Estonia makes another attempt to make hiring foreigners easier
- May 13
- 1 min read
The amendments to Aliens Act attempt to make certain hiring of foreigners easier. As the country is faced with labour shortages, another attempt to ease the immigration rules is made.
The Government of Estonia can now enact a list on economic fields where hiring is made easier (economic areas with labour shortage). The list is enacted for up to 5 years.
The salary obligation in the fields shall be 80% of the last published yearly gross salary.
The Government can also extend the immigration quota in these fields.
The aim of these new rules is to bring in qualified labour (and not unskilled labour). Engineers, health care workers and IT workers are mentioned in the explanatory note as examples.
The explanatory note also admits that the previous new regulation of issuing residence permits for short-term employment did not fulfil it's intended purpose (same purpose as the current amendments) - so now the regulation is deleted altogether. Considering that the quota has not been filled in the past 2 years, it remains doubtful is the amendments will actually encourage foreign hiring. A slight reduction in the salary requirement could bring a positive sentiment.
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