Citizenship of a child

According to the Nationality Act, ‘child’ refers to an unmarried person under 18 years of age.

A person’s citizenship is usually determined by the parentage principle or the birthplace principle. Each state is free to decide which principle it primarily follows.

The parentage principle means that a person’s citizenship is determined by the citizenship of the mother, father, or both. The birthplace principle means that a person’s citizenship is determined by his or her place of birth. The parentage principle is the primary principle applied in Finland.