Language skills
To obtain Finnish citizenship, you must have at least satisfactory skills in one of the following languages:
- spoken and written Finnish
- spoken and written Swedish
If you have a speech disability or a hearing impairment, you are required to have at least satisfactory skills in one of the following languages:
- Finnish Sign Language
- Finland-Swedish Sign Language.
Obtain a certificate of your language skills before you apply for citizenship
You must have a certificate of your language skills before you submit a citizenship application. Attach the certificate to your application. In some cases, you can request an exception to the language skills requirement. Read more about exceptions to the language skills requirement.
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 the National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI).
- The Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate with at least satisfactory oral and written skills in Finnish or Swedish.
For further information on taking a language proficiency test, see the website of the Finnish National Agency for 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
- the Finnish matriculation examination, or
- a certificate that you have completed the upper secondary school syllabus in Finnish or Swedish as your native language or as a second language
The certificate must show that you have passed the examination in Finnish or Swedish as your native language or as a second language.
- From 1 January 2018 onwards:
- You have completed an initial vocational qualification, a further vocational qualification or a specialist vocational qualification with either Finnish or Swedish as the language of qualifications (qualification in accordance with act 531/2017).
- Before 2018:
- Initial vocational qualification with either Finnish or Swedish as the language of qualifications (qualification in accordance with act 630/1998).
- Further vocational qualifications or specialist vocational qualifications, including competence-based qualifications, with either Finnish or Swedish as the language of qualifications (a qualification in accordance with act 631/1998).
- Only certificates showing that you have completed the qualification in full are accepted as proof of your language skills. Certificates of preparatory education undertaken in preparation for a qualification and certificates of partial completion of a qualification are not accepted as proof of your language skills even if the certificate refers to the acts mentioned above.
- A 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 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. If you need a certificate of proficiency in sign language, contact the Finnish Association of the Deaf by sending an email to kuurojenliitto@kuurojenliitto.fi.
The Finnish Association of the Deaf only conducts language proficiency assessments for persons with impaired hearing.
If you are not able to learn languages,
you can request an exception to the language skills requirement. Read more about the grounds for granting an exception to the language skills requirement.