The first phase of the Citizenship Act reform, through which the time required to obtain Finnish citizenship is extended from five to eight years, has been approved by the Finnish Parliament.
Through a statement, the Finnish Immigration Service has recalled that the new changes will become effective from October 1, 2024.
The law reform also consists of changes that only apply to some of the applicants.
We process all applications submitted before 1 October 2024 according to the old Citizenship Act. In other words, if you submitted your application before 1 October, the changes to the Citizenship Act will not affect your application. If you submit your application on 1.10. or after that, we will make a decision on it in accordance with the new residence time requirement.
As part of the new changes, applicants are permitted to stay for just one year during the required period of residence, of which a maximum of three months can be during the year before naturalization.
The applicant-specific changes mean that from October 1, the required period of residence is five years for those who meet the language proficiency requirement, 15–17-year-olds, spouses of Finnish citizens, stateless, and recipients of international protection.
Before applying for citizenship, the Ministry of the Interior urges all applicants to ensure they meet all the needed requirements for citizenship.
The Ministry has warned applicants that if they apply for citizenship before meeting the needed requirements, they risk receiving a negative decision, stressing that if a large number of incomplete applications are received, the application processing time will also increase.
The Ministry also emphasized that the second and third phases of the Citizenship Act reform are still in progress.
Finnish Parliament Approves Bill to Tighten Citizenship Requirement From October 1
Earlier this month, the Finnish Parliament approved the bill proposing amendments to the Citizenship Act through which the period required for Finnish citizenship has been extended from five to eight years.
Proposals to apply changes to the Finnish Citizenship Act were submitted to the Finnish Parliament in a government session on April 18.
One of the objectives set in the Government Programme is to tighten the requirements for acquiring Finnish citizenship and encourage immigrants to integrate into Finnish society. The reform will be implemented in stages through three legislative projects.
The government said that in this way, applicants’ suitability for citizenship could be assessed over a longer period of time.
