Govt to further tighten Finnish citizenship law from October

The four-party alliance government led by the Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party-NCP) has taken an initiative to further tighten the requirements for acquiring Finnish citizenship.

The government on Thursday submitted a proposal to the Parliament in this regard, said the Ministry of the Interior in a press release.

The proposed act is scheduled to enter into force on October 1, 2025.

The amendments to the Citizenship Act proposed the provisions on the establishment of identity, the integrity requirement and the requirement for sufficient financial resources.

“Finnish citizenship is not something that can be granted automatically. It requires successful integration, work, and compliance with the rules of Finnish society,” said Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen.

As per the proposed law, committing offences will have a more substantial impact on whether the applicant can be granted citizenship. The importance of national security as part of the procedure for granting citizenship will also be emphasised.

In future, applicants for Finnish citizenship would be required to have sufficient financial resources. More attention will be paid to sufficient financial resources as an indicator of integration into Finnish society. This means that persons who do not have any income other than unemployment benefit or social assistance will no longer meet this requirement.

The obligation of the person to establish their identity would be increased compared with the current situation. The amendments will only apply to those who can be reasonably expected to present their national passport.

Meanwhile, legislative amendments related to the loss of citizenship will apply to situations where a person has given false information when applying for citizenship or has committed offences that violate Finland’s vital interests.

In such situations, the loss of citizenship can become more common in future. For example, a larger number of terrorism-related offences can lead to the loss of citizenship.

A person with dual citizenship could lose Finnish citizenship if they have been imposed a sentence of at least 2 years for a terrorist, treason or high treason offence (currently at least 5 years).

Earlier, in July 2024, the parliament passed the government proposal to bring legislative amendments extending the period of residence required for Finnish citizenship to eight years from the existing five years.

On June 16, 2023, leaders of the ruling parties announced the programme, which included tougher immigration, residence and citizenship laws.

The government tightened the immigration policy despite strong protest by different groups.

Separate demonstrations were held in Helsinki on June 27, 2023 and June 18,2023 protesting against the immigration policy taken by the government.

Several hundreds of people went on demonstrations in Helsinki in August, 2023 protesting against the move.