Dual citizenship is closely monitored in Finland. Should states require reciprocal agreements from other countries when deciding who to grant citizenship to?
Do some dual nationals pose a security risk? This week’s All Points North podcast episode covers the recognition and treatment of Russian nationals in Finland, and how that might change in the future .
“After Russia annexed Crimea and started a war in eastern Ukraine, citizenship laws, dual citizenship, and the overall attitude towards Finland began to change,” says Olga Davydova Minget, professor of border affairs and Russian studies. says the German University Karelia Institute, which specializes in Eastern Finland.
“Even before that, there were concerns about Russia’s politics with its neighbors.”
Listen to the episode in this embedded player, on Yle Arena, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
duel of citizenship
Finland already has restrictions in place for dual nationals from some countries to serve in any role in the military. However, the principle of reciprocity is currently on the agenda.
This means that in the future Finland may only grant citizenship to people from countries with similar citizenship systems.
In practice, this means that nationals of countries that require renunciation of previous citizenship before granting citizenship will no longer be eligible to obtain Finnish citizenship.
Davidova-Minguett said the measures are unlikely to prevent Russia from using the issue as a pretext.
“The concept of Russian compatriots is actually already enough,” Davydova-Minge said. “A very wide range of people can be considered Russia’s compatriots. Just speaking Russian is enough to be labeled. Having ancestry from the Russian Federation, the USSR or the former Empire is enough, and Russia has shown how it works and has worked in Ukraine, for example. ”
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This week’s show was presented by Egan Richardson and Miyuki Jokiranta. The sound engineer was Anders Johansson.
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