Citizenship in Finland can be obtained on the basis of birth, marriage of parents, adoption, or the place of birth. In addition, it may be acquired by application or by declaration to authorities. Finnish citizenship acquisition is based primarily on the legal principle of jus sanguinis. Image File history File links Coat_of_arms_of_Finland. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... For other uses, see Adoption (disambiguation). ... Jus sanguinis (Latin for right of blood) is a right by which nationality or citizenship can be recognised to any individual born to a parent who is a national or citizen of that state. ...

Birth

A child acquires Finnish citizenship at birth if

• the child's mother is a Finnish citizen;
• the child's father is a Finnish citizen and the parents are married;
• the child's father is a Finnish citizen, the child is born out of wedlock, and paternity has been established;
• the child's father who died before the child was born was a Finnish citizen and who was married to the child's mother at the time of his death; or
• the child's father, who died before the birth of the child, was a Finnish citizen and the child was born in Finland out of wedlock and the father's paternity was established.

Marriage is a relationship and bond, most commonly between a man and a woman, that plays a key role in the definition of many families. ...

Legitimation

A child who is born abroad and whose father is a Finnish citizen will acquire Finnish citizenship when the parents get married. If paternity has been established, the child will acquire Finnish citizenship as of the date of the marriage contract. If paternity is established after this point, the child will acquire Finnish citizenship as of the date on which paternity is established.

Adoption

A foreign adopted child under 12 years of age will automatically acquire Finnish citizenship if at least one of the adoptive parents is a Finnish citizen and if the adoption is recognised as valid in Finland. A local register office will enter the child's Finnish citizenship in the population register.

If the adoption decision was made prior to June 1, 2003, an adopted child under 12 years of age may apply for Finnish citizenship by declaration. Application must be made on or before 31 May 2008. June 1 is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

An adopted child who is over 12 years old may apply for Finnish citizenship by declaration.

Naturalisation as a Finnish Citizen

Finnish citizenship can be acquired by application or declaration

Citizenship by Application

A foreigner may be granted Finnish citizenship upon meeting certain requirements, including:

• six years continuous residence; or
• a total of eight years residence since age 15, with the last two years residence continuous; and
• knowledge of either Finnish, Swedish or Finnish sign language.

For those married to a Finnish citizen for more than three years, the residence requirement is reduced to :

• four years continuous residence, or
• six years total residence since age 15 (with the last two years continuous).

These reduced residence requirements also apply to recognised refugees and stateless persons.

Former Finnish citizens and citizens of other Nordic countries are only required to have two years continuous residence in Finland.

The authorities have the right to refuse an application for citizenship by application even if the requirements are met.

Citizenship by Declaration

Declaration is a simpler method of acquiring Finnish citizenship. If the legal requirements are met it must be granted.

Categories of persons eligible for citizenship by declaration include:

Long Resident Young Persons

Persons aged between 18-22 may acquire Finnish citizenship by declaration if:

• resident in Finland for a total of 10 years (6 years if born in Finland); and
• domiciled in Finland; and
• not sentenced to imprisonment

Residence in another Nordic country before the age of 16 counts as residence in Finland (up to a maximum of 5 years).

Citizens of Nordic Countries

Citizens of other Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Norway) who are former Finnish citizens and have held a Nordic country citizenship continuously since then may acquire Finnish citizenship by declaration if domiciled in Finland. There is no minimum residence requirement.

Otherwise the requirements are:

• the person is not a naturalised citizen of that country; and
• six years residence in Finland

A citizen of a Nordic country not eligible for citizenship by declaration may still be eligible for citizenship by application.

Dual Citizenship

With effect from 1 June 2003, a Finnish citizen acquiring a foreign citizenship does not lose Finnish citizenship.

Former Finnish citizens who lost Finnish citizenship prior to this date (upon naturalisation in another country) may re-acquire Finnish citizenship by declaration. Children of former Finnish citizens may also acquire Finnish citizenship by declaration. The deadline for submission of applications is 31 May 2008.

As of July 2005, over 5000 people had acquired or resumed Finnish citizenship under this new provision. ^[1]

The changes to the law also mean that foreigners seeking naturalisation as a Finnish citizen do not need to renounce their former citizenship. They may retain it if the law of the other country permits them to do so.

Ålandic provincial right of domicile

People from the autonomous Finnish province of Åland, have provincial (Ålandic) right of domicile in addition to their national (Finnish) citizenship. The right of domicile is called hembygdsrätt (kotiseutuoikeus in Finnish) and it gives Ålanders the right to buy and own real estate, abstain from national service, vote for and be elected to the Lagting and set up a business on Åland. Ordinary Finns withoutright of domicile have none of these rights in Åland. Motto none Anthem Ã…länningens sÃ¥ng Capital (and largest city) Mariehamn Official languages Swedish Government Autonomous province  -  Governor Peter Lindbäck1  -  Premier Roger Nordlund Autonomy  -  Declared 1920   -  Recognized 19212  Accession to the  January 1, 19953 Area  -  Total 13,517 km² (unranked) 5,267 sq mi   -  Water (%) 89 Population  -  2005... The Lagting, or Lagtinget, is the parliament of Ã…land, an autonomous, demilitarised and unilingually Swedish territory of Finland. ...

Ordinary Finns can get Ålandic right of domicile after living on the islands for five years and proving their satisfactory knowledge of Swedish. Ålanders lose their right of domicile after living outside Åland for five years, or on forfeiting their Finnish citizenship.^[2][3] Non-Finns can obtain Ålandic right of domicile when obtaining Finnish citizenship, if they fulfill the requirements for the right of domicile.

Loss of Finnish Citizenship

Although dual citizenship is permitted, a Finnish citizen who is a citizen of another country will lose Finnish citizenship at age 22 unless he or she has sufficiently close ties with Finland.

Persons with close ties include those:

• those born in Finland and domiciled there on 22nd birthday
• with a total of seven years residence in Finland or another Nordic country
• to whom a Finnish passport was issued between the ages of 18 and 21
• who have completed military or non-military service in Finland between ages 18 and 21
• who have submitted a declaration of retention of Finnish citizenship between ages 18 and 21 to the appropriate authorities in Finland, or a Finland diplomatic mission overseas. Renunciation of foreign citizenship is not required.

See also

• Finland
• nationality
• citizenship
• nationality law
• passport
• multiple citizenship

In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city or town but now usually a country) and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen. ... Nationality law is the branch of a countrys legal system wherein legislation, custom and court precedent combine to define the ways in which that countrys nationality and citizenship are transmitted, acquired or lost. ... For other types of travel document, see Travel document. ... Countries that do (yellow) and do not (red) permit multiple citizenship. ...

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ Landskapslagen om hembygdsrätt (ÅFS 2/1993). Retrieved on 3/22/2007.
   Ahvenanmaan itsehallintolaki (1144/1991). Retrieved 5/22/2007
3. ^ [2]

External links

• Directorate of Immigration
• An unofficial English transation of the Nationality Act 2003 (a pdf file)