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Learning Finnish or Swedish – integration training, the YKI test and the B1 Finland now asks for

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Since 8 January 2026 a permanent residence permit normally requires Finnish or Swedish at level B1, and citizenship asks for the same. The good news: integration training is free, the YKI test is held several times a year, and Helsinki runs free courses with childcare. Here is how to get there.

Woman with headphones and glasses at a laptop with an open book at home
Photo: wichayada/Adobe Stock

Finland has two national languages, and by law you may choose Finnish or Swedish as your integration language. About 87 per cent of Finns speak Finnish and about 5 per cent Swedish. Whichever you pick, the YKI test (National Certificate of Language Proficiency) turns your skills into a certificate, and integration training is the free route towards it.

The pressure rose in 2026. Since 8 January 2026 the main path to a permanent residence permit is six years on a continuous permit, two years of work and satisfactory Finnish or Swedish – level B1, or YKI grade 3. Citizenship requires the same level, and from March 2027 applicants aged 18–64 must also pass a citizenship test in Finnish or Swedish.

Which level do you need – and for what?

Migri (Finnish Immigration Service; Migrationsverket in Swedish) uses four labels: 'developing' is A2, 'satisfactory' B1, 'good' B2 and 'particularly good' C1. All can be proven with the YKI test or the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate, A2 to B2 also with Finnish schooling; C1 only with YKI. Health-based exceptions exist, and the permanent-permit language rule does not apply from age 65.

GoalLevel (CEFR / YKI)Rule (all national)
Permanent residence permit, six-year pathB1 / YKI 3Six years on an A permit and two years of work
Permanent permit after four years with three years of workC1 / YKI 5Only YKI counts at C1
Permanent permit after a Finnish higher-education degreeA2 / YKI 2, or 15 credits of Finnish or SwedishNo residence period required
Permanent permit with €40,000 annual income, or a recognised foreign master's plus two years of workNoneFour years on an A permit
EU long-term resident permit (P-EU)B2 / YKI 4Five years; no work history needed
Finnish citizenshipB1 / YKI 3, oral and writtenCertificate before applying; exceptions over 65 or for health

Source: Migri, InfoFinland and the Finnish National Agency for Education, read 24 September 2026.

For citizenship, grade 3 in speaking and writing, listening and writing, or reading and speaking is enough. Since 17 December 2025 citizenship also requires sufficient financial resources – no unemployment benefit or social assistance for more than three months in the past two years – and the residence requirement has been eight years since 1 October 2024. The citizenship test, for applications made on or after 1 March 2027, is separate; a Finnish- or Swedish-language matriculation examination or higher-education degree completed in Finland replaces it.

How does integration training work in Finland?

The Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration (681/2023) took effect on 1 January 2025, the day employment services moved to the municipalities, which now carry overall responsibility for integration. It covers everyone with a valid residence permit, registered right of residence or residence card – not asylum seekers before a permit, people on visas or Finnish citizens.

Integration services are for people who have lived in Finland for less than three years, and anyone can request an assessment. The municipality's employment authority assesses your skills, often with a language test, and draws up an integration plan: Finnish or Swedish studies, job-search coaching, work try-outs and civic orientation in your own language. The wellbeing services county (hyvinvointialue) joins in when health or social services are needed.

StepWhat happensTime limit
1. AssessmentSkills and service needs, usually with a language testWithin three years of your first residence permit
2. Integration planFirst plan for up to one year; as a rule at most two years in totalNot following it can affect your Kela benefits
3. Integration trainingLanguage plus society and working life, mainly as labour market training; free when in your planEnds with a final language examination
4. CertificateYKI or another accepted proofRegistration about two months before the test

Source: the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, InfoFinland and Job Market Finland, read 24 September 2026.

Swedish-language integration training exists only in some municipalities – Uusimaa, Southwest Finland and Swedish-speaking Ostrobothnia – and most jobs require Finnish, so plan to study it at some point. A bill submitted on 23 April 2026 proposes stronger obligations from 1 January 2027, including benefit cuts for not following the plan; it is a proposal, not law.

YKI test 2026: levels, fees and dates

The YKI test is run by the Finnish National Agency for Education in nine languages at three levels, with four subtests: grades 1–2 are basic, 3–4 intermediate and 5–6 advanced. The test takes five to six hours. Registration opens about two months before the test, and the certificate arrives about two months after. Since 1 January 2026 registrations are binding: no change of level, language, subtests, centre or date, and a refund only for your own illness with a certificate, if you cancel by 8:00 on the test morning.

TestFee (VAT 0 %)Notes
Basic level (grades 1–2)€165Paid by everyone
Intermediate level (grades 3–4)€190The level for citizenship and the permanent permit; subtests separately: listening €43, speaking €84, reading €43, writing €70
Advanced level (grades 5–6)€216Free up to three times since 1 January 2026 for holders of the matriculation examination or a university or UAS degree
Autumn 2026 Finnish test days–29 August, 16 September (writing and listening only), 19 September (basic) and 2 October; registration for 2 October closed on 16 September

Source: the Finnish National Agency for Education, read 24 September 2026.

Fees are paid by payment link, not by invoice. Anna Andersson, who integrated in Swedish after moving from Sweden, passed the intermediate test at grade 3 and now meets the language requirement for both the permanent permit and citizenship.

Where to learn: free courses and what they cost

Finnish courses are run by adult education centres, folk high schools, universities and summer universities; libraries host language cafés. Courses start in August or September and in January and are often full, so register early – unemployed jobseekers should agree the studies with their municipal employment services first. Levels run from A1.1 to C2.2. Courses written into your integration plan are free; otherwise you pay yourself.

CityWhereCost and contact
HelsinkiFinnish Adult Education Centre (Työväenopisto): KOTIVA courses for stay-at-home parents of children aged 10 months to 3 years, three hours twice a week, with free childcareFree; student guidance +358 9 310 88644
HelsinkiOther Työväenopisto courses; free city language cafésFee by number of 45-minute lessons; 50 per cent discount for unemployed jobseekers, students, Kela pensioners and recipients of parental, home care or income support, minimum €16
TampereInternational House Tampere, Rautatienkatu 10Easy Finnish phone line +358 40 554 9498; English line +358 40 800 4952
OuluMulticultural Centre Villa VictorFree Finnish teaching, info sessions and events

Source: the Helsinki Finnish Adult Education Centre, the City of Helsinki, the City of Tampere and the City of Oulu, read 24 September 2026.

You can manage in English for a while: there are jobs in IT, industry and international companies where English is enough. Under the Language Act you may use Finnish or Swedish before state authorities and bilingual municipalities – but most workplaces expect one of them, and the permit rules now assume it too.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Choose Finnish or Swedish as your integration languageBefore your first course
2Ask your municipal employment services for an integration assessmentWithin three years of your first permit
3Register for a course, or for KOTIVA in Helsinki if you are at home with a small childAugust, September or January; early, because courses fill
4Book the YKI intermediate test when you are at B1About two months ahead; the registration is binding
5Applying for citizenship? Get the certificate first, and file by 28 February 2027 to avoid the citizenship testIf you meet the other requirements

Source: Migri and the Finnish National Agency for Education, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.