According to the Minister of the Interior, Lauri Läänemets, the aim of next year's immigration limit is to promote the development of Estonia's economy and the involvement of foreign labour where specialists are most needed. "I think it is reasonable that we manage immigration by allocating a limit for targeted purposes and thereby ensure that Estonia is open to those foreigners who support the development of our economy and society. By setting the immigration limit, we want to provide relief in terms of labour in areas where labour shortages are currently most pressing, thus inhibiting the growth and development of companies. Here, we take the statistics of residence permits and short-term employment registrations from previous years as a basis," explained Läänemets. In addition, a certain part of the limit is allocated to creative workers and athletes, journalists and foreigners who settle in Estonia on the basis of a foreign agreement.
As in previous years, all ministries have had the opportunity to submit proposals for the distribution of the immigration limit for 2023. The proposals were submitted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As a result of the distribution, it will be possible to issue 600 temporary residence permits for work in the processing industry in the coming year; 200 temporary residence permits for working in the field of construction; 100 temporary residence permits for working in the field of transportation and storage; 5 temporary residence permits for entrepreneurship; 5 temporary residence permits based on a foreign agreement; 19 temporary residence permits for working in a performance institution as a creative employee within the meaning of the Performing Arts Institutions Act and 30 temporary residence permits for professional activities as an athlete, coach, sports referee or sports employee at the invitation of the relevant sports association. The remainder of the 2023 immigration limit (i.e. 313), will be distributed freely.
If the quotas in the specific distribution categories are filled, representatives of these fields have the opportunity to apply for a residence permit to work on an equal basis with other fields.
The number of permanent residents in Estonia has decreased compared to 2021, which also explains the lower limit than before – this year it was 1,311.
The immigration limit mainly regulates labour and business migration from third countries to Estonia. The immigration limit includes temporary residence permits for work and entrepreneurship and temporary residence permits based on a foreign agreement. Employees in the field of information and communication technology as well as foreigners working in start-ups and engaged in the start-up business are excluded from the immigration limit. In addition, the limit does not include family and study migration, starting a job as a lecturer, acting as a major investor and working as a top specialist (i.e. a foreigner whose employer pays at least 1.5 times the average Estonian salary). Citizens of the European Union and their family members, citizens of the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, and applicants for international protection are also not included in the calculation of the limit.
