UNHCR observations on the draft Act on Amendments to the Citizenship Act and Other Acts of Estonia

The UNHCR Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries has provided its observations in relation to the draft Act on Amendments to the Citizenship Act and Other Acts of Estonia (the Bill), which was shared by the Ministry of the Interior of Estonia for public consultation on 19 November 2025.

The Bill seeks to amend national legislation governing the acquisition, loss, and renunciation of Estonian citizenship, with a particular focus on addressing childhood statelessness. It introduces new provisions aimed at facilitating the acquisition of citizenship by children who would otherwise be stateless, clarifies procedures applicable to children born in Estonia, and sets out rules concerning loss and renunciation of citizenship.

UNHCR welcomes this legislative initiative as an important step toward preventing and reducing statelessness in Estonia and strengthening the protection of children’s rights. UNHCR encourages the adoption of comprehensive safeguards to ensure that all children who would otherwise be stateless acquire nationality without discrimination, the inclusion of clear procedural guarantees to prevent statelessness in cases of loss or renunciation of citizenship, and further measures to facilitate access to naturalization for persons with undetermined citizenship.

UNHCR’s observations can be found here.