The Legation will await the Department’s further instructions.
[Enclosure]
The Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs
(Procopé) to the American
Minister (Pearson)
Helsinki, March 7, 1930.
No. 2894
Monsieur le Ministre: In your note No. 112,
dated January 4, 1929, you were good enough to bring to the
attention of my Government the Joint Resolution passed by the
Congress and approved, on May 28, 1929 [1928],4 by
the President of the United States, requesting the President of the
United States to endeavour as soon as possible, to negotiate
treaties with remaining nations with which the United States have no
such agreements, providing that persons, born in the United States
of foreign parentage, and naturalized American citizens shall not be
held liable for military service or any other act of allegiance
during a stay in the territory subject to the jurisdiction of any
such nation while citizens of the United States of America under the
laws [Page 2] thereof. You were also
pleased to forward to me a draft treaty concerning nationalization
and military service, designed to carry out the provisions of the
Resolution.
In your note No. 113, dated the same day you were good enough to
inquire if the Finnish Government would be willing to consider the
adoption of an agreement for the termination of one nationality or
the other in cases of dual nationality arising at birth, upon
attainment by persons concerned of a prescribed age.
Permit me to assure you, Monsieur le Ministre, that the suggestions
and proposals, made by you in your notes on behalf of your
Government, to arrive at a solution of the problem of dual
nationality, were received by the Government of Finland with sincere
appreciation. The regulation of the status of nationality of the
hundreds of thousands of natives of Finland, who have emigrated to
and reside in the United States, is of the greatest importance also
for Finland.
From long experience acquainted with the evils of dual nationality
the Government of Finland has always been convinced of the necessity
of proper measures for the abolition of the same and with that end
in view, in 1927 a law of loss of Finnish citizenship was approved
by the Diet of Finland, which law, effective on January 1, 1928,
practically covers the requirements of the principal provisions of
the draft treaty forwarded by you, although it differs from it in
some details.
The said Law of loss of Finnish citizenship prescribes in its Section
1 that a citizen of Finland automatically loses his Finnish
nationality by becoming citizen of another country if he resides or
moves abroad. This includes the naturalization of persons of age,
the naturalization of minors through that of their parents and also
the naturalization of women through marriage; women of Finnish
nationality, who do not acquire foreign citizenship through
marriage, remain Finnish citizens. This Section is in full accord
with Article I of the proposed treaty except in one point, to wit:
according to the said Section 1 no Finnish man between 17–28 years
of age, can lose his Finnish citizenship by becoming citizen of
another country, unless the President of the Republic, upon petition
thereof, releases him from the same.
As to Article II of the proposed treaty the original act of
emigration is not punishable in Finland. On the other hand failure
to respond to calls for military service is liable to punishment,
but according to Section 1 of the Law of loss of Finnish citizenship
only those who cannot show that they have become citizens of another
country either before they had attained the age of 17 years or after
the attainment of the age of 28 years, are liable to be punished
upon returning to Finland.
The requirements of Article III of the proposed treaty are partly
covered by Section 1 of the Law of loss of Finnish citizenship. A
[Page 3] native of the United
States, naturalized in Finland, loses automatically his Finnish
citizenship upon returning to and becoming again a citizen of the
United States. On the other hand the laws of Finland contain no
provisions for the renunciation of acquired foreign and renewal of
Finnish citizenship through the mere act of returning to and two
years residence in Finland, such person being repatriated on
petition.
Article IV of the draft treaty is based on the principle that a
person, born in the territories of the United States, is a citizen
of the United States, even if his parents, at the time of his birth,
are foreigners. Finland, on the other hand, adheres to the principle
of the nationality of the parents, but in order to facilitate the
regulation of the status of those of its nationals who have
emigrated to foreign countries and especially to the United States,
Finland has, in Section 2 of the Law of loss of Finnish nationality,
made an important modification of the said principle by prescribing
in the said Section that a citizen of Finland, born outside of the
territories of Finland, loses his Finnish citizenship after
attainment of the age of 22 years provided he has never acquired a
residence, attended school at least two years or been in military
service in Finland unless the President of the Republic, on petition
thereof, has otherwise decided. After the loss of his Finnish
citizenship at the age of 22 years such a person is not, during a
subsequent stay in Finland, held liable for military service or any
other act of allegiance. This modification is in entire accord with
the suggestion made by you in your note No. 113 that the
nationality, after attainment of majority, of a person born with
dual nationality, should be determined by the domicile of such a
person at the time of reaching majority, or upon the termination of
a period of one year thereafter.
From what I have had the honour to state in the foregoing [it]
appears that the question of the abolition of dual nationality has
already been solved in Finland in a manner which in the most
important points corresponds to the requirements of the proposed
treaty and settles by far the most numerous cases of dual
nationality. Only two questions remain to be solved, namely the
question of the nationality of Finnish men, born in Finland, but
naturalized in the United States, either with their parents or
alone, after the attainment of the age of 17 but before the
attainment of the age of 28 years, and the question of the
nationality of the children of Finnish nationals, born in the
territories of the United States, until they have attained the age
of 22 years.
Although of no great practical consequence the solution of the above
two questions in accordance with the requirements of the provisions
[Page 4] of the draft treaty would
necessitate legislative amendments and alterations of certain laws,
especially of that of loss of Finnish citizenship. This law has,
however, been in force a too short time to allow the opinions as to
its operation to be settled, wherefore, and also considering that
Finland already has taken very farreaching steps to attain the very
ends which the proposed treaty aims to effect, the Government of
Finland sincerely regrets not to feel justified, for the present, to
appeal to the Diet for legislative sanction to additional
concessions to meet all the requirements of the draft treaty. I have
therefore, the honour to suggest that the negotiations for the
treaty be continued on the basis of following modifications of the
draft treaty.
That 1) Finnish men, between the ages of 17 and 28 years, born in
Finland, and 2) children of Finnish nationals, born in the
territories of the United States, until they have attained the age
of 22 years, shall, during a stay in Finland, be held liable for
military service and all other acts of allegiance to Finland,
according to its laws.
Please accept [etc.]
