Are you applying for Finnish citizenship before the legislative amendments enter into force in December?

The amendments to the Citizenship Act will enter into force on 17 December 2025.

We will process all applications submitted before 17 December 2025 in the Enter Finland online service or at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service in accordance with the old Citizenship Act. In other words, if you have submitted your application on 16 December 2025 at the latest, the amendments to the Citizenship Act will not affect your application.

Your application will be processed under the old Act even if you are unable to prove your identity at a service point before the amendments enter into force. It is enough that you have submitted your application in Enter Finland on 16 December 2025 at the latest.

If you have submitted your application in Enter Finland but are unable to book an appointment in the appointment system, you do not need to go to a service point and queue. Book an appointment later if the desired times are not yet available in the appointment system. For more information about booking an appointment, see the page Book an appointment at a service point in advance.

We will also provide separate information once the legislative amendments have entered into force.

Only apply for citizenship when you meet the requirements

Make sure that you meet all the requirements for citizenship before you submit your application. If you apply for citizenship before you meet the requirements, you may receive a negative decision. In addition, your application is transferred to the queue for applications that will be processed more slowly. The processing time of your application will also be longer if we have to ask for additional information.

For more information about applying for citizenship, see the page Finnish citizenship.

What is the date of submission of the application?

If you apply for citizenship in the Enter Finland online service, the date when you send your application will be considered the date of submission of the application.

If you apply for citizenship with a paper form, the date on which you prove your identity and submit your application at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service is considered the date of submission of the application.

When can you avoid visiting a service point?

You may not have to visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service to prove your identity if:

• you are aged 18 or over and you are applying for citizenship for yourself with a citizenship application, and
• you are using strong identification on your Enter Finland account, such as Finnish online banking credentials, and
• you pay for your application in Enter Finland.

Once you have submitted your application, Enter Finland will let you know if you have to prove your identity at a service point or not.

For more information, see the page Identification.

Further information

• Customer bulletin of the Finnish Immigration Service: Amendments to the Citizenship Act in December 2025 – stricter requirements concerning sufficient financial resources, establishment of identity and integrity
• Press release of the Ministry of the Interior: Sufficient financial resources to be required for Finnish citizenship (intermin.fi)

The Citizenship Act will be reformed in three stages. The third phase of the reform is still to be completed. You can follow the progress of the reform on the Ministry of the Interior website (intermin.fi).