Finland Announces Conditions Foreign Children Must Meet to Become Citizens
- Finland's immigration authority has outlined the conditions that foreign children must meet to qualify for Finnish citizenship
- Children aged 14 and younger face different requirements compared to teenagers aged 15 to 17, including language and residency rules
- A key residency rule change took effect on 1 October 2024, affecting how long children must have lived in Finland before applying
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Finland's immigration authority, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), has published the official conditions that foreign children must satisfy in order to obtain Finnish citizenship.
The requirements vary based on the child's age and are split into two distinct categories: children aged 14 and younger, and those aged between 15 and 17.
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What Younger Children Must Prove
Regardless of age group, every child's identity must first be reliably established before an application can proceed. This can be done by presenting credible documents such as a valid passport, or by providing reliable information covering at minimum the child's name, date of birth, citizenship, and family ties. Any identity information previously submitted is also taken into account during this process.
For children aged 14 and younger, the requirements are comparatively straightforward.
The child must be living legally in Finland at the time a decision is made on their application, meaning they must hold a valid residence permit or another recognised right of residence. Crucially, children in this age group are not required to provide proof of language proficiency.
Stricter Rules for Teenagers aged 15 to 17
Teenagers aged 15 to 17 face a more demanding set of criteria.
1. Must live in Finland
On top of having their identity confirmed, they must demonstrate that they have lived in Finland for a sufficient period of time.
Under rules that came into force on 1 October 2024, children applying on or after that date must have resided continuously in Finland for the five years immediately preceding their application. Applications submitted before that date were assessed under an earlier framework, which required either four consecutive years of residence or six years in total from the age of seven, with at least two of those years being continuous and recent. Children who hold Nordic citizenship benefit from a shorter residency threshold, needing only two years of continuous residence in Finland.
2. Must possess the necessary language skills in either Finnish or Swedish.
On the language requirement, teenagers still enrolled in comprehensive school can satisfy the condition by submitting their most recent school report card. That report must show a passing grade in Finnish or Swedish, whether taken as a native language or as a second language.
3. Additionally, teenagers must have a clean criminal record to be eligible for citizenship.
Legit.ng has also published residency years for foreigners who want to become Qatari citizens.
Citizenship: Australia mentions residency years for foreigners
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Australia's Department of Home Affairs has outlined the residence requirement foreigners must meet before applying for citizenship.
Applicants must have lived in Australia on a valid visa for a number of years before the date they apply for citizenship.
The rules also specify how much time applicants are allowed to have spent outside Australia during that period.
Source: Legit.ng
