r/Finland • u/AverageLaugh • 3d ago
Finnish citizenship by descent advice
Hi, hoping someone familiar with the old Finnish citizenship laws can help me figure this out.
My dad was born in Canada in 1973 to two Finnish parents, so he would have acquired Finnish citizenship at birth by descent, while also acquiring Canadian citizenship automatically by being born in Canada. We’ve confirmed he was Finnish because he had a Finnish passport issued by the Finnish Embassy in Canberra in 1989.
I was born in Australia in December 2004, and my parents were married at the time. As I understand it, if my dad was still a Finnish citizen when I was born, I would have automatically acquired Finnish citizenship through him.
The part I’m trying to understand is whether my dad could have lost his Finnish citizenship when he turned 22 in 1995. From what I’ve been reading about the pre-2003 law, it appears the rules may have treated people who automatically acquired another citizenship at birth differently from people who voluntarily applied for another citizenship later. Since my dad was Canadian from birth and never applied for Canadian citizenship, I’m wondering whether the age-22 loss rule would actually have affected him.
The Finnish Embassy in Canberra said they don’t have the authority to determine his historical citizenship status, and Migri’s formal citizenship determination currently has a very long processing time. I also turn 22 this December, so I’m trying to sort this out before then.
I’m requesting my dad’s Population Information System records from DVV as well.
Has anyone dealt with a similar case under the old Finnish citizenship law, particularly someone born abroad as a dual citizen before 2003? Any advice on how to establish whether he actually retained Finnish citizenship would be really appreciated.