The requirement to sit the test only applies to citizenship applicants aged between 18 and 64, and it can be taken in either Finnish or Swedish. File photo of a Finnish passport. Image: YLEYle NewsFinland will begin requiring citizenship applicants to pass a civic knowledge test from March 2027, according to a statement by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). Although the amendments to the Citizenship Act will enter into force from 1 January 2027, there will be a "transitional period for the legislative amendments" that lasts for two months until the beginning of March."The new requirement will only apply to you if you submit your application in the Enter Finland online service or a paper application at a service point of the Finnish Immigration Service on or after 1 March 2027," Migri's statement explained. The introduction of the test is the final part of the Finnish government's three-pronged strategy aimed at tightening the rules around obtaining a Finnish passport. The previous changes focused primarily on periods of residency and financial self-sufficiency. Self-study learning material comingAlthough the exact content of the test has not been announced, it is expected to contain multiple-choice and true-or-false questions about Finnish culture and history as well as human rights and gender equality. The University of Helsinki is partnering with Migri to "prepare the learning material and questions for the citizenship test", according to the agency's press release."The questions in the citizenship test will be based on self-study learning material that will be published on the website of the Finnish Immigration Service at the turn of the year," Migri added. The requirement to sit the test only applies to citizenship applicants aged between 18 and 64, and it can be taken in either Finnish or Swedish. Migri also note that, as an alternative to sitting the citizenship test, applicants can also demonstrate their knowledge of Finnish society by completing the matriculation examination in Finnish or Swedish, or by completing a Finnish- or Swedish-language higher education degree in Finland. Among the other Nordic nations, Sweden, Norway and Denmark also require citizenship applicants to pass a civic knowledge test. Yle News reporter Ronan Browne on the introduction of the citizenship test.