- Residence permit
- EU citizen
- Finnish citizenship
- Asylum in Finland
- Travel documents
- Income requirement
- Processing of applications
- Notify us of changes
- Requests and certificates
- Legislation
- Informing of the decision
- Appealing a decision
- Cancellation of a permit
- Refusal of entry and deportation
- Right to work
- For employers
- Travelling
- Visiting Finland
Language skills
One requirement for becoming a Finnish citizen is that you have at least satisfactory skills in one of the following:
- oral and written Finnish
- oral and written Swedish
- Finnish Sign Language
- Finland-Swedish Sign Language
Therefore, you should attach proof of your language skills to your citizenship application. You must have a certificate of your language skills before you submit a citizenship application.
You may demonstrate your language skills in the following ways:
- The National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) in Finnish or Swedish completed at level 3 or higher (intermediate level). Read more about taking the test for the National Certificate of Language Proficiency.
- Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate with at least satisfactory oral and written skills in Finnish or Swedish.
- For further information on language examinations and how to participate in them, see the website of the Finnish National Board of Education.
A leaving certificate issued by a Finnish comprehensive school or a certificate of completing the entire syllabus of basic education. The certificate must show that you have passed the examination in Finnish or Swedish as your native language or as a second language.
- A leaving certificate issued by a Finnish upper secondary school or the Finnish matriculation examination showing that you have passed the examination in Finnish or Swedish as your native language or as a second language.
- A certificate that you have completed the upper secondary school syllabus in Finnish or Swedish as your native language or as a second language.
- From 1 January 2018 onwards:
- A vocational upper secondary qualification, a further vocational qualification or a specialist vocational qualification that has been achieved through studies in Finnish or Swedish (qualification according to act 531/2017).
- Before 2018:
- A vocational upper secondary qualification that has been achieved through studies in Finnish or Swedish (qualification according to act 630/1998)
- Further vocational qualification or specialist vocational qualification, including competence-based qualifications, that has been achieved through studies in Finnish or Swedish (a qualification according to act 631/1998)
- Please note that only certificates issued for full completion of a qualification are accepted as proof of meeting the language skills requirement. You cannot use certificates issued for education undertaken in preparation for a qualification, or certificates for partial completion of a qualification, as proof of your language skills, even if the certificate in question refers to the acts mentioned above.
- A degree certificate of studies in Finnish or Swedish for civil servants completed at a university or university of applied sciences (the level of Finnish or Swedish language skills necessary for jobs in bilingual areas of Finland that require a higher education degree).
- A certificate of approval of a maturity test in Finnish or Swedish for the purpose of attaining a degree at a university or university of applied sciences.
A certificate issued by the Finnish Association of the Deaf of at least satisfactory proficiency in the Finnish or Finland-Swedish Sign Language. The association tests the sign language skills of a person through an interview.
We also assess your practical language skills when you are in contact with us
You must also be able to use Finnish or Swedish in practice, at least on a satisfactory level.
When we are processing your citizenship application, we will also take account of your ability to express yourself in spoken and written Finnish or Swedish, for example when you interact with the Finnish Immigration Service. This means that we will compare your language skills with the certificate that you have presented as proof of your language skills.
If your Finnish or Swedish skills do not correspond to the certificate you have presented to us, this may affect the decision.
What are the grounds for granting an exception to the language skills requirement?
Exceptions to the language skills requirement are made very rarely. The situation of each applicant is considered individually. There has to be sufficient grounds as defined by law before an exception can be made. Read more about the grounds for granting an exception to the language skills requirement.