4 employment victories related to hiring foreigners

On March 26, the Riigikogu passed amendments to the Aliens Act. Based on the Chamber’s proposal, several unreasonable requirements were not included in the law, which would have made the process of hiring foreigners slower and more expensive for Estonian companies.

Short-term work in Estonia remains allowed without a long-term visa
The Ministry of the Interior initially proposed to amend the Aliens Act so that a foreigner could only work short-term in Estonia with a long-term visa, i.e., a D-visa. According to the amendment, a foreigner would no longer have been allowed to work short-term in Estonia with a short-term visa (C-visa), visa-free travel, or a D-visa issued by another country.

The Chamber opposed this amendment, as it would have extended the recruitment process by several weeks. Before starting work in Estonia, the foreigner would have had to apply for a D-visa either from an Estonian foreign representation or in Estonia itself. In addition, the change would have increased the costs for the foreigner or their employer, as the foreigner would not have been able to start working immediately upon arrival in Estonia.

The Ministry of the Interior took the Chamber’s proposal into account and did not include the requirement that a foreigner may only work short-term in Estonia with a D-visa in the law.

Requirement for prior economic activity was made more lenient than planned
Among the planned amendments to the Aliens Act was an initial requirement that an employer registering short-term employment must have had actual economic activity in Estonia for at least six consecutive months before submitting the registration application.

For fixed-term residence permits for work, a requirement was proposed that the employer must have had actual economic activity for at least 12 months beforehand.

The Chamber proposed not to include this requirement in the law, as such changes would reduce the attractiveness of Estonia’s business and investment environment. For example, if a new company is established in Estonia, receives a €100 million investment, and creates 100 new jobs, 20 of which cannot be filled with local workers, then under the proposed change, such a company generally would not be allowed to hire foreigners immediately, as it lacks previous economic activity in Estonia.

The Ministry of the Interior partially accepted the Chamber's proposal. The requirement for the employer to have at least six months of economic activity before registering short-term employment will not be added to the law.

However, the Riigikogu decided to impose the actual economic activity requirement on employers who hire foreigners with a fixed-term residence permit. Originally, the bill stated that the employer must have had 12 consecutive months of economic activity in Estonia, but at the Chamber’s suggestion, the Riigikogu shortened this period to six months. This change will take effect on January 1, 2026.

Guarantee requirement for temporary employment agencies to be removed soon
The Chamber had previously proposed to the Ministry of the Interior to remove the requirement in the Aliens Act that a temporary employment agency must provide a guarantee equal to at least one month's wage of the foreigner to hire them.

With the amendments adopted by the Riigikogu, this guarantee requirement will soon be removed. Starting January 1, 2026, it will be allowed to register temporary work as short-term employment in Estonia if the employer has had actual economic activity for at least six consecutive months in Estonia or in another European Economic Area member state before submitting the registration application. The same requirement applies if a temporary employment agency wants to hire a foreigner under a fixed-term residence permit.

Government will not get the right to suspend short-term employment registrations
The initial version of the bill included a provision to grant the government the authority to suspend the registration of a foreigner’s short-term employment based on the employment basis, workplace, or field of activity if necessary for public order or national security.

The Chamber was critical of this amendment, as it was unclear what situations would require such a change. The amendment posed a risk that the government could suspend or restrict short-term employment of foreigners for political reasons under the guise of public order or security concerns. This would have created uncertainty for both employers and foreigners.

At the Chamber’s suggestion, the Ministry of the Interior dropped its original idea.