Ukrainian nationals lead migration to Estonia
Immigrants from Ukraine received three times more temporary residence permits in Estonia than applicants from all other countries combined this year, ERR portal reports, citing the Estonian Interior Ministry.
In the first six months of this year, the Police and Border Guard Board of Estonia issued 1,268 temporary residence permits. Overall, 941 residence permits were received by citizens of Ukraine, 108 by Belarus, 95 by Russia, and another 124 by citizens of other countries.
Ukrainians also made up the vast majority of those who received a short-term work permit for up to 12 months. By mid-September, Estonia had issued 13,410 such permits. 10,602 or about 80% went to citizens of Ukraine while Belarus got 689, Moldova received 582 and Russia took 542.
The Estonian Interior Ministry forecasts that by the end of the year, the number of official migrant workers in Estonia will increase to 22,000 people, compared with 7,500 at the end of 2017.