Is Language test necessary

[Mumintroll]

Just to add if others read the thread later, that the language test per se is not necessary, but it is the most common and the clearest way to prove your language skills. If you already know Finnish or Swedish or Finnish sign language, such as from having your education done in those languages, it is enough to prove that. For example a Swede that wants to become a Finnish citizen needs to just show papers from e.g. high school in Swedish. The same if you have been in Finland previously and e.g. finished high school (the Finnish equivalent) and you move back abroad later. If you come back, the graduation papers you showing you have a degree that was made in Finnish is enough to fulfill the language requirement. (Same case if the person has done elementary school in Vasa or Åland islands and thus can prove they know Swedish).

These examples are of course pretty rare compared to the normal cases. For the OP this is all most likely irrelevant and they will need to take the test. Being married to a Finn does not change this (as mentioned already), it just a) gives you the right to live here in the first place and b) it shortens the time you have to live in Finland to be allowed to apply for citizenship.

A citizen of another Nordic country (i.e. a Swede) does not need to apply for citizenship, but can instead make a citizenship declaration. This does not require any language documentation. Likewise, the requirements for citizenship in the other Nordic countries are usually also easier for Nordic citizens: e.g. a Finnish citizen resident in Sweden can make a Swedish citizenship declaration to the county council board (länsstyrelsen) where they live instead of having to apply for Swedish citizenship for the Swedish Migration Authority (Migrationsverket). Not that there are any language requirements associated with citizenship in Sweden anyway.

[interleukin]

This does not require any language documentation.

Are you sure about that? I've been looking into this, and I understood the language requirements to be the same for citizenship by declaration as for by application. Can you give a link saying there is no language requirement? Thanks!

[Upphew]

This does not require any language documentation.

Are you sure about that? I've been looking into this, and I understood the language requirements to be the same for citizenship by declaration as for by application. Can you give a link saying there is no language requirement? Thanks!

30§ seems to say so, but 13§ says not and 21§ doesn't give any help for that... crappy law as it seems to contradict itself.

13 §
Kansalaistamisen yleiset edellytykset

Ulkomaalaiselle myönnetään hakemuksesta Suomen kansalaisuus, jos hakemusta ratkaistaessa:

1) hän on täyttänyt 18 vuotta tai sitä ennen avioitunut;

2) hänen varsinainen asuntonsa ja kotinsa on ja on ollut Suomessa (asumisaikaedellytys):

a) viimeksi kuluneet viisi vuotta keskeytyksettä (yhtäjaksoinen asumisaika); tai

b) seitsemän vuotta 15 ikävuoden täyttämisen jälkeen, joista viimeksi kuluneet kaksi vuotta keskeytyksettä (kerätty asumisaika);

3) hän ei ole syyllistynyt muulla kuin rikesakolla rangaistuun tekoon eikä häntä ole määrätty lähestymiskieltoon (nuhteettomuusedellytys);

4) hän ei ole olennaisesti laiminlyönyt elatusvelvollisuuttaan tai julkisoikeudellisia maksuvelvoitteitaan;

5) hän pystyy luotettavasti selvittämään, miten saa toimeentulonsa; ja

6) hänellä on suomen tai ruotsin kielen tyydyttävä suullinen ja kirjallinen taito tai näiden sijasta vastaavan tasoinen suomalaisen tai suomenruotsalaisen viittomakielen taito (kielitaitoedellytys).
(20.5.2011/579)

Kansalaistamisen yleisistä edellytyksistä voidaan poiketa vain jäljempänä säädetyillä perusteilla.

Henkilöä ei kansalaisteta, vaikka hän täyttäisi kansalaistamisen edellytykset, jos on perusteltua syytä epäillä, että kansalaistaminen vaarantaa valtion turvallisuutta tai yleistä järjestystä, tai jos kansalaisuuden saamisen pääasiallisena tarkoituksena on hyödyntää Suomen kansalaisuuteen liittyvää etuutta ilman tarkoitusta asettua asumaan Suomeen taikka jos kansalaistaminen muusta painavasta syystä hakijan tilanteen kokonaisvaltaisen tarkastelun perusteella on vastoin valtion etua.

21 § (20.5.2011/579)
Pohjoismaan kansalaisen osalta tehtävät poikkeukset

Islannin, Norjan, Ruotsin ja Tanskan kansalaiselle voidaan myöntää Suomen kansalaisuus 13 §:n 1 momentin 2 kohdan estämättä, jos hänen varsinainen asuntonsa ja kotinsa on ja on ollut Suomessa viimeksi kuluneet kaksi vuotta keskeytyksettä.

30 § (20.5.2011/579)
Pohjoismaan kansalainen

Islannin, Norjan, Ruotsin tai Tanskan 18 vuotta täyttänyt kansalainen saa ilmoituksesta Suomen kansalaisuuden, jos hän on saanut Islannin, Norjan, Ruotsin tai Tanskan kansalaisuuden muulla tavoin kuin kansalaistamalla, jos hänen varsinainen asuntonsa ja kotinsa on ja on ollut Suomessa viimeksi kuluneet viisi vuotta ja jos häntä ei tänä aikana ole tuomittu vapausrangaistukseen.

[interleukin]

Yes, it is confusing... I think Mumintroll may be right on this one though, I rechecked all the migri info now and it has been changed since I last checked. I checked it very soon after the law had changed in Sept and I guess maybe some things had not been updated correctly. I now see no mention of language requirements in the Swedish version of the migri pages at least.
For citizenship by application, the language requirement still remains it seems, even for nordics.

[sy]

Well Sections 13 and 21 are for citizenship applications, and Section 30 is for citizenship declarations.

So the interpretation is that for other Nordic citizens who got their original citizenship in other ways than naturalization (i.e., by parentage, by birthplace, by legitimation, etc), the Section 30 (declaration) applies. And in this case, there is no language requirement.

If the other Nordic citizens (also including naturalized citizens) would like to apply for Finnish citizenship based on Sections 13 and 21 (only two years of contiuous residence period), then the langauge requirement applies.

[Mumintroll]

Your both absolutely right though; if a Nordic citizen for some reason decides to acquire citizenship by application, then they would need to meet the language requirements (this shouldn't be an overly hard task for most other Scandinavians, and at least the Swedish adult municipal education centre in Helsinki (Arbis) used to offer a course in Swedish directed specifically at Danish speakers - although apparently not just now).

If you don't want to consult the legislation and aside from the general text information on Migri's website, the key tell-tale sign is the actual forms. Compare the forms KAN1 (application for citizenship by citizens of any other country) KAN8 (declaration by citizens of another Nordic country), KAN1 has a huge section about language, proving you have the necessary level in one of the domestic languages etc, whilst KAN8 makes no mention of it all.

They can all be found on migri.fi.

[interleukin]

Your both absolutely right though; if a Nordic citizen for some reason decides to acquire citizenship by application, then they would need to meet the language requirements (this shouldn't be an overly hard task for most other Scandinavians, and at least the Swedish adult municipal education centre in Helsinki (Arbis) used to offer a course in Swedish directed specifically at Danish speakers - although apparently not just now).

The annoying thing may to prove the skills in Swedish though (a nordic is more likely to use the Swedish skills than Finnish I'd guess but the same applies to Finnish skills of course). Even if you are completely fluent in Swedish, if you have not finished a degree in Swedish, you might have to take the pretty expensive language test to actually prove it. At least that is how I read the language requirements, it sounded very vague to me and I'd think it would be a risk to pay for a citizenship application without being 100% sure they'll accept your language skills proof.