Finland has announced the extension of the residency period for citizenship applications. The new move is aimed at successful integration into Finnish society.
Finland has implemented stricter rules for its citizenship process, increasing residency requirements to eight years, prioritizing language proficiency, and valid residence permits, and limiting time spent abroad. Starting October 2024, Finnish citizenship residency requirements will increase to eight years to ensure well-integration before naturalization applications. Language proficiency applicants can reduce the residency period to five years, allowing them to apply for citizenship after meeting language requirements and emphasizing their importance in integration. Language proficiency applicants can reduce residency to five years, allowing them to apply for citizenship after meeting language requirements and emphasizing their importance in integration.
New rules in Finland require valid residence permits for residency, eliminating periods without legal status, such as waiting for asylum approval, from citizenship calculation. Applicants can spend 365 days outside Finland during their residency period, with 90 days before citizenship decision to maintain a strong Finnish connection. The Finnish Immigration Service is aiming to reduce processing times for most citizenship applications to one year by 2027 by implementing a new system that meets all requirements upfront.
The priority for applications from international protection beneficiaries and stateless persons will begin after October 1, 2024. The amendments will not impact citizenship declarations for Nordic or former Finnish citizens, who will continue to submit applications under existing rules. Finland's new citizenship rules, effective October 2024, aim to streamline naturalization, promote successful integration, and prioritize fairness and transparency for all applicants.
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