Answer to the proposal

Pikk 61 / 15065 Tallinn / Estonia / [email protected] / www.siseministeerium.ee

Registry code 70000562

Ms Annika Sandlund

UNHCR Stockholm Sweden

Your: 27.10.2025 No 195/RNB/2025

Our: 12.11.2025 No 1-6/3262-4

Answer to the proposal

Dear Ms Sandlund

Thank you for your proposals that you made about the draft law amending the Citizenship Act.

In response to your first proposal, in our opinion, this is not applicable in the Estonia. We

would like to clarify that people with undetermined citizenship and stateless persons also reside

in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit, which is considered legal residence in Estonia.

That includes both, residing here on the basis of a temporary residence permit or long term

residence permit.

We would also like to clarify that in Estonia individuals who are 15 or older apply for

citizenship themselves. This means that there is no need to expand the target group of the

amendment to minors aged 15-17. We also believe that if parents who are citizens of another

country and whose child does not automatically inherit the citizenship of their parents wish to

link their future and that of their child with the Estonian state, they have the opportunity to

apply for Estonian citizenship for themselves together with their child. As such, a situation

where parents and children have different citizenships should be avoided.

Yours Sincerely,

Joosep Kaasik

Undersecretary for the Internal Security