The Finnish Nationality Act was revised in September 2011 to include an exhaustive list of the certificates accepted as proof of proficiency in Finnish or Swedish language when applying for Finnish citizenship. This is why the Finnish Immigration Service no longer carries out preliminary appraisals of whether a certain type of certificate is considered an acceptable proof of language proficiency. Applicants are therefore advised not to send certificates to the Finnish Immigration Service before submitting a citizenship application.
You can check the website of the Finnish Immigration Service for information about the types of certificates you can use to demonstrate language proficiency when applying for Finnish citizenship. You can also find useful information in our frequently asked questions.
Only fully completed qualifications are accepted
Please note that only certificates issued for full completion of a qualification are accepted. Although it is sometimes possible to obtain a certificate for partial completion of a qualification, such certificates are not accepted as proof of language proficiency when applying for Finnish citizenship.
Certificates issued for education undertaken in preparation for a qualification are also not considered adequate proof of language proficiency.
