The Finnish government has proposed tightening the conditions for acquiring citizenship, according to Yle.
On Wednesday, November 27, a draft of amendments to the Citizenship Act was sent for expert review. If the amendments are approved, for example, criminal offenses will have an even greater impact on the process of obtaining a Finnish passport.
Additionally, individuals receiving unemployment benefits or minimum social support will lose their eligibility for citizenship if they cannot demonstrate sufficient income, proving their integration into society. Moreover, it will become easier to lose citizenship in cases where a person commits a crime or provides false information when applying for citizenship.
In 2023, the largest group of new Finnish citizens were Russians. A total of 13,000 people received Finnish citizenship out of 18,000 applications, while the previous year there were 13,000 applications.
