Applying for citizenship for children up to the age of 15 is simple. Children are not required to take the Estonian language or citizenship examinations. If the child in question meets the conditions set out below, all that is required is for one of their parents to submit an application.
Parents, single parents and adoptive parents can apply to obtain citizenship for their children through this simplified procedure if:
- they have lawfully resided in Estonia for at least five years and they do not have citizenship of any country (i.e. their citizenship is undefined) and their child, who is not and has never been a citizen of any country, was born in Estonia after 26 February 1992; OR
- at least one of the parents (or adoptive parents) has obtained Estonian citizenship through naturalisation since the birth of the child.
Citizenship applications can also be lodged by a guardianship authority or a child’s guardian who has Estonian citizenship if the parents of a child up to the age of 15 are dead, have been declared missing, are of restricted active legal capacity or have been stripped of their parental rights.
If a parent decides to apply for Estonian citizenship for themselves, they can apply for citizenship for their child or children up to the age of 15 at the same time through the simplified procedure. To do this, an application for the child or children must be submitted by the parent at the same time as their own application.
A person is classed as a single parent if:
- the child’s birth certificate contains no information about the other parent or was produced on the testimony of the parent;
- the other parent has been stripped of their parental rights;
- the other parent has been declared a fugitive in accordance with the procedure established in law and has been a fugitive for at least one year;
- the other parent has been declared of restricted active legal capacity or is missing;
- the other parent is dead; or
- the parents never married or have divorced, upon which the child remained with the parent residing in Estonia and the other parent has left Estonia and lost contact with the child and the parent raising the child.
- a declaration of intention to apply for citizenship for your child, written in Estonian (assistance in this is obtainable from the staff of the Citizenship and Migration Board);
- 1 photograph of the child (4 x 5 cm);
- the child’s birth certificate and if available the child’s identity document (ID card or passport) with residence permit; and
- the identity documents (passports or ID cards) of both parents and the residence permits of non-citizens.
In both cases you may be asked to submit additional documents.
Decisions on whether to accept applications for processing are made within one month of their registration.
Decisions in regard to approving applications for citizenship are made by the Government of the Republic. You will be informed of this decision in writing. You will also receive your child’s certificate of citizenship, after which you can organise to have an Estonian passport and ID card issued to them.
More detailed information about the documents you need and the application process is available on the Police and Border Guard Board website www.politsei.ee. |
