A/HRC/7/19/Add.2 page 9 2. Citizenship legislation 25. Estonia’s citizenship policy after the restoration of independence was based on the doctrine of legal continuity of the state. According to this principle, the end of the Soviet occupation did not create a new state, but rather restored a previously existing state whose independence was interrupted by forcible annexation into the USSR. The first steps after the end of occupation were to restore the political and legal framework that existed in 1940, including the Constitution. Therefore, only those persons that enjoyed citizenship prior to 1940 and their direct descendents were recognized as citizens after the restoration of independence. Those citizens of the former Soviet Union who immigrated to Estonia during the Occupation became stateless persons. For this group, the only option available to become Estonian citizens was to apply for citizenship through naturalization. 26. Although the fundamental jus sanguinis principle of citizenship is defined by the Constitution, the specific regulations for the acquisition of Estonian citizenship are established by the Law on Citizenship. Article 6 of the Law, in particular, defines a set of criteria that need to be met by aliens who wish to receive the Estonian citizenship through naturalization. These include: (i) a minimum age of 15; (ii) permanent residence in Estonia for five years; (iii) knowledge of the Estonian language; (iv) knowledge of the Estonian Constitution and the Law on Citizenship; (v) a permanent lawful income sufficient to support the alien and his or her family; (vi) loyalty to the state of Estonia; (vii) an oath of citizenship. 27. Specific requirements are also established for the language examination in the Law on Citizenship. The general demand is that the applicant demonstrates knowledge of the language “required for day to day life”. Such knowledge is deemed to include listening comprehension, conversation, reading comprehension and writing. All persons who have completed basic, secondary or higher education in Estonian language are exempted from the exam. An amendment to the Law on Citizenship in 2004 defined that the Government would reimburse the costs of language courses incurred by applicants to Estonian citizenship who successfully passed the language exam. According to the new Programme for Integration of Society, language courses of less secured persons will be financed by the State. 28. State authorities highlighted that the language requirements for the naturalization procedure have been drastically facilitated in the past years. The Special Rapporteur’s state interlocutors emphasized that presently the language exam only requires a very basic knowledge of Estonian and is no longer the reason why non-citizens do not apply for citizenship. Rather, many authorities believe that the range of rights to which non-citizens are entitled, which is seen as closely resembling those of citizens, in effect disincentives many people to apply for citizenship, as this would bring about few material changes. 3. Language legislation 29. Apart from the language requirements for the acquisition of Estonian citizenship, the broader application of regulations concerning the Estonian language in public and private life are contained in the Language Act. It establishes Estonian as the official language and “any language other than Estonian” as a foreign language (§2), including the languages of national minorities.