2. ESTONIAN CITIZENSHIP October 2009 Siiri Leskov Estonian Ministry of the Interior Adviser of Migration and Border Policy Department

3. Citizenship Legislation  The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia (article 8)  The Citizenship Act 1995  The main principle - ius sanguinis (right of the blood)

4. Estonian citizenship is acquired  by birth  by adoption  by naturalisation

5. Acquisition of Estonian citizenship by birth  at least one of the parents of the child holds Estonian citizenship at the time of the birth of the child  the child is born after the death of his or her father and if the father held Estonian citizenship at the time of his death

6.  a child found in Estonia whose parents are unknown is declared, on the application of the guardian of the child or a guardianship authority, by court proceeding to have acquired Estonian citizenship by birth unless the child is proved to be a citizen of another state  no one shall be deprived of Estonian citizenship acquired by birth

7. Acquisition of Estonian citizenship by adoption A minor child who has been adopted by an Estonian citizen, acquires Estonian citizenship:  by birth if the adoptive parent was an Estonian citizen at the time of the birth of the child  From the date on which Estonian citizenship was granted to the adoptive parent if the adoptive parent was not an Estonian citizen at the time of the birth of the child

8. General requirements for naturalisation To acquire Estonian citizenship a person must:  be at least 15 years of age  have a residence permit of a long term resident or the right of permanent residence  have lived in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit or the right of residence for at least 8 years and permanently at least the last 5 years

9.  have a registered residence in Estonia  have knowledge of the Estonian language (B1 level as described in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)  have knowledge of the Estonian Constitution and the Citizenship Act

10.  Permanent stay in Estonia means a legal stay in Estonia for at least 183 days per year, provided the absence from Estonia does not exceed 90 consecutive days per year  Knowledge of the Estonian language and knowledge of the Estonian Constitution and the Citizenship Act are assessed by way of examination

11. Acquisition of Estonian citizenship by naturalisation by minor  A minor under 15 years of age shall acquire Estonian citizenship if it is applied for the minor by the parents who are Estonian citizens  A minor shall be staying in Estonia permanently  A minor shall be released current citizenship or be declared to be a stateless person

12. Acquisition of Estonian citizenship by minor whose parents have not determined their citizenship A minor under 15 years of age who was born in Estonia after 26 February 1992 shall acquire Estonian citizenship by naturalisation if:  the parents have legally resided in Estonia for at least 5 years  the parents are not citizens of any other state  a minor is staying in Estonia permanently  a minor is not citizen of any other state

13. Decision on grant of Estonian citizenship  Decision on the grant of Estonian citizenship shall be taken by the Government of the Republic  An order of the Government of the Republic enters into force as of the date of signature  Citizenship and Migration Board shall issue a certificate of citizenship to the person

14. Statistics Population 1 544 000 Citizens (by birth) 1 050 000 Aliens (incl. persons with 494 000 undetermined citizenship) Population 1 341 000 Citizens 1 117 570 Citizens of other countries 112 530 Persons with undetermined citizenship 110 900

15. Statistics

19. Policies and tendencies  Currently the main trend of the state policy is to minimize the number of persons with undetermined citizenship.  Encourage long term residents to become Estonian citizens

20.  Estonia has made the informing process more effective  The first target group is the children who have undetermined citizenship since their birth

21. Informing and counselling  Since February 2008 the parents of a child with undetermined citizenship are informed when registering the birth of a child of a possibility to apply Estonian citizenship for the child  Since October 2008 the information sessions are held in Russian-language schools

22.  With regard to children under age of 15 in each case their eligibility for Estonian citizenship was established and since December 2008 they all receive a personal letter from the Minister of the Interior inviting them to apply for citizenship  As of March 2009 similar project was started with regard to age group 15-20

23.  At the beginning of 2008, the tradition of official ceremony for granting citizenship certificates was initiated in Estonia  The aim of ceremony is to raise awareness of new citizens about their rights and obligations with regard to being a citizen and having a citizen pride

24. Estonian asylum statistics

25. Number of asylum applicants from 1997 to 30.09.2009 (n=162)

27. Distribution of asylum applicants

28. Decisions in asylum proceedings during the period from 1997 – 30.09.2009

29. Beneficiaries of international protection (n=24)

30. Beneficiaries of international protection by citizenship

31. Estonian migration statistics

32. Decisions on granting temporary residence permit pursuant to the Aliens Act broken down by the basis of applications from 2006 to 30.09.2009

33. Changes in the number of valid residence permits during the period from 2000 to 30.09.2009

34. Valid residence permits by citizenship during the period from 2002 to 30.09.2009

35. Thank you for your attention!