Today, the second stage of the planned three-stage citizenship law changes came into force, tightening the requirements on who can receive citizenship. This follows the first stage, in law since October 2024, which extended the time needed to get citizenship, for most from four years to five.
Critically, the law changes mean that the use of unemployment benefits for over three months within the past two years will cause someone to be considered not financially self-sufficient, therefore denying the citizenship application.
It is a law change that is unfair in concept and worse in execution, rooted in a deep misunderstanding of who will be impacted and how.
Important details of the law change
There are two important details to note about the law change.
Firstly, it talks only about unemployment benefits and basic social assistance, not for example state-supported parental income. Unemployment funds are included, regardless of time put into them.
Secondly, it is based on the date of the citizenship decision being made, not just the date the application is submitted. According to Migri, that time difference is around 34 months on average for an adult applicant. It would only be also after these 34 months that the last two years are considered.
It is also worth mentioning that prior to applying, a language test needs to be done to at least B1-level. Once the third stage of the citizenship law is passed, it is likely a citizenship test will also have needed to be passed. This is as well as the residence time requirement.
The impact in three stories
“To qualify for Finnish citizenship, applicants are required to be successfully integrated into Finnish society, in employment, and able to comply with the rules of Finnish society.” Those were the words of Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen, talking about these law changes.
Imagine someone living and working here for five years. They are a union and unemployment fund member who has worked hard to achieve a good level of Finnish, but after completing their YKI language test, an unexpected layoff occurs. With an average unemployment time of 70 weeks, if they take the unemployment benefits they are entitled to, they lose their chance at applying for citizenship for at least two years.
Imagine someone else, living longer in Finland but never with the financial stability to apply for citizenship. Finally, they have the chance to apply and have been waiting over a year, when a new boss arrives and begins to harass them. Do they quit, when they know doing so kills their citizenship chances, likely for many years to come?
Imagine someone with permanent residence, wishing to get citizenship because Finland is the planned forever home of them and their family. Getting citizenship is a vital part of that identity, as well as giving them the right to vote in all elections. They have a job they love, but the contract has an end date. If they stay and it doesn’t become permanent, they risk their chance at citizenship.
Putting the use of unemployment benefits as an obstacle to citizenship in this way does nothing to make sure someone is integrated or employable. All these people are integrated, they all have proven to be employable. They have done nothing wrong, and yet the law punishes them, putting them in situations where they risk unfair financial loss, exploitation, or losing the job of their dreams, just because they want to become a citizen.
Those stories are not pulled from thin air. The first two are based on conversations I have had in the last year with international experts. The third is my own situation.
What must be done?
Together with the 3-/6-month rule, this law change increases the instability of life as an international worker in Finland. It gives employers a bargaining chip to use in pushing exploitation, or in lowering wage demands and benefit expectations.
These avenues to exploitation and mistreatment must be removed. A longer than three-month time on unemployment is something that can happen to anyone – it should not come with the risk of forced exit of the country, or the loss of a chance at citizenship. At least, with an average of 34 months for a citizenship decision, unemployment benefits during that time cannot be held against an applicant.
I am lucky, because I am secure here even without citizenship. I want it to truly be Finnish, and to gain my constitutional right to vote. Working at TEK, I also know my wish for citizenship won’t be exploited. With this law, many won’t be so lucky.
