2018
Request for opinions: Military posts in the defence administration to be restricted to persons with Finnish citizenship only
The Ministry of Defence has prepared a draft government proposal to amend section 37 of the Act on the Defence Forces and section 16 of the Act on the National Defence University.
The Government proposes to amend the Act on Defence Forces so that appointments to military posts in the Defence Forces would be available to persons with Finnish citizenship only. The proposed amendment to the Act on the National Defence University would mean that officer posts would be restricted to persons with Finnish citizenship only.
Both provisions would contain a possibility to grant an exemption from the citizenship requirement if deemed necessary. There would be transitional provisions addressing situations where a person who holds a dual citizenship upon the entry into force of the act has been appointed to a military post or has been admitted to training for an officer post or is undergoing training or has completed training for an officer post.
The Ministry of Defence requests opinions on the draft government proposal on dual citizenship in military posts in the defence administration. The proposal has been discussed in a meeting of the defence administration’s cooperation body for personnel policy on 23 May 2017.
The Ministry of Defence has prepared the legislative project in close collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and its corresponding project concerning the Border Guard.
Inquiries: Jenni Herrala, Senior Adviser for Legal Affairs, tel. +358 295 140 072 and Tuomas Hyvärinen, Senior Officer for Legal Affairs, tel. +358 295 140 233.