Citizenship through a minority language: naturalization and the politics of “integration in Swedish” in Finland

Language testing for citizenship typically takes place in dominant national languages. This article examines the minoritized Swedish language as a pathway to naturalization in constitutionally bilingual Finland, where applicants can demonstrate proficiency in either Finnish or Swedish. Drawing on interviews, media, and policy documents, it investigates how naturalization applicants in majority-Finnish areas navigate between Finnish and Swedish, and how linguistic integration is imagined in a context where the tested language does not align with the languages of surrounding society. Perceptions of Swedish as easier to learn than Finnish, and a faster route to naturalization, are widespread. Naturalization applicants’ language choices are shaped by the instrumental value of Swedish in meeting the increasingly stringent citizenship requirements, despite its limited presence in everyday life. At the same time, learning Swedish can lead to new forms of belonging and transnational opportunities. Naturalization through Swedish can function not only as a means of obtaining citizenship but may also foster interest in Swedish-speaking or bilingual Finland and expand applicants’ agency in navigating barriers to membership. Yet, the competing nation-building interests of minority and majority institutions raise questions about the ethics of language requirements in multilingual nation-states.