The Chamber Does Not Support Extending the Deadline for Reviewing Temporary Residence Permit Applications

The Ministry of the Interior has prepared a draft law proposing to extend the review period for temporary residence permit applications from the current two months to three months. The Chamber is critical of this idea.

For both employers and foreign employees, it is crucial that the application process for a temporary residence permit proceeds as quickly as possible. Extending the review period would likely result in an overall increase in the average processing time.

If there are compelling reasons, it is reasonable to allow the Police and Border Guard Board more than the current two months to review a temporary residence permit application. However, it is already possible to extend the two-month deadline when necessary, and the draft law also provides for this option. Therefore, there is no significant need to establish a longer deadline for all cases.

The Chamber agrees that the Police and Border Guard Board must be given sufficient time to assess both the applicant’s background and the reliability of the information provided, as well as to ensure that foreigners arriving in Estonia do not pose a threat to national security or public order.

However, based on the explanations provided in the draft law’s explanatory memorandum, the Chamber is not convinced that extending the deadline is essential or that the desired objectives cannot be achieved in other ways.

For example, the explanatory memorandum does not specify the current average processing time for temporary residence permit applications or the proportion of cases in which the Police and Border Guard Board extends the review period. Such statistics are necessary to understand whether and to what extent there is a need for extending the deadline.

For these reasons, the Chamber has proposed to the Ministry of the Interior that the extension of the review deadline for applications be abandoned.