Citizenship application for a child
Use this application to apply for Finnish citizenship for your child if you or no other adults are applying for citizenship at the same time with the child. You can submit an application for Finnish citizenship for a child who is applying alone if:
- you are a Finnish citizen and have custody of the child; or
- you are the child's guardian; or
- you are a foreign national who has custody of the child and there is a weighty reason related to the best interest of the child for applying for citizenship for him or her alone.
You will find the application form at the bottom of this page. Please read the instructions on this page first before filling in the form.
If you yourself are applying for Finnish citizenship, you can add your child as a co-applicant to your application. In that case, the child must be under 18 years of age and you must have custody of the child.
This is what you should do
Get ready for applying:
The child’s identity has been reliably established
- A child’s identity can be established by showing us reliable documents (such as a passport or another identity document) or by giving us reliable information about at least the child’s name, date of birth, citizenship and family ties.
- When we are determining your child’s identity, we will also take into account any information you have given us earlier about his or her identity.
Read more on the page Establishment of identity.
Children over 15 years of age must have at least satisfactory language skills in Finnish or Swedish
- Children can prove their language skills in many ways, for example with a National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) or with a leaving certificate issued by a Finnish comprehensive school.
- Children who are over 15 years of age but do not yet have a leaving certificate from a Finnish comprehensive school can prove their language skills with their most recent school certificate, showing a passing mark in Finnish or Swedish as their native language or as a second language.
Read more on the page Language skills.
The child lives in Finland or has lived in Finland long enough
- A child who is under 15 years of age must be living legally in Finland when the citizenship application is decided.
- If the child has turned 15, his or her home must have been in Finland:
- for the past 4 years without interruption; or
- for a total of 6 years after he or she turned 7, with the last 2 years without interruption.
- If the child is a citizen of a Nordic country and has turned 15, his or her home must have been in Finland for the past 2 years without interruption.
Read more on the page Period of residence.
Children over 15 years of age must not have committed crimes
Read more on the page Integrity.
- Valid travel document or some other identity document if the child does not have a travel document. The travel document must be valid during the entire time your application is being processed
- Certificate of language skills if the child is over 15 years of age
- Proof of appointment of a legal guardian if the guardian submits the application
- If you are a foreign national who has custody of the child but only the child is applying for Finnish citizenship, attach a document stating why there is a weighty reason for the child to apply for citizenship alone. The reason must be related to the best interest of the child.
Fill in the application
You can fill in the application online in Enter Finland.
If you cannot use Enter Finland, fill in a paper application. You will find a link to the application at the bottom of this page.
To pay the processing fee in Enter Finland:
- pay the fee with a credit card or Finnish online banking credentials when you submit the application; or
- pay the fee when you visit a Finnish embassy or consulate abroad or a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service in Finland to prove your identity.
To pay the processing fee for a paper application:
- pay the fee when you visit a Finnish embassy or consulate abroad or a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service in Finland to prove your identity.
- Book an appointment to visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service (migri.vihta.com).
For more information, see:
- If you applied online in Enter Finland, you will receive notifications of your application's progress and of any requests for additional information by email and text message.
- If you applied on paper, you will receive notifications of your application's progress and of any requests for additional information by email.
For more information, see: Processing of applications
You can follow the progress of your application with the help of our chatbot, Kamu, by giving Kamu the diary number of your application. Kamu will also tell you the expected processing time of your application.
For more information, see: What affects the processing time of your application?