Means of support

When you apply for Finnish citizenship, you must provide information on your income sources in Finland. The requirements concerning sufficient financial resources depend on whether you have submitted your application on or after 17 December 2025, or before 17 December 2025.

The following links will take you directly to the different sections of the page:

Requirement for sufficient financial resources if you have submitted your application on or after 17 December 2025

When you apply for Finnish citizenship, you must meet the requirement for sufficient financial resources. Sufficient financial resources means that you have not received unemployment benefit or social assistance for longer than 3 months in total during the past 2 years.

  • The following benefits count as unemployment benefit:
    • labour market subsidy
    • basic unemployment allowance
    • general social security benefit
    • earnings-related unemployment allowance
      • Note that the general social security benefit paid by Kela replaces labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance as of 1 May 2026.
  • Social assistance refers to basic social assistance paid to the applicant or his or her spouse or partner by Kela and supplementary and preventive social assistance paid by a wellbeing services county, City of Helsinki or Åland.

See examples of sufficient financial resources on the page Frequently asked questions: Finnish citizenship.

State in your application your income sources in Finland during the past 2 years.

Your income must be legal and enough to live on. If you have only received general housing allowance, for example, it is not regarded as sufficient without any other sources of income.

If your spouse has received social assistance

When we examine whether the income requirement is met, we also verify whether your spouse has been paid social assistance during the past 2 years. This is because social assistance is a benefit for the whole family. Even if your spouse or partner was the one who applied for social assistance, you are considered to be a beneficiary of social assistance as well. A spouse refers to a married spouse, a cohabiting partner and a registered partner.

If you are over 65 years old

If you have reached the age of 65, the requirement for sufficient financial resources does not concern you. You do not need to attach any documents on your income to the application, and your income will not be investigated.

Proving your means of support

State in your application your income sources in Finland during the past 2 years. For example: if you have a job now but you have earlier received benefits from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), mention both sources.