The Minister of Defence of Finland, Antti Häkkänen, has proposed stricter dual citizenship rules, advocating for the principle of reciprocity. According to Minister Häkkänen, Finland should grant dual citizenship reciprocally – only to citizens of countries that grant dual citizenship to passport holders of Finland.
In an official press release, Minister Häkkänen emphasized the need for changes to the current citizenship law to prevent any undesirable conflict of interest situations. While he did not explicitly mention any specific country, his statement suggested that Finland should no longer grant dual citizenship to Russians.
The Finnish Ministry of Interior is currently preparing a report on the matter, with an expected completion date before the end of the year. However, Minister Häkkänen hopes for a quicker timeline, considering security concerns.
Finland has also announced plans for stricter laws on granting citizenship. The Finnish Minister of Interior, Mari Rantanen, highlighted the need for integration and emphasized that Finnish citizenship will no longer be as easily granted as before.
The proposed changes include increasing the residency requirement from five to eight years, tightening probity requirements, and instituting a citizenship test assessing applicants’ knowledge of Finnish society, rules, and history. The changes are intended to ensure that citizenship is granted with greater consideration and responsibility.
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