Do you need an immigration lawyer in Estonia?
The short answer is no, the immigration process can be done without any lawyers. The Police and Border Guard also have migration advisors who help you for free (you can find their contacts on the Police website).
However, having a legal representative can be beneficial and we can list some of the reasons below - these reasons are derived from real life cases over 5+ years.
The Police and Border Guard have 1 mission - to find a reason to deny the application. Their job is not to help you. Having a legal consultant means that the potential issues can be looked at already before the application and the issues addressed correctly during the proceedings. They can be very intimidating with their questions but most times it is just a matter of calculated, concrete and to-the-point answers. Also, prior consultation can help not making applications that are completely without positive outcome perspective.
Although information can be submitted in English, most of the case-handlers also prefer answers in Estonian.
There are many cases where some legal rules such as deadlines are ignored by the case-handlers so "legal reminders" have proved useful.
The Police and Border Guard are not intimidated by the prospect of going to court. By pointing out the legal flaws can sometimes make them more careful. If they see they can "run over you" without a threat of being taken to court they will most likely do it. Very often if they find reasons for refusal they will just suggest to "withdraw the application" so they would not have to write a motivated decision. Sometimes withdrawing the application could be the best thing to do.
A legal consultant can offer alternative solutions when the proceedings are not going to plan - sometimes it is useful to change the basis for the application. A legal consultant can make the process also easier and smoother for the Police and Border Guard.
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