Estonian citizenship law details the conditions by which a person is a citizen of

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. The primary law currently governing these requirements is the Citizenship Act, which came into force on 1 April 1995. Estonia is a member state of the European Union (EU) and all Estonian citizens are

EU citizens European Union citizenship is afforded to all citizens of member states of the European Union (EU). It was formally created with the adoption of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, at the same time as the creation of the EU. EU citizenship is additio ...

. They have automatic and permanent permission to live and work in any EU or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country and may vote in

elections to the European Parliament Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until ...

. Any person born to at least one Estonian parent receives Estonian citizenship at birth. Noncitizens may

naturalise Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

as Estonian citizens after living in the country for at least eight years as a permanent resident or on a valid long-term residence permit and showing proficiency in the

Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language, written in the Latin script. It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 160, ...

. Estonia was in 1940–1941 and 1944–1991 occupied by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and all local residents were considered citizens of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

by the former

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

authorities. Since the restoration of the country's full independence in 1991, the Estonian government has asserted legal continuity with its pre-1940 predecessor and therefore all citizens of Estonia as of 1940 as well as all of their descendants are automatically considered citizens of Estonia now. Anyone who settled in the country during the 1940–1991 German and Soviet occupations, and their children, did not automatically become Estonian citizens in 1991, and many of these first and second generation immigrants have remained in Estonia as noncitizen residents.

History

''Resolution Concerning the Citizenship of the Democratic Republic of Estonia'', the first Estonian citizenship law was adopted by the Estonian National Council on 26 November 1918. According to this law, all people who *1) were

permanent residents Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such ...

on the day the law came into force on the territory of the Republic of Estonia; *2) prior to the

Estonian Declaration of Independence __NOTOC__ The Estonian Declaration of Independence, also known as the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia ( et, Manifest Eestimaa rahvastele), is the founding act of the Republic of Estonia from 1918. It is celebrated on 24 February, the Nation ...

on 24 February 1918 had been subjects of the Russian State; *3) were entered in the parish registers or originated from the territory of Estonia, regardless of their ethnicity and faith were proclaimed Estonian citizens. The Citizenship Law adopted in 1922 defined the principles of succession by applying the jus sanguinis principle.

Eligibility for Estonian citizenship

By descent

Children born to parents, at least one of whom was an Estonian citizen at the time of birth (regardless of the place of birth) are automatically considered Estonian citizens by descent.

By place of birth

Children born in Estonia are eligible for Estonian citizenship if at least one parent holds Estonian citizenship at the time of birth.

By marriage

A person who married an Estonian citizen before 26 February 1992 is eligible for Estonian citizenship.

By naturalisation

Those seeking to become Estonian citizens via naturalisation are required to fulfill the following criteria: * applicant is aged 15 or over * resided in Estonia legally for at least eight years and, of that, have spent the last five years with permanent residence in Estonia * be familiar with the Estonian language. People who have graduated from an Estonian-speaking high school or an institute of higher education are assumed to fulfill this criterion without the need to take a full examination. * take an examination demonstrating familiarity with the Estonian Constitution * showing a demonstrated means of support * taking an oath of loyalty Those who have committed serious crimes or are foreign military personnel on active duty are ineligible to seek naturalisation as an Estonian citizen.

Duties and rights of Estonian citizenship

* Male Estonian citizens are required to take up

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

Undefined citizenship

'Undefined citizenship' ( et, kodakondsuseta isik, russian: негражданин) is a term used in

to denote a post-Soviet form of statelessness. It is applied to those migrants from former

Soviet republics The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were national-based administrative units of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( ...

and their children, who were unable or unwilling to pursue any country's citizenship after the

collapse of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

being the

successor state Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...

to the Soviet Union, all former

citizens qualified for citizenship of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, available upon request, as provided by the law "On the RSFSR Citizenship" in force up to the end of 2000. Estonia's policy of requiring naturalisation of post-war immigrants was in part influenced by Russia's citizenship law and the desire to prevent dual citizenship, and upon the established legal principle that persons who settle under the rule of an occupying power gain no automatic right to nationality. The policy meant a high level of statelessness initially, with almost 30% of the population having no citizenship in the first years after Estonia regained independence in 1991.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

found that this policy was discriminatory, especially against the country’s Russian-speaking immigrant minority, and "in violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination." In 2010s Estonia took steps to reduce child statelessness, including granting citizenship to children born to non-citizen parents automatically. According to Peter Van Elsuwege, a scholar in European law at

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when th ...

, a number of historic precedents support this, most notably the case of Alsace-Lorraine when France on recovering the territory in 1918 did not automatically grant French citizenship to German settlers despite Germany having annexed the territory 47 years earlier in 1871. Persons of undefined citizenship who reside legally in Estonia can apply for an

Estonian alien's passport An Estonian Alien's Passport ( et, välismaalase pass) is a travel document that may be issued to a person who is stateless or of undefined citizenship residing in Estonia by the Police and Border Guard Board of the Ministry of Internal Affair ...

. An Estonian alien's passport allows visa-free travel within

Schengen treaty The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

countries for a maximum of 90 days in a 6-month period. Alternatively they are entitled to naturalise as citizens and receive an Estonian passport, and more than half have opted to do so since 1992. The

European Commission against Racism and Intolerance European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) is the Council of Europe’s independent human rights monitoring body specialised in combating antisemitism, discrimination, racism, religious intolerance, and xenophobia. It publishes perio ...

, Advisory Committee on the

Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) is a multilateral treaty of the Council of Europe aimed at protecting the rights of minorities. It came into effect in 1998 and by 2009 it had been ratified by 39 member ...

and UN Special Rapporteur on racism

Doudou Diène Doudou Diène (born 1941) is a Senegalese jurist. He was United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance from 2002–2008. Education Diène holds a law degree fro ...

recommend to Estonia simplifying naturalization generally or for the elderly and economically marginalized, as well as encouraging registration of children born in Estonia after 1991 as its citizens.UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intoleranc
Report on mission to Estonia (2008) — see Paragraph 91

Dual citizenship

Although not legally permitted, some Estonian citizens also possess another, e.g., Russian citizenship. According to law, acquiring a foreign citizenship voluntarily and entering into a military or civilian service for another state constitute forfeiture of Estonian citizenship. In effect, this forfeiture requirement applies to naturalised Estonian citizens only, because, according to the constitution, Estonian citizenship obtained by descent is inalienable and cannot be taken away by anyone else other than the citizenship holder.

Citizenship of the European Union

Because Estonia forms part of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, Estonian citizens are also

citizens of the European Union European Union citizenship is afforded to all citizens of member states of the European Union (EU). It was formally created with the adoption of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, at the same time as the creation of the EU. EU citizenship is additio ...

under European Union law and thus enjoy rights of free movement and have the right to vote in

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

for the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

. When in a non-EU country where there is no Estonian embassy, Estonian citizens have the right to get consular protection from the embassy of any other EU country present in that country. Estonian citizens can live and work in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.

Travel freedom of Estonian citizens

Visa requirements for Estonian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of

. As of 7 July 2020, Estonian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 179 countries and territories, ranking the

Estonian passport An Estonian passport ( et, Eesti kodaniku pass) is an international travel document issued to citizens of Estonia, and may also serve as proof of Estonian citizenship. Besides enabling the bearer to travel internationally and serving as indic ...

13th in the world according to the

Henley Passport Index The Henley Passport Index ( abbreviation: HPI) is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom enjoyed by the holders of that country's ordinary passport for its citizens. It started in 2006 as Henley & Partners Visa Restricti ...

. Holders of

face different visa requirements. In 2017, the Estonian nationality is ranked twenty-first in the Nationality Index (QNI). This index differs from the

Visa Restrictions Index The Henley Passport Index (abbreviation: HPI) is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom enjoyed by the holders of that country's ordinary passport for its citizens. It started in 2006 as Henley & Partners Visa Restrictio ...

, which focuses on external factors including travel freedom. The QNI considers, in addition, to travel freedom on internal factors such as peace & stability, economic strength, and human development as well.

References

External links

Police and Border Guard Board
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estonian Nationality Law Nationality law Immigration law Law of Estonia Human rights in Estonia Russians in Estonia Estonia and the European Union