Finnish citizenship

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Citizenship application

Apply with this application for Finnish citizenship for yourself and for minor children in your care. A minor cannot apply for citizenship on his or her own with this application. If you also apply for citizenship for a minor child you need a supplement form for him or her. Which supplement form you need depends on the age of the child.

Expected processing time for application

7-27 months
Electronic application fee
460 €
Paper application fee
690 €

This is what you should do

1

Make sure you meet the requirements for becoming a citizen.

2

Make sure you have all the attachments needed for the application and that they are up to date. If necessary, have them translated and legalised.

3

Fill in your application.

4

Pay for your electronic application in the e-service Enter Finland. Pay for a paper application at a service point.

5

Book an appointment for a visit at a service point. To submit a citizenship application, you must visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service in Finland.

6

Wait for a decision. The Finnish Immigration Service will contact you if necessary.

7

Read what happens after you have applied.

Requirements

Make sure you meet the requirements for becoming a citizen before you submit an application.

In Finland, a person becomes an adult when he or she turns 18. You can establish your identity by showing us reliable documents (such as your passport) or by giving us reliable information about at least your name, date of birth, nationality and family ties. When we are determining your identity, we will also take into account any information you have given us earlier about your identity. Read more on the page Determination of identity.

You must have at least satisfactory oral and written skills in the Finnish or Swedish language or, alternatively, satisfactory skills in the Finnish or Finland-Swedish sign language. You can prove your language skills in many ways, for example with a National Certificate of Language Proficiency or a leaving certificate issued by a Finnish comprehensive school. Read more on the page Language skills.

You need to have lived in Finland for

the past five years without interruption (continuous period of residence) or
a total of seven years after you turned 15 (accumulated period of residence). Out of these seven years, you need to have lived in Finland without interruption for the past two years.

In exceptional cases, a shorter period of residence is enough. Read more on the page Period of residence.

Integrity means that you have not committed any punishable act and that no restraining order has been issued against you. However, offences for which you have been punished by petty fines do not prevent you from becoming a Finnish citizen. If you have committed a punishable act, you may have to wait for a certain period of time before you get Finnish citizenship. It is also possible that the Finnish Immigration Service finds that you cannot be granted Finnish citizenship until further notice. Read more on the page Integrity.

General attachments

Valid passport or another identity document if you do not have a passport
Certificate of language skills
Statement on current and earlier income. You do not need to send us a statement concerning information that the Finnish Immigration Service receives from the tax authorities or from the operator that has granted a benefit to you.

Application-specific attachments

Send us the following attachments if you request an exception to the period of residence requirement:
- Statement from your employer concerning the exception to the period of residence requirement
- Your own free-form written statement concerning the exception to the period of residence requirement
Send us the following attachments if you request an exception to the language skills requirement:
- Statement from your employer concerning the exception to the language skills requirement
- Your own free-form written statement concerning the exception to the language skills requirement
- Medical certificate concerning the exception to the language skills requirement
- Certificate of elementary skills in Finnish or Swedish
- Certificate of regular participation in Finnish or Swedish studies
- Certificate of illiteracy
Further statement on children
Further statement on travel
Statement on moving inside Finland or abroad
Payment plan
Further statement on earlier sources of income
Co-applicants’ supplement forms:
- Child’s supplement form: KAN_Liitelomake (in Finnish, in Swedish)
- Child’s hearing, KAN_LAPSK
- Child’s consent, KAN_LAPSS
- Consent of the other guardian, KAN_HUOLTS

To check the requirements for a child for becoming a Finnish citizen, see the page Requirements.