Hey everyone,
I’ve been living in Finland for about 4 years now (as of September 2025) and I’m starting to think about applying for citizenship next year (tentatively September 2026).
I was reading the Migri website and came across this part:
“Your period of residence may include a total of 365 days spent abroad. Up to 90 of these days may be from a one-year period immediately preceding the submission of your citizenship application. If you spend more time abroad, the exceeding days will not be counted towards your period of residence.”
I’ve been out of Finland for about 286 days in total over the last 4 years. This would mean that I can only be abroad for another 79 days in the next one year. If I’m abroad for more than 90 days in the final year before applying, does Migri just “pause” counting my residence period until I’ve spent that extra time back in Finland, or could it delay my eligibility?
If anyone has dealt with something similar, could you tell me how it works? Thanks in advance!
Number of days counted for citizenship
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jperickson
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2020 4:58 pm
- Location: Finland
Re: Number of days counted for citizenship
See: https://migri.fi/en/faq-finnish-citizenship#asumisaika
Question: How does time spent abroad affect the period of residence?
Answer: The required period of residence may contain a total of 365 days abroad. Out of these 365 days, a maximum of 90 days may be from the one-year period preceding the submission of your citizenship application. If you spend more time abroad than what these two limits allow, the exceeding days will not be counted towards your period of residence. If you exceed the maximum number of days abroad, this will postpone the day when you will meet the period of residence requirement.
I read this to mean that, in other words, those days will not count. So if you are over by 10 days, then your need to spend 10 more in Finland before applying.
Question: How does time spent abroad affect the period of residence?
Answer: The required period of residence may contain a total of 365 days abroad. Out of these 365 days, a maximum of 90 days may be from the one-year period preceding the submission of your citizenship application. If you spend more time abroad than what these two limits allow, the exceeding days will not be counted towards your period of residence. If you exceed the maximum number of days abroad, this will postpone the day when you will meet the period of residence requirement.
I read this to mean that, in other words, those days will not count. So if you are over by 10 days, then your need to spend 10 more in Finland before applying.
Re: Number of days counted for citizenship
From what I understand, yes, if you go over the allowed days abroad, Migri pauses counting your continuous residence, so it could delay eligibility a bit. Best to double-check directly with them to be sure!
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