ESTONIAN CITIZENSHIP October 2009

Siiri LeskovEstonian Ministry of the InteriorAdviser of Migration and Border Policy Department

Citizenship Legislation The Constitution of the Republic of

Estonia (article 8) The Citizenship Act 1995 The main principle - ius sanguinis (right

of the blood)

Estonian citizenship is acquired

by birth by adoption by naturalisation

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

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

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

General requirements for naturalisationTo 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

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

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

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

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

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

Statistics

1992 68% 32%

2008

84%

8% 8%Citizens

Citizens of othercountries

Persons withundeterminedcitizenship

Population 1 544 000Citizens (by birth) 1 050 000

Aliens (incl. persons with 494 000undetermined citizenship)

Population 1 341 000Citizens 1 117 570Citizens of other countries 112 530Persons with undetermined citizenship

110 900

StatisticsNumber of persons with undetermined citizenship

178425174201172325164730150536

136000125799116248110315106212

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009Sept

StatisticsMinors under 15 years of age with undetermined

citizenship

11468

4957 47872959 2902 2806 2773 2312

02000400060008000

100001200014000

2004Mar

2006Aug

2007Jan

2008Mar

2008Oct

2008Dec

2009Mar

2009Sept

StatisticsNaturalisation

5421

2037022474

16674

22773

81249969

4534 3425 3090 4091 37066523 7072

4753 42282124

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

StatisticsNaturalisation of minors (under 15 years old)

20301698 1671

1895

2899

2332

14921733

947

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Year2000

Year2001

Year2002

Year2003

Year2004

Year2005

Year2006

Year2007

Year2008

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

Estonia has made the informing process more effective

The first target group is the children who have undetermined citizenship since their birth

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

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

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

Estonian asylum statistics

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

1

2321

3

12

9

14

11 11

7

14 14

22

0

5

10

15

20

25

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

111111111

2111111

23333

444

68

108

1114

1723

22

0 5 10 15 20 25

UnknownUganda

USASomalia

Sierra LeoneSenegal

MongoliaMoldova

LithuaniaDR Congo

South AfricaCameroun

JapanIndia

GhanaGambia

TurkmenistanStateless

AzerbaijanArmenia

AlgeriaUkraine

UzbekistanSri Lanka

NigeriaSyria

AfghanistanPakistanBelarus

Georgia TurkeyRussia

Iraq

Countries of origin of asylum seekers during the period from 1997 to 30.09.2009 (n=162)

Distribution of asylum applicants

1997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009

0 5 10 15 20 25

1

13

18

3

6

5

12

9

9

3

14

10

13

7

1

2

1

1

1

4

2

5

3

2

4

3

1

1

2

2

4

Men Women Minors

Decisions in asylum proceedingsduring the period from 1997 – 30.09.2009

11 1324

61

34

020406080

Refugee status

Subsidiary protection

Rejection Refusal Termination of asylum

proceedings

Beneficiaries of international protection (n=24)

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 20090

1

2

3

44

2

4

1

4

3

2

1

2

4

1

Refugee status Subsidiary protection

Beneficiaries of international protection by citizenship

Uganda

Turkey

Somalia

Iraq

Nigeria

Algeria

Belarus

Turkmenistan

Russia

Sri Lanka

Afghanistan

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1

1

1

1

2

1

2

4

1

2

2

2

2

2

Refugee status Subsidiary protection

Estonian migration statistics

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

1185

7 3 56 61207

286

43 35 31 39

1436

1137

1380

857

1572

733

911825

565

353254

2363

828

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

2006 2007 2008 30.09.2009

Family migration Working Enterprise

Study Legal income Foreign treaty

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

188266197115203484207448207749207013 216282 213717 211306

85 781

26116 23722 25340

363484737551251527585320766753201291

0

50 000

100 000

150 000

200 000

250 000

300 000

350 000

Residence permits for long-term residents Temporary residence permits

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

164730 162075 150536 136000 125799 116217 106093

88378 88207 88130

95658 95841 97796

172325

91424 93027

13164123528786 1353814769

8143 8779 9717

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

Persons with undetermined citizenship Citizens of the RFCitizens of the other countries

Thank you for your attention!