Almost 200 former Russian citizens granted Estonian citizenship in 2024
Last year, 747 people were granted Estonian citizenship having previously given up citizenship of another country. According to data provided by the Ministry of the Interior, in the first three months of 2025, Estonian citizenship was granted to 174 people.
Among those who received Estonian citizenship last year, the largest number – 374 – were persons who previously had undefined citizenship (gray passport holders – ed.), along with 196 who had been citizens of the Russian Federation.
According to a report by ERR radio on Wednesday, April 9, of the 174 people granted Estonian citizenship in the first three months of 2025, 80 formerly had undefined citizenship and a further 52 were previously Russian Federation citizens.
On average, less than 10 people per quarter who were previously citizens of Ukraine, Belarus and Pakistan are granted Estonian citizenship. There are also usually a small number of people of other nationalities.
In 2022, after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the interest in obtaining Estonian citizenship among Russian Federation citizens increased. The demand has now fallen to its previous levels. Among those with undefined citizenship, the level of interest in obtaining Estonian citizenship has not increased since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
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Editor: Sergei Mihhailov, Michael Cole
