Number of Residence Permits for Employment in Estonia has Doubled in 4 years

The number of residence permits issued by Estonia for the purpose of employment has almost doubled since 2012, hitting 1,659 in 2015, BNS reports.

During the period from 2004–2015 the state issued altogether 14,652 fixed-term residence permits for the purpose of employment. The number of such permits issued was 835 in 2012, 863 in 2013, 1,237 in 2014 and 1,659 in 2015, it appears from figures released by the Interior Ministry.

Before that the number of such permits peaked at 1,429 in 2011.

In all 47,279 residence permits were issued in Estonia in the years 2004–2015 and a constant increase has been observed in their numbers since 2012. The number of residence permits issued in 2014 was 4,060 and of permits issued in 2015, 4,929.

Migration for the purpose of employment topped the list of causes of migration to Estonia 2015, with migration for family reasons and migration for study in places two and three. In 2014, the most common cause of migration was family migration, followed by migration for the purpose of employment and migration for the purpose of study.

During the 12 years, 14,652 positive decisions to grant a residence permit for family migration were made. The number of such permits issued in 2015 was 1,458, up from 1,387 in 2014 and 1,283 in 2013. Residence permits issued for the purpose to study numbered 5,873 in the 12 years, and their number climbed from 679 in 2013 to 893 in 2014 and to 1,145 in 2015.

The number of fixed-term residence permits issued for the purpose of business meanwhile has kept declining, from 61 in 2012 to 54 in 2013, to 35 in 2014 and to 28 last year. Altogether 536 decisions to issue a fixed-term residence permit for business were made during the 12 years. The number of such permits peaked at 142 in 2011.