All issues related to the acquisition and restoration of Finnish citizenship are regulated by the Finnish Citizenship Act, which has been in effect in the country since 01.06.2003. There are three ways to obtain Finnish citizenship: automatically, upon application and upon application.
Instructions
Step 1
The first way to obtain Finnish citizenship is the automatic granting of citizenship. A child of two Finnish citizens automatically acquires Finnish citizenship. If the child's father is Finnish, and the mother has citizenship of another state, the child will still receive Finnish citizenship automatically if the marriage between the mother and the father is officially concluded. In the event that the child was born out of wedlock, then the solution to the issue will depend on the place of birth of the child. In addition, a child born on the territory of the country to foreign nationals becomes an automatic citizen of Finland. An exception may be cases when the child automatically acquires the citizenship of the parent. An adopted child of Finnish parents also becomes a full citizen of Finland if the child is 12 years or younger at the time of adoption. Otherwise, the adopted child receives citizenship upon application.
Step 2
The second way to obtain Finnish citizenship is by submitting an application. A foreigner whose father has Finnish citizenship can apply for Finnish citizenship. A child of adoptive Finnish parents who is adopted over the age of 12 can also become a citizen of the country upon application. In addition, a young person (18-22) who has lived in the country for more than 10 years, or for more than 6 years (provided that the candidate was born in Finland) can use the method of obtaining citizenship upon application. Former Finnish citizens can also regain their lost citizenship by proving their long-term residence in the country.
Step 3
The most common way to obtain Finnish citizenship is through an application. A person over 18 years of age with a long period of residence in the country can apply for citizenship. In addition, in order to become a full-fledged citizen of the country, a person must have no convictions and violations of monetary and social and legal obligations. The candidate must documentarily prove that he has a stable income in the country, as well as pass a test of knowledge of the Finnish language of 3 levels of difficulty. Persons who have married a Finnish citizen go through a simplified procedure for obtaining citizenship.
