On March 16th, 2020 the state of emergency was called and the Police and Border Guard in Estonia gave out 2 general orders:

• (1) Granting legal basis of staying in Estonia. In short, it states who and on what grounds is considered a legal in Estonia in regards to their stay. And what happens to them once the state of emergency is lifted.

• (2) Temporary suspension of migration proceedings and extension of term for proceedings. In short, it states what happens to the applications already submitted to the Police Board and if it is possible to submit any new applications.

Here are my main takeaways that any company hiring foreigners should know and consider.

✨ From March 17th until the end of the state of emergency (initially called until May 1st, 2020) only foreigners with a valid Estonian ID-card or a residence permit card can cross the border to Estonia. Meaning for example EU nationals who have settled in here, but have yet to apply for an Estonian ID-card are restricted to enter. The same applies to everyone with visa-freedom, C-visas, D-visas or an expired card.

That does not mean there are no ways for them to start working for you or to proceed with their immigration process! I will cover it in my next post.

✨ If a person arrived in Estonia on or before March 12th (inc.) with a C-visa, D-visa or on the basis of visa-freedom that ends before the state of emergency is lifted, then they have an automatic extension of their legal basis in Estonia and they can stay in Estonia until the state of emergency is over + 10 days. By law (Aliens Act § 43 (1) point 5) they will be considered to be here on the basis of a judicial decision or an administrative act.

✨ Everyone whose stay in Estonia is based on Aliens Act § 43 (1) point 5, are not allowed to apply for a D-visa in Estonia after they have lost their previous legal grounds of staying.

That does not mean there are not ways to prevent them from falling under this restriction!

✨ If a person arrived in Estonia after March 12th but before the borders were closed on March 17th, with a C-visa, D-visa or on the basis of visa-freedom that ends before the state of emergency is lifted, they do not get an automatic extension of their legal basis. Important to make sure not to overstay your legal basis in Estonia!

I have foreigners working in my company. What to do next?

1. Check if any of your employees are currently in Estonia on a C- or a D-visa; or on a visa-free stay. That means those foreign employees who do not hold a valid residence permit.

2. Map when will their visa or visa-free stay in Estonia expire. PS! Please be careful as C-visa expiration is not the same as the valid until date in the upper right corner of the visa!

3. Note that everyone whose visa or visa-free stay ends before the state of emergency (May 1st), will have a legal stay in the country until May 1st but have to leave the country during 10 days after the state of emergency has entered. Meaning if they wish to come back to Estonia after that, they are obligated to apply for a D-visa in an Estonian foreign representation. Reach out to an expert for further instructions on how to avoid it!

4. Look over the list of your employees who are waiting for their residence permit decision from the Police Board. The official decision is that the Police Board is not obligated to make the residence permit decision during the state of emergency. All official processing has been paused until May 1st or until further notice.

5. As the 2-month processing time for the applications will reset once the state of emergency has been lifted, make sure your employees have valid grounds for working. For that map employees who do not hold a residence permit and their registered duration short-term employment registration. Important to make sure that it matches the period that is needed until they receive their residence permit decision.

6. Besides dealing with all the immigration aspects, do not forget their human fear for their health, their family and understanding the situation. (Social) media is currently full of information and it can seem very scary. The news keep on speaking about threats and there is a constant overflow of information.

   1. Make your priority to ensure that your employees and their family have access to correct information in English. Do keep them update every day about the bigger changes affecting them, as they are not as strongly connected to the local news.

   2. Make sure they have a way to obey the state of emergency and the movement restrictions. Do they have a way to order food? Do they know what sites offer services important for them? Do they have a way to make online payments to use the e-shop and home deliveries for food and medicine?

   3. Make sure they have enough information about their access to healthcare services. And share with them the correct information regarding the virus and symptoms.

   4. Make sure they do not feel too isolated in this self-isolation period. As they close ones are most likely in a different country, they will have even bigger stress on adapting to the new situation in a foreign country.

What would you add to this list of most crucial point to note?