How to apply for Finnish citizenship?

Obtaining Finnish citizenship through an application requires the following:

• You can reliably verify your identity.
• You are at least 18 year old or married.
• You have lived in Finland for a sufficiently long period. The required period depends on your situation, normally, it is at least four to seven years.
• You have not committed offences.
• You have not neglected to pay, for example, taxes, fines, child support or hospital fees.
• You can confirm how you will obtain your livelihood in Finland.
• You have at least satisfactory skills in Finnish or Swedish, or in Finnish or Finnish-Swedish sign language. For more information on how to proof your language skills, see the InfoFinland page Official certificate of language proficiency. More information on studying Finnish and Swedish is available on the InfoFinland page Finnish and Swedish.

You can apply for citizenship online through the Enter Finland service. Fill in the application in the service and attach the appendices. You need at least the following documents for the application:

• A valid official identification document, such as a passport
• An account of your language skills
• An account of your income.

You need to pay the application processing fee at that time.

If you are applying for citizenship for an adult and log in to the service with, for example, your Finnish online banking credentials, you usually do not need to visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto). If the service indicates that you need to go and prove your identity, you have three months to do so. Make an appointment for a service point in the appointment booking service of the Finnish Immigration Service. Bring a personal identification document and the original copies of the application appendices.

If you are also applying for citizenship for your child, you and your child will need to visit a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service to prove your identity.

After you submit the application, remember to monitor your Enter Finland account. If the Finnish Immigration Service needs additional clarifications, you will be informed through the Enter Finland service. You may receive a negative decision on your application if you do not provide the requested additional information by the deadline. When the decision has been made, you will be informed.

If you are unable to apply for citizenship online, you can also apply using a paper form. Print out the form from the Finnish Immigration Service website and fill it in advance. Make an appointment at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service. Make sure to bring your application and its attachments with you.

More information on applying for citizenship and on other matters related to citizenship is available on the Finnish Immigration Service’s website.

Finnish citizenship differs from a residence permit. If you are only just planning moving to Finland, read more on the InfoFinland page Moving to Finland.