EU passport

[dstone]

Born in Finland, is it possible to obtain a EU passport? I moved from Finland when I was still young to USA.

Thanks.

[mookoo]

Well, if you were born in Finland, you can get Finnish citizenship automatically.

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 is 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.

Although, I don't know if you can obtain Finnish citizenship while living abroad. And even if you could, I don't know if you could get a Finnish passport while living abroad. Maybe someone on here will know, but it also may help if you contact someone at the UVI. They would probably know best.

[RSH]

If England is anything to go by, you can get your EU passport easily by saying who you are based on your birth. (The difference between an application of citizenship and automatic citizenship)
You become a Citizen immediately and get the passport and can do anything really.

But you technically don't become a Resident until living there for 4 years. Once that time has passed you don't need to do anything (in the UK at least) but the terminology marks the difference. The only thing I can think of where that had been a problem for me is if I wanted to enrol in university, I had to be a resident...

[Rosamunda]

AFAIK, if you were born in Finland but neither of your parents is Finnish you do not get citizenship automatically.

[dstone]

AFAIK, if you were born in Finland but neither of your parents is Finnish you do not get citizenship automatically.

grandparents came from finland, went to new york, my father was born there but my father lived in finland during the time he was married to a foreigner (not finnish) and I was born in Finland.

[dstone]

grandma (deceased) - finnish citizen
father - us citizen
mother - resident alien in USA, doesnt hold any citizenship
me- born in finland, have US citizenship through father

Am I able to get an EU passport? who would I talk to or find informaiton on how to apply?

[Dan]

It seems not but the contact deals for those who could officially answer your question are on the link that mookoo already gave you.

[ColKlink]

I doubt highly that your mother has no citizenship. Presumably she had Finnish citizenship (probably still has it) so you can get it through her. Even if she renounced it to get another citizenship (which I don't think happened) you'd be eliglble. She would be too for that matter.

Grandparents don't count, but assuming that your mother isn't a citizen of any country (which of course is ridiculous) she could get Finnish by declaration. Then theoretically you could do the same, but maybe not. I think your parent has to have acquired citizenship though...non-declaration means. Anyway, this doesn't apply to you I'm sure.

Don't even think about contacting UVI about this, though. Their English skills are zero. And they don't take kindly to having to do their job. They actually wanted me to call between 8 and 10 in the morning local time to catch the one guy who they thought could answer my question. What kind of job is that? You come in for two hours and leave?

So regretably I can only suggest the US Finnish embassy. Their English is only marginally better than UVI and they also despise doing their jobs. The people at the LA embassy are jerks and the ones at the New York consulate aren't reliable. Stick to the Washington embassy and you'll save a lot of time and aggravation. And don't call them unless you speak Finnish. They won't be able to help in any meaningful way over the phone (in English). Stick to email, but don't expect clear answers to anything. I did it, though.

Also, you can get citizenship and a passport if you're living abroad. Took me nine months from first contact for the application forms to getting the passport. Could probably do it in half that time easy if you only deal with the Washington embassy (not New York or LA). A lot of hastles, though..

[Hank W.]

It totally depends on the status of your parents at the time they & you was born. It doesn't matter where you were born - mother=Finnish, child=Finnish automagically regadless of the place of birth, but after that it becomes hairy. The "Citizenship by Declaration" also has a time period until after its not available any more (transition period of the dual nationality law).

One test for "being Finnish" is the language. Either by official means or by obtuse bureaucrats.

I doubt highly that your mother has no citizenship.

"nationless refugee" or "misplaced person", in Finland say a citizen of Imperial Russia after 1918. Lots of people like that around 1920's and 1930's, or then citizens of Estonia or the Baltic states after 1941, or even today people with an Estonian alien's passport... not impossible at all.

[dstone]

my mother was a soviet union citizen, since soviet union doesnt exist anymore she has no citizenship to any country. My grandparents were from Finland, father was born in New York but lived in Finland for a while where I was born.

[ColKlink]

I dont know then. Theres something about being able to get citizenship if you were born in a part of the Soviet Union that used to be a part of Finland. I dont know if this would help you, but just send an email to the Washington embassy describing your situation. With any luck they might even give an accurate answer.

[Hank W.]

ColKlink - That SU citizen thing is a so-called "returnee" case. One can get a residence permit; if the person or one of their parents or atleast 2 grandparents have been marked in the soviet passport as "finnish" + cases of Ingrian people been resident in Finland 1943-44 and hence repatriated and people who have served in the Finnish army at the same period. And one needs to show Finnish proficiency and have a place to live ready etc.

dstone - you can probably gain a residence permit in Finland on the "returnee emigrant" clause of "other Finnish origin";
http://www.uvi.fi/netcomm/content.asp?path=8,2475,2524

But citizenship requires your dad to have been a Finnish citizen at the time you were born.

http://www.uvi.fi/netcomm/content.asp?path=8,2477,2549
Now the new citizenship law allows your dad to declare for a Finnish citizenship through his parents, or you can declare that your father would be a "former Finnish citizen" case. theres a pdf on that page on the "former Finnish citizen" cases. Your father need not have applied to get a Finnish citizenship, therefore it might apply. Big *might* there.

Of course if the declaration doesn't work, if you get a residence permit you can stay in the country for some odd years and apply for a Finnish citizenship.

Theres a very distinct difference with declaration and application.

But no, Finnish citizenship doesn't depend where one is born.

[ani]

hiya. [new member to this promising forum]

all cases so far have been of people with some kind of birth relation to Finland. I was born in Australia and have resided here all my life; the closest relation that i have is my maternal grandfather, who is English.
I thought that, due to the number of citizens leaving Finland, the nation would be happy to allow others to obtain residency and citizenship [even if they are not seeking asylum]. But after reading this topic, i am not so sure... has anyone in the forums been through the process that i would be required to, in order to obtain a Finnish/Euro citizenship?

[Hank W.]

Oh, we have several. some who have been to interviewed by the secret police in the 1970's. For Finland you need to come, live decently and pass a language test.

For the UK thats another set of rules.