Minister of the Interior established the distribution of the immigration limit for this year

By a regulation entered into force on 23 October, the Minister of the Interior Ken-Marti Vaher established the distribution of the immigration limit, on the basis of which another 336 aliens may receive a temporary residence permit this year.

The immigration limit restricts the settlement of aliens in Estonia, who are not citizens of the European Union Member States, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland. The temporary residence permit included in the limit may be granted to aliens for employment, entrepreneurship, on the basis of sufficient legal income or an international agreement. The annual limit may not exceed 0.1 percent of the permanent population of Estonia.

The initial limit established for this year (which was 0.075 percent of the population, or 1,008 persons) was reached earlier than expected, already by the end of August. These were mainly people who applied for a residence permit to work as a member of the governing body of a company registered in Estonia. As it turned out that many companies were founded solely for the purpose of granting aliens a legal basis for residing in Estonia or staying in the Schengen area, the Minister of the Interior decided already in July that no more residence permits will be granted to members of the governing bodies of companies this year. At the end of September, the Government increased the limit by 336 or to 1,344 persons, which is the maximum allowed by law.

According to Vaher, it is important to ensure that the increase of the limit provides an opportunity to come to live in Estonia primarily to highly qualified employees, who would bring added value to the society and help develop the economy.

Pursuant to the regulation entered into force on Sunday, temporary residence permits are this year granted to the total of 1,109 persons, plus 170 for entrepreneurship, 43 on the basis of sufficient legal income and 22 on the basis of international agreements. By now, temporary residence permit included in the limit have been granted to 877 persons for employment, 85 for entrepreneurship, 35 on the basis of sufficient legal income and 11 on the basis of international agreements, which means that before the end of the year, temporary residence permits may be granted to another 232 persons for employment, 85 for entrepreneurship, 11 on the basis of international agreements and 8 on the basis of sufficient legal income.