Citizenship Act changed on 17 December 2025 – applicants must have sufficient financial resources
Amendments to the Citizenship Act entered into force on 17 December 2025. A person applying for Finnish citizenship is now required to have sufficient financial resources.
Applicants are not considered to have sufficient financial resources if they have resorted to unemployment benefits or social assistance for more than 3 months in total during the past 2 years. Applicants must also provide a reliable account of the source of the money they have received for living in Finland during the past 2 years. Read more about the requirement for sufficient financial resources on the page Means of support.
Amendments to the Citizenship Act also affect establishing the applicant’s identity. If the applicant has been issued an alien’s passport for the purpose of getting a national passport, he or she must present a valid national passport when applying for citizenship. Read more on the page Establishment of identity.
The impact of criminal offences on acquiring citizenship has also increased. The waiting period imposed in connection with negative decisions may be 1–8 years. Citizenship is not typically granted during this period. It is also easier to lose citizenship if the applicant has given false information, acted fraudulently or committed serious offences. Read more on the pages Integrity and Loss of citizenship.
To read answers to frequently asked questions, see also the page Frequently asked questions: Finnish citizenship.
Changes concern applications submitted on or after 17 December
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.
If you submit your application on or after 17 December 2025, we will make a decision on it in accordance with the new requirements.
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.
You must also meet the requirements for citizenship when your application is being decided. For example, we will check that you meet the requirement for sufficient financial resources on the day we make the decision on your application.
When you meet the requirements for citizenship, submit your application using the Enter Finland online service. If you are unable to use Enter Finland, fill in a paper application and book an appointment to visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service to submit your application.
When you submit an application using Enter Finland, you can follow the processing status of your application on your account. If you have filled in your email address in your application, we will also send you automated messages about the processing of your application.
For more information about applying for citizenship, see the page Finnish citizenship.
For the estimated processing times for applications, see the page Processing times for applications.
Apply for citizenship in Enter Finland – you may not need to visit a service point
You may not need to visit a service point when applying for citizenship 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.
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
- Customer bulletin of the Finnish Immigration Service: Are you applying for Finnish citizenship before the legislative amendments enter into force in December?
- 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).
