letter about retaining citizenship

[rokingit]

hello! I need to write a free form letter and submit it to the local register office in order to retain my citizenship. I was just wondering what all i should write and i thought maybe one of you on this forum had experience with this kinda thing. I dont really think its okay to write " i want to keep my citizenship" and then just sign it....is it?

[mrshourula]

From my conversation with someone at the Finnish Consulate in Los Angeles (we live in California), it is as simple as writing a letter properly identifying yourself (name, social security number) and stating that you wish to retain your Finnish citizenship upon turning 22 years old. (BTW, the letter can be sent to a Finnish Embassy or Consulate if you are not currently in Finland.)

Of course you if you want to do something more substantial, you can always apply for a Finnish passport before you turn 22.

You may retain your Finnish citizenship on the basis of
sufficiently close ties with Finland, which may be any of
the following:

you were born in Finland and are domiciled in
Finland when you turn 22, or

you have lived in Finland or another Nordic country
(Denmark, Iceland, Norway or Sweden) for a total of
seven years before your 22nd birthday, or

you were issued a Finnish passport when you were
18-21 years old, or

you have done your military or non-military service
in Finland when you were 18-21 years old, or

you have submitted a declaration at the age 18-
21 to a Finnish diplomatic mission abroad (except
honorary consulates) or a local register office
in Finland that you wish to retain your Finnish
citizenship. This is a free-form declaration and may
be submitted in person or sent by post.

[mrshourula]

hello! I need to write a free form letter and submit it to the local register office in order to retain my citizenship. I was just wondering what all i should write and i thought maybe one of you on this forum had experience with this kinda thing. I dont really think its okay to write " i want to keep my citizenship" and then just sign it....is it?

I wrote to the Finnish Consulate in Los Angeles today with some questions about retaining citizenship at age 22 and among the documents they sent me was a template for the letter one can submit to retain citizenship (to be submitted between ages 18-21). This is the first time I've seen a specific format so I'm posting as an example for future reference.

----------------------------------------------------------------
(place) (date)

RETAINING FINNISH CITIZENSHIP AT THE AGE OF 22

Hereby I _____________ (full name) am submitting my declaration at the age 18-21 to the Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles on retaining my Finnish citizenship at the age of 22.

I was born in ______________ _________________________(city, state, country) on ___________________ (date: day/month/year)
My Finnish identity number is ____________________
or
My date of birth is _____________________ (day, month, year)

My contact information
______________ (street)
______________ (city, state, zip)
United States of America
______________ (home phone #)
______________ (cell phone number)
______________ (email address)

Attached is a copy of my United States passport (attach a copy!)
Attached are copies of my US and Finnish passports. (attach copies!)



____________ (signature)
____________ (name in block letters)