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Estonian citizenship law details the conditions by which a person is a citizen of Estonia. The primary law governing these requirements is the Citizenship Act, which came into force on 1 April 1995.

Estonia is a member state of the European Union (EU) and all Estonian citzens are EU citizens. They have automatic and permanent permission to live and work in any EU or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country and may vote in elections to the European Parliament.

Any person born to at least one Estonian parent receives Estonian citizenship at birth. Noncitizens may naturalise as Estonian citizens after living in the country for at least eight years as a permanent resident or on a valid long-term residence permit and showing proficiency in the Estonian language.

Estonia was previously occupied by the Soviet Union and local residents were Soviet citizens. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, all post-Soviet states established separate citizenship laws. The Estonian government asserted legal continuity with its pre-1940 predecessor and granted citizenship to those who were citizens of the previous republic and their descendants. Consequently, anyone who settled in the country during the Soviet era and their children did not automatically become Estonian citizens at the time of independence and remain in Estonia as noncitizen residents.

History
Resolution Concerning the Citizenship of the Democratic Republic of Estonia, the first Estonian citizenship law was adopted by the Estonian National Council on 26 November 1918. According to this law, all people who regardless of their ethnicity and faith were proclaimed Estonian citizens.
 * 1) were permanent residents on the day the law came into force on the territory of the Republic of Estonia;
 * 2) prior to the Estonian Declaration of Independence on 24 February 1918 had been subjects of the Russian State;
 * 3) were entered in the parish registers or originated from the territory of Estonia,

The Citizenship Law adopted in 1922 defined the principles of succession by applying the jus sanguinis principle.

Acquisition and loss of citizenship
Any person born to at least one parent who is an Estonian citizen automatically receives Estonian citizenship at birth. Adopted and abandoned children found in the country may acquire citizenship on application by a responsible guardian, and are considered to be Estonian citizens by birth.

Foreigners over the age of 15 may naturalise as Estonian citizens after living in the country for at least eight years as a permanent resident or on a valid long-term residence permit

Duties and rights of Estonian citizenship

 * Male Estonian citizens are required to take up national service.

Undefined citizenship
'Undefined citizenship' (kodakondsuseta isik, негражданин) is a term used in Estonia to denote a post-Soviet form of statelessness. It is applied to those migrants from former Soviet republics and their children, who were unable or unwilling to pursue any country's citizenship after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia being the successor state to the Soviet Union, all former USSR citizens qualified for citizenship of the Russian Federation, available upon request, as provided by the law "On the RSFSR Citizenship" in force up to the end of 2000. Estonia's policy of requiring naturalisation of post-war immigrants was in part influenced by Russia's citizenship law and the desire to prevent dual citizenship, and upon the established legal principle that persons who settle under the rule of an occupying power gain no automatic right to nationality.

The policy meant a high level of statelessness initially, with almost 30% of the population having no citizenship in the first years after Estonia regained independence in 1991. Human Rights Watch found that this policy was discriminatory, especially against the country’s Russian-speaking immigrant minority, and "in violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination." In 2010s Estonia took steps to reduce child statelessness, including granting citizenship to children born to non-citizen parents automatically.

According to Peter Van Elsuwege, a scholar in European law at Ghent University, a number of historic precedents support this, most notably the case of Alsace-Lorraine when France on recovering the territory in 1918 did not automatically grant French citizenship to German settlers despite Germany having annexed the territory 47 years earlier in 1871.

Persons of undefined citizenship who reside legally in Estonia can apply for an Estonian alien's passport. An Estonian alien's passport allows visa-free travel within Schengen treaty countries for a maximum of 90 days in a 6-month period. Alternatively they are entitled to naturalise as citizens and receive an Estonian passport, and more than half have opted to do so since 1992.

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and UN Special Rapporteur on racism Doudou Diène recommend to Estonia simplifying naturalization generally or for the elderly and economically marginalized, as well as encouraging registration of children born in Estonia after 1991 as its citizens.

Dual citizenship
Although not legally permitted, some Estonian citizens also possess another, e.g., Russian citizenship. According to law, acquiring a foreign citizenship voluntarily and entering into a military or civilian service for another state constitute forfeiture of Estonian citizenship. In effect, this forfeiture requirement applies to naturalised Estonian citizens only, because, according to the constitution, Estonian citizenship obtained by descent is inalienable and cannot be taken away by anyone else other than the citizenship holder.

Citizenship of the European Union
Because Estonia forms part of the European Union, Estonian citizens are also citizens of the European Union under European Union law and thus enjoy rights of free movement and have the right to vote in elections for the European Parliament. When in a non-EU country where there is no Estonian embassy, Estonian citizens have the right to get consular protection from the embassy of any other EU country present in that country. Estonian citizens can live and work in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.