Vastus: Request for Estonian Naturalization and Language Examination Documents (since 1991)
| Dokumendiregister | Siseministeerium |
| Viit | 2-1/198-1 |
| Registreeritud | 09.03.2026 |
| Sünkroonitud | 10.03.2026 |
| Liik | Väljaminev kiri |
| Funktsioon | 2 Infohaldus. Õigusteenindus |
| Sari | 2-1 Kirjavahetus asutustega |
| Toimik | 2-1/2026 |
| Juurdepääsupiirang | Avalik |
| Juurdepääsupiirang | |
| Adressaat | ETH Zürich |
| Saabumis/saatmisviis | ETH Zürich |
| Vastutaja | piirivalve- ja rändeosakond |
| Originaal | Ava uues aknas |
Failid
Dear Hana Syla,
According to § 8 of Citizenship Act, a person can apply for Estonian citizenship, if he/she has passed the Estonian language proficiency (B1 level) examination (this exam is not required, if he/she has acquired the basic, secondary or higher education in the Estonian language). This requirement (B1 level) entered into force on 01.08.2012.
Until this date there was not exact level enacted in the law. It was enacted in Citizenship Act § 8 like that:
(1) Within the meaning of the Estonian Language Skills Act, the Estonian language is a language necessary for everyday life.
(2) The requirements for proficiency in Estonian are as follows:
1) understanding what is heard (official statements and announcements; danger and warning notices, news, descriptions of events and explanations of phenomena);
2) speaking (conversation and narration; asking questions, explanations, assumptions and orders; expressing opinions; expressing wishes);
3) understanding what is read (official statements and announcements; public notices, news, sample forms, journalistic articles, messages, catalogues, user manuals, traffic information, surveys, minutes, regulations);
4) writing (writing statements, authorisations, explanatory letters, biographical notes; completing questionnaires, household forms, tests).
The organization of exams is within the competence of Education and Youth Board: https://harno.ee/en
For further questions, please contact them.
Best regards,
Siiri Leskov
Adviser
Border Guard and Migration Department
Ministry of the Interior
Pikk 61, 15065 Tallinn, Estonia
From: Syla Hana <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, March 7, 2026 3:53 PM
To: SiM info <[email protected]>
Subject: Request for Estonian Naturalization and Language Examination Documents (since 1991)
TÄHELEPANU! Tegemist on väljastpoolt asutust saabunud kirjaga. Tundmatu saatja korral palume linke ja faile mitte avada!
Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Hana Syla, and I am a research assistant at ETH Zürich, European Politics Research Group. I am currently assisting research on migration and naturalization policies across the European Union, with a particular focus on how naturalization requirements have evolved over time (e.g. pre-, during, and post-EU accession). For this, we require information about the required language proficiency as well as the general naturalization exam questionnaires since the 1990s.
We thus kindly ask you to share any examples of Estonian language and naturalization examination documents from 1991 onwards. We are especially interested in documents from the pre-accession period, as they have been harder to find.
If these materials are held by another competent institution, we would be grateful if you could kindly redirect us accordingly.
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Kind regards,
Hana Syla
ETH Zürich
European Politics Research Group
