estonian citizenship october 2009 siiri leskov estonian ministry of the interior adviser of...
TRANSCRIPT
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!