Estonia plans to update the rules of entry and stay for internationals who study or work in the country, the country’s government has announced.
During the government session held earlier this week, the Minister of the Interior Mart Helme said that he introduced the draft amendments to the Aliens Act while Estonia’s government will send the draft to the parliament – Riigikogu – for further processing, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“Our goal is to prevent the constant growth of communities from high-risk countries, and this is mainly due to learning mobility. The rumours that Estonia will become a closed country by restricting study mobility are not true. Every year, almost 2,000 students from different European Union countries study in Estonia. We will not restrict study mobility within the European Union in any way. The problem is the previously unrepresented and, as a result of study mobility, the growing communities of nations in Estonia, which have a significantly different historical, cultural and religious background from us,” the Minister stressed.
The amendments regarding study mobility include the decision that long-term visas would no longer be given to family members of internationals who are studying in Estonia under the same requirements as those who came to finish their studies.
“In the worst case, they may oppose society, and this may lead to integration difficulties and closed communities. With the draft, we are sending a clear message that after graduating, foreigners must return to their home country and study mobility cannot be a means of staying permanently in Estonia,” Minister Helme pointed out.
Internationals who own a residence permit to study in Estonia are able to invite their spouses to Estonia, in future.
Internationals who completed their studies in Estonia are ineligible to apply for a residence permit in order to settle permanently in Estonia.
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