Legal regime under which Ukrainians can stay in Estonia

All citizens of Ukraine can temporarily stay in Estonia without a visa, even those without a biometric passport. However, in Estonia, as in other EU countries, Ukrainians can avail themselves of legal regimes for staying in its territory.

Temporary Protection

To obtain temporary protection status, an individual should apply to the Police and Border Guard Board. For this purpose, one needs to book an appointment on the website https://broneering.politsei.ee/ and submit a completed application along with information about close relatives and family members. It is necessary to have documents proving identity or other documents, such as a birth certificate. In case of the absence of an identity document, it is necessary before submitting an application for temporary protection to contact the Embassy of Ukraine in Estonia, which issues identity certificates to Ukrainian citizens.

Important! Temporary protection, under applications submitted starting from September 10, 2023, is valid until March 2025.

With temporary protection Ukrainian citizens and their family members receive similar rights as Estonian residents, such as access to social services, the right to work and education, and the right of free movement within the European Union.

Applications for temporary protection can be submitted by:

• Ukrainian citizens and their family members who resided in Ukraine before February 24, 2022, and left Ukraine due to the military conflict;

• Individuals of other nationalities who had international protection in Ukraine, and their family members who resided in Ukraine before February 24, 2022, and left Ukraine due to the military conflict.

Important! Temporary protection does NOT apply to Ukrainian citizens and their family members who lived or stayed in Estonia before February 24, 2022. These citizens are still subject to the decision of the Police and Border Guard Board, which allows them to stay temporarily in Estonia, even if other grounds for stay (such as visa-free or visa) have expired.

In addition to temporary protection, person can obtain refugee status in Estonia.

Those who can obtain refugee status include:

• Foreigners, including citizens and residents of Ukraine, who fear persecution in their homeland based on race, nationality, religion, membership in a social group, or political beliefs, can apply for international protection;

• Other individuals who believe that their return to Ukraine may pose a serious threat, including the application of the death penalty, torture, or degrading treatment, due to international or internal armed conflict violence.

Similar to the procedure for obtaining temporary protection, to obtain refugee status in Estonia, person should apply to the Police and Border Guard Board with an application and information about close relatives and family members.

A refugee obtains a residence permit for 3 years. The validity of the refugee's residence permit is extended every 3 years if the circumstances that led to the issuance of the residence permit have not disappeared, and there are no circumstances under which the residence permit is cancelled.

Additional information on international protection could be found at [email protected] or on the website.