Changes to Finland's Citizenship Act, which extend the required residency period for citizenship, took effect on Tuesday.
It was part of a package of reforms that the right-wing government led by Petteri Orpo (NCP) brought in to tighten immigration rules.
The wording of the Citizenship Act amendment, however, has confused the international community in Finland.
One issue that has been debated at length is the change to the period of residency requirements: Is it now eight years or five years?
The updated information on the Finnish Immigration Service Migri's website, along with previous government announcements, emphasise that the "period of residence required for Finnish citizenship is now eight years" under Finland's nationality law.
In practice, however, most applicants are eligible to apply after five years.
According to Migri, in some cases, the required period of residence is less than eight years. This includes a five-year residence requirement for those who demonstrate sufficient language skills, as well as spouses of Finnish citizens and stateless applicants.
However, almost everyone who applies for Finnish citizenship must demonstrate competence in the Finnish or Swedish language.
Migri has the authority to exempt applicants from the language skills requirements. Such exemptions can be granted to those aged over 65, people who have a health issue preventing them from learning the language, those who've arrived as an illiterate adult or individuals with another weighty reason to request an exemption.
According to Migri, "exceptions to the language skills requirement are made very rarely." But the agency told Yle News that its data service was "unable to provide statistics" on how many exemptions it had granted in recent years.
Nordic citizens and spouses of Finnish diplomats can apply for citizenship after just two years of residence in Finland.
Previously, applicants with sufficient language skills could apply for citizenship in four years.
In documentation submitted to parliament, Migri said that the change from four to five years would impact around 500-700 people each year. There was no information in that material on how many people might be expected to wait the full eight years.
Confusing communication
The phrasing of the law amounts to "misinformation", according to Owain Hopeaketo, Project Manager for International Experts at TEK, a trade union for engineers and architects in Finland.
"We know that for almost everybody, the increase will be from four years to five, far less than an increase to eight. Currently, a language test is required other than in exceptional circumstances, such as someone with severe learning difficulties or other situations that make a language exam impossible. [So] why is it written this way? Honestly, it is hard not to see malice," he told Yle News.
Mari Luukkonen, Process Owner of Migri's Permit and Citizenship unit, acknowledged that the wording of the text can sound "quite confusing", adding that most applicants will be able to apply for citizenship after five years of residency.
"Of course, language skill is one thing that you have to have if you want to have citizenship. So, actually yes, for the majority of our applicants, it's five years and not eight years," said Luukkonen.
Mixed messaging
In a reply by email, the interior ministry told Yle News that the distinction between "general residence requirement" (yleinen asumisaika) and a shorter period of residence for those who fulfil the language requirement is written into the Citizenship Act.
"In the Citizenship Act, there is a list of general requirements for naturalisation (citizenship), and then there are some exceptions to these requirements. This structure has not been changed in the Citizenship Act that originally entered into force in 2003," said Hanna Pihkanen, a senior specialist at the ministry's migration unit.
Pihkanen said that in 2011, the rules were amended so that the general period of residence was five years, but if the applicant had the required language skills before that, it was possible to get citizenship after living in Finland for four years, Pihkanen said.
The intent behind the provision was to "encourage active studies in Finnish or Swedish and to offer the possibility of acquiring citizenship faster than the normal period of residence as an incentive for successful studies.”
The latest amendments intend to "maintain this incentive exception, which came into force in 2011," Pihkanen said.
However, the ministry declined Yle News' requests for interviews to discuss this subject.
According to Hopeaketo from trade union TEK, the mixed messaging in the latest reforms and announcements has only caused further confusion among foreign professionals, many of whom are under the impression that they'll need to wait for eight years before applying.
"At every event we had with international members, these topics inevitably pop up. Of course, any changes that are making the situation worse for immigrants are going to be troubling, and are going to make people wonder — is Finland really the country for me?” When the changes are exaggerated so greatly, that feeling grows," he explained.
Reputational damage to Finland
Hopeaketo said the communication of these policies alienates foreign professionals and damages Finland's reputation as a destination for employment.
In a recent survey of international experts in Finland by TEK, only 52 percent of international technology experts said they would recommend Finland to move to for study or work.
Meanwhile, 89 percent of respondents said the immigration debate worries them, even though more than half of them live in the country permanently or have become citizens themselves.
"I think it is hard to fully grasp the reputational damage to Finland that these policies, and especially the communication of them, is causing for those that are in Finland or thinking of moving here," Hopeaketo said.
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