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I have got Finnish citizenship a few years ago. Before I was a pakistani national. Finland does not allow dual citizenship.

I want to travel to Pakistan via Musqat with my Finnish passport and want to show my Pakistani passport at departure to enter Pakistan is it safe and legal to do so. My Pakistani passport is still valid.

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    What's Pakistan's view on the matter? Some countries deem that you have given up your original nationality if you take a different new one of a country that doesn't allow dual citizenship?
    – Gagravarr
    Commented Jun 19, 2014 at 19:14
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    Is it possible to surrender Pakistani citizenship? Some countries (such as Turkey) do not permit this.
    – gerrit
    Commented Jun 19, 2014 at 21:53
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    @gerrit I am pretty sure Turkey does, it even has a rather original system to grant former citizens some but not all rights that go with citizenship (but Morocco does not).
    – Relaxed
    Commented Jun 20, 2014 at 6:58
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    @Relaxed Perhaps I got confused with Morocco. I recall in the Dutch debate on prohibiting dual citizenship (which concerns mainly (descendants of) immigrants from Turkey and Morocco) that one problem was that for some people it would be impossible to surrender their other citizenship.
    – gerrit
    Commented Jun 20, 2014 at 14:36
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    Are you sure that you're still a citizen of Pakistan? According to the Pakistani nationality law If you hold a citizenship outside of Pakistan the Pakistani citizenship is terminated (There are a few exceptions that do not seem to apply in your case).
    – Sam
    Commented Nov 20, 2015 at 12:16

6 Answers 6

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Although not a specific answer to your question, according to the Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C Finland does allow dual citizenship :

After June 1st, 2003 dual /multiple nationality is accepted by the Finnish legislation. Finnish nationals will no longer lose their Finnish nationality when they assume another nationality. Neither will foreign nationals gaining Finnish citizenship have to relinquish their present citizenship if the law in that country does not prevent them from gaining Finnish citizenship.

Thus from the Finland side you should have no issue with dual citizenship, as long as Pakistan allow it - which they do.

Given this, you will likely need to show both of your passports when leaving Finland - your Finnish one for immigration when departing Finland, and your Pakistan one when checking in for your flight so the airline can confirm you may enter Pakistan without a visa.

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All problems solved. Pakistan now allows dual citizenship with Finland. http://pakistanembassy.se/2015/11/18/dual-pakistani-finnish-citizenship/

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Who is each country's national is determined solely by that country's laws. A country cannot "allow" or "not allow" dual nationality, because dual nationality is not an act -- it is a condition that arises when multiple countries say a person has their nationality. Each country only controls its own nationality, not any other country's. A country can set its nationality's rules so that it's hard for dual nationality to occur, but no country's rules make it completely impossible for dual nationality to occur.

Whether you have Pakistani nationality is determined by Pakistani law. Finland has nothing to do with it. Some countries require that you renounce your existing nationalities and provide proof of it from the respective country as a prerequisite of naturalizing in their country. It doesn't appear Finland has such a requirement. But even if Finland had such a requirement, they may not enforce it, or may not know about a particular nationality of yours; ultimately, it's only what you actually did with respect to Pakistani law that matters for Pakistani nationality.

Since you did not renounce Pakistani nationality, the other thing to look at is if Pakistani law says you automatically lose Pakistani nationality if you voluntarily acquire another. Section 14 of Pakistan Citizenship Act 1951 says that any time someone has dual nationality, they cease to be a Pakistani national, with some exceptions: 1) people under 21, 2) national of the "United Kingdom and Colonies" or of other countries specified by the government, or 3) a woman married to a foreign national. Pakistan has made "dual nationality agreements" with 16 countries, but Finland is not among them.

From the face of it, it seems like you automatically lost Pakistani nationality, by operation of Pakistani law, when you acquired Finnish nationality, unless you are under 21 or are a Pakistani woman married to a non-Pakistani national. If you are not a Pakistani national anymore, you are not supposed to use a Pakistani passport, though you may get away with it.

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  • That's interesting and relevant but, like the other answers, it sounds more like an extended comment than anything.
    – Relaxed
    Commented Jun 20, 2014 at 6:55
  • No, it's a clear answer. The OP appears to have lost their Pakistan citizenship, and their passport is legally invalid, although they will most likely be able to use it anyway. Commented Jun 20, 2014 at 11:07
  • That said, Wikipedia and its links says that the 1951 Act has been partly overruled, and dual nationality is now generally permitted? So maybe the citizenship was not lost after all. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/… Commented Jun 20, 2014 at 11:10
  • @jpatokal: I saw that too. The statement just says "allows its citizens to hold dual citizenship". Technically it's still correct (just not specific) to say that when it's possible with 16 countries. Of the 3 sources, one is the original law; the embassy link says dual nationality is only possible with the U.S. and Sweden; and the 3rd link article claims "allows Pakistani citizens to have dual nationality", again it could be just not specific. Another article I found (tribune-intl.com/?p=1857) explicitly names the 16 countries.
    – user102008
    Commented Jun 20, 2014 at 18:18
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Not sure if it's the same for Finland and Pakistan, but the normal rule for people with both here (USA) is to show the passport for the country you're in (eg, show the Finnish passport in Finland, and when you arrive, show your Pakistan passport to enter the country). If you're worried about it, take a few signed copies of both passports with you, and give a copy to any official that needs copies.

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    In a general sense this won't work, as a Finnish citizen almost certainly needs a visa to enter Pakistan, and without one the airline will not let him board the plane.
    – Doc
    Commented Jun 19, 2014 at 20:24
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First of all its not about Finland which does not allow to have dual nationality . If you visit Migri pages, you can clearly find that they do not have any problem for Dual nationality . Its all from government of Pakistan who have contract with 16 other countries to keep dual nationality and if you get nationality of any other country except those 16 countries then you will have to legally surrender Pakistani nationality .I have worked out on this matter for the last one year , written several letters to government of Pakistan ,spoken to Finnish Embassy officials in Pakistan when they had their embassy in Islamabad.Finnish embassy(Islamabad) replied that they have no objection for that , its all from Government of Pakistan .

I have also made a page on Facebook which is:"We need dual nationality between Finland and Pakistan" . Where it is clearly described that how government policy is discriminating Pakistanis living in Finland.Also this kind of laws are not for people living in UK,CANADA AND many other countries .

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    Not entirely sure if this answers the user's actual question about using his Pakistani passport?
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Apr 8, 2015 at 11:12
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Its quite simple:

  1. At departure, show your Pakistan passport to get the boarding pass; otherwise the airline will not accept you for travel.

  2. At departure immigration, Show your Finnish passport, because this is the passport giving you the right to be in Finland.

  3. During transit, if required, use your Finnish passport. For example, if you are transiting on Emirates through Dubai and you want to stay over in Dubai, use your Finnish passport.

  4. At arrival in Pakistan, present your Pakistani passport, the entry will be stamped here.

  5. At departure from Pakistan, show the Finnish passport at the check-in counter, to get your boarding pass.

  6. At Pakistan immigration, show your Pakistan passport at the first counter. They will stamp the exit on this passport.

  7. At the second counter (there are two counters at exit for international in Pakistan), they will confirm your exit stamp. At this counter, they might ask to see your Finnish passport; its not a requirement but depending on the officer they might request additional information.

  8. During transit, you should use your Finnish passport.

  9. At arrival in Finland, present your Finnish passport to enter

The end result is:

  • One Exit and Entry stamp in Pakistani passport.

It is important for your future travel that you don't have missing stamps. This can cause all kinds of problems later on.

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