached the age of eighteen, and is unmarried. Section 3a (10.8.1984/584) A child who has not acquired Finnish citizenship by virtue of articles 1 or 3 shall acquire it upon declaration, provided: 1) the father at the child's birth was, and still is, a Finnish citizen; 2) the custody of the child belongs to the father alone, or jointly with some other custodian of the child; 3) the child is permanently resident and domiciled in Finland; and 4) the child has not reached the age of eighteen, and is unmarried. Section 3b (10.8.1984/584) An alien child, who has been adopted, acquires Finnish citizenship upon declaration, provided: 1) at least one adoptive parent is a Finnish citizen, and the custody of the child belongs to that parent alone, or jointly with some other custodian of the child; 2) the adoption is valid in Finland; and 3) the child has not reached the age of eighteen, and is unmarried. Section 4 Finnish citizenship may on application be granted an alien, if 1) he has reached the age of eighteen; 2) for the last five years, he has been, and still is, permanently resident and domiciled in Finland; 3) he has led a respectable life; and 4) his and his family's livelihood is considered secured. If the applicant has formerly been a Finnish citizen, or is married to a Finnish citizen, or under other special circumstances, he may be granted Finnish citizenship notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1, yet only on the application of his custodian, if he has not reached the age of eighteen. If the applicant is a Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, or Swedish citizen, exceptions from the provisions in item 2 of the said subsection may be made even when no such grounds exist. If an applicant who holds a foreign citizenship does not renounce it on becoming a naturalized Finnish citizen, his acquiring Finnish citizenship may be subjected to the condition that he renounce his foreign citizenship within a period prescribed in the decision, in default of which the decision becomes void. When an alien becomes a naturalized Finnish citizen, the decision on his naturalization shall provide whether his child under eighteen years of age shall simultaneously acquire Finnish citizenship. (10.8.1984/584) Section 5 (10.8.1984/584) An alien may acquire Finnish citizenship upon declaration, if he has been permanently resident and domiciled in Finland without interruption ever since reaching the age of sixteen, and for a further minimum of five years altogether prior to that. He may make his declaration after reaching the age of twenty-one, yet before the age of twenty-three. An alien who is stateless, or who on being granted Finnish citizenship loses his citizenship of another country, may on reaching the age of eighteen already make the declaration referred to in subsection 1, if he has been permanently resident and domiciled in Finland for the last five years without interruption, and for a further minimum of five years altogether prior to that. When a state of war has been declared in the country or any part of it, neither a citizen of a hostile country, nor a former citizen of it must be granted Finnish citizenship under the provisions of subsections 1 and 2. Section 6 (10.8.1984/584) If a native Finnish citizen, who has been permanently resident and domiciled in Finland without interruption until the age of eighteen, has lost his Finnish citizenship on leaving the country, he may regain it upon declaration after being resident in Finland for the last two years. If he is a citizen of another country, he may regain his Finnish citizenship only by simultaneously renouncing his foreign citizenship. Section 7 (10.8.1984/584) When an alien is granted Finnish citizenship under the provisions of sections 5 or 6, his child shall simultaneously acquire Finnish citizenship, if: 1) the parent who is to become a naturalized Finnish citizen does not object to the child's becoming a Finnish citizen; 2) the custody of the child belongs to that parent alone, or jointly with some other custodian of the child; 3) the child is permanently resident in Finland; and 4) the child has not reached the age of eighteen, and is unmarried. Section 8 (10.8.1984/584) A person shall lose his Finnish citizenship: 1) if he acquires the citizenship of another country by application or declaration, or if he has consented to it of his own free will; 2) if he acquires the citizenship of another country by entering its civil service; or 3) if he has not reached the age of eighteen, and is unmarried, and becomes a naturalized citizen of the country on account of: a) his parents acquiring the citizenship of another country as provided in items 1 or 2, on condition that he is in the joint custody of both of them; or b) either parent acquiring the citizenship of another country as provided in items 1 or 2, on condition that he is in the custody of that parent alone, or jointly with his spouse, who is not a Finnish citizen. Section 8a (10.8.1984/584) The loss of Finnish citizenship is determined as provided in subsection 2, if Finland has concluded an agreement on it with another country. A Finnish citizen, who has at birth also acquired the citizenship of a contracting state, shall lose his Finnish citizenship on reaching the age set in the agreement of no less than nineteen and no more than twenty-two years, if he has, for the last five years, been permanently resident and domiciled in another contracting state. His child shall simultaneously lose his Finnish citizenship, if he has acquired it through that parent, yet not if the child were to become stateless on that account, or if otherwise provided in the agreement. A person who has lost his Finnish citizenship on the grounds of subsection 2, and who has since without interruption been the citizen of another contracting state, shall upon declaration regain his Finnish citizenship after entering and settling down permanently in the country, provided he simultaneously loses the citizenship of the other contracting state. As for the citizenship of the child, the provisions of section 7 shall apply. Section 8b (10.8.1984/584) A Finnish citizen born abroad, who does not lose his Finnish citizenship on the grounds of section 8a, shall lose it on reaching the age of twenty-two, if: 1) he has never been permanently resident or domiciled in Finland; 2) he has not stayed in Finland under circumstances that would indicate any relation with Finland; and 3) he is also the citizen of another country. A Finnish citizen who stands to lose his citizenship on the grounds of subsection 1 may, however, apply for the retention of it. The application must be made before the applicant has reached the age of twenty-two. When a person loses his Finnish citizenship on the grounds of subsection 1, his child shall simultaneously lose his, if he has acquired it through that parent, yet not if the child were to become stateless on that account. Section 9 (10.8.1984/584) A Finnish citizen, who is also the citizen of another country, or who wishes to become the citizen of another country, may on application be released from his Finnish citizenship. Release cannot be refused, if the applicant is permanently resident abroad. If the applicant is not yet the citizen of another country when making the application, he shall be released from his Finnish citizenship only on condition that he acquires the citizenship of another country within a set period of time. Section 10 The government may, on having concluded reciprocity agreements with Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, ordain the application of one or more of the provisions in subsections 2-5 below. The term contracting state used in these provisions shall denote the state or states with whom Finland has concluded agreements on the application of the said provisions. If a person makes a declaration under the provisions of section 5, and if he has been permanently resident and domiciled in a contracting state more than five years prior to his declaration, this shall be considered equivalent to his residing in Finland, yet taking into account only the time prior to his reaching the age of seventeen years. In the cases referred to above in section 6, residence in a contracting state until the age of twelve shall be considered equivalent to residence in Finland. A citizen of a contracting state, who has reached the age of eighteen, and who has not acquired his citizenship through naturalization, and who has, for the last seven years, been permanently resident and domiciled in Finland, and who during this time has not been sentenced to imprisonment, may acquire Finnish citizenship by lodging a declaration with the Ministry of the Interior, expressing his desire to become a Finnish citizen. A person who has lost his Finnish citizenship, and who has subsequently without interruption been the citizen of a contracting state, may after taking up permanent residence in Finland acquire Finnish citizenship by lodging a declaration with the Ministry of the Interior expressing his wish to become a Finnish citizen. As for children, the provisions of section 7 shall apply in the cases referred to in subsections 3-5. (10.8.1984/584) Section 11 An alien shall by virtue of section 4 become a Finnish citizen on the day the decision on his naturalization is passed, provided the decision is not subject to any conditions. If the decision is conditional, the alien shall acquire Finnish citizenship as from the day when the Ministry of the Interior finds that the conditions have been fulfilled. This also applies to the decision whereby a Finnish citizen is released from his Finnish citizenship by virtue of section 9. (10.8.1984/584) Section 12 (10.8.1984/584) The declaration referred to above in sections 3a, 3b, 5 and 6, 8a subsection 3 and section 10 must be made in writing to the Ministry of the Interior. The Ministry shall by its decision establish whether the person who has made the declaration shall thus acquire Finnish citizenship. The citizenship shall be considered acquired on the day when the declaration is registered at the Ministry of the Interior. Section 12a (10.8.1984/584) Where a minor is concerned, the application or declaration regarding Finnish citizenship, like the application for release from it, can only be made by his custodian. If a minor has more than one custodian, and if the said application has been made by only one of them, the others must be notified of it. If a minor has reached the age of fifteen, he must be heard in person on account of his custodian's application or declaration. A minor who has reached the age of fifteen cannot acquire Finnish citizenship or be released from it, if he has expressed his objections to it. As for the voice of a legally incompetent person in matters relating to Finnish citizenship, the provisions of the Act of Administrative Procedure (598/82) shall be complied with. Section 13 Anyone desiring an expounding of his Finnish citizenship shall address himself to the President of the Republic, who on procuring a statement on the matter from the Supreme Court of Administration, has the authority to expound on it. Section 14 More detailed provisions for the application of this Act will be issued by decree. Section 15 This Act shall come into force on the 1st of July 1968, and shall repeal the Act of the 9th of May 1941 of the Acquiring and Loss of Finnish Citizenship (325/41), including later amendments. A person who was born stateless in this country, who still is stateless, and who has not yet reached the age of eighteen, shall acquire Finnish citizenship on the Act's coming into force, if he is permanently resident and domiciled in Finland at the time. A person who reaches the age of twenty-two within a year of the Act's coming into force, may make the declaration referred to in section 5 within two years of the said Act's coming into force. A woman who has lost her Finnish citizenship before this Act's coming into force, on account of being married to an alien or her husband's becoming the citizen of another country, but who would have retained it by virtue of the provisions of this Act, shall regain it by making a declaration in writing to the Ministry of the Interior, expressing her wish to regain her Finnish citizenship. The declaration shall, however, be made within five years of this Act's coming into force. As for children, the provisions of section 7 subsection 2 shall apply. (10.8.1984/584) This Act shall come into force on the 1st of September 1984. A child born after the 31st of August 1966, but before this Act's coming into force, and 1) who would have acquired Finnish citizenship at birth, if section 1 subsection 1 of this Act had been in force at the time, or 2) who has acquired Finnish citizenship at birth, but who has lost it on the grounds of section 8 subsection 1 item 4 of the Act in force at the time of this Act's coming into force, or the corresponding provisions in force prior to it, shall acquire Finnish citizenship upon declaration by the child's custodian, if the child's mother is a Finnish citizen when the declaration is made, and the child is under eighteen years of age and unmarried. The declaration referred to above in subsection 2 shall be made before the 1st of September 1987. If the child was born before the 1st of March 1967, the declaration may be made by the 28th of February 1985, even when the child has reached the age of eighteen. As for the declaration, the provisions of sections 12, 12a subsections 1 and 2 shall apply. A child who has acquired Finnish citizenship by virtue of subsection 2 item 1, shall on application of section 8a subsection 2 to him, be considered equal to a child who has acquired Finnish citizenship at birth.