Finland is removing the requirement for a personal interview for immigrants pursuing citizenship, the interior ministry has announced. Instead, applicants will be asked to do an online citizenship test with multiple-choice and true-or-false questions, administered in either of the country’s two national languages, Finnish and Swedish.
Applicants will be required to pay a fee to take the test, and no new study materials will be created, according to Ulla Vainikka at the ministry’s immigration department. Instead, existing resources—such as multilingual social orientation training covering Finnish laws, workplace norms, legal structures, and parenting—will be used, Helsinki Times reports.
The test will assess knowledge of Finnish laws, history, culture, human rights, societal values, public safety, and digital skills. A draft report published in February said,
The purpose of the citizenship test would be to measure knowledge of Finnish society and law, basic knowledge of history, culture, politics and geography, and a person’s ability to live in [Finnish] society in accordance with the values prevailing here and the requirements of public safety.
The initial report proposed the test be mandatory for all citizenship applicants between the ages of 18 and 64. It also emphasized the importance of including information about the Finnish conscription system because, even if the applicant is not subject to conscription, it may apply to children or other relatives.
A draft law, expected by the end of the year, will define who develops and manages the test, ensuring language requirements align with current citizenship standards. The responsible body must have relevant expertise to ensure fairness and legal alignment.
The test is part of broader reforms to tighten citizenship requirements under Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government. Other proposed changes include longer residency requirements, stricter income thresholds, and a clean criminal record since arriving in Finland.
