ESTONIAN MIGRATION FOUNDATION EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK ESTONIAN MIGRATION AND ASYLUM STATISTICS REPORT 2006 TALLINN OCTOBER 2008 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION...3 1.1.Methodology...5 2. ASYLUM...6 2.1 Analysis and interpretation of asylum statistics...6 2.2 Contextual interpretations (legal, political and international factors)...7 3. MIGRATION...11 3.1 Analysis and interpretation of migration statistics...11 3.2 Contextual interpretations (legal, political and international factors)...15 4. REFUSALS, APPREHENSIONS AND REMOVALS...23 4.1 Analysis and interpretation of statistics...23 4.2 Contextual interpretations (legal, political and international factors)...25 5. OTHER DATA AND INFORMATION AVAILABLE...28 Citizenship and naturalization...28 Labour market and employment...29 ANNEX(ES)...31 STATISTICAL DATA...31 USED LITERATURE...39 2
1. INTRODUCTION This report gives an overview of the developments in the migration and asylum statistics in Estonia in 2006. In order to understand Estonian population statistics and the main migration flows, Estonian history should be taken into consideration. The Republic of Estonia was declared on 24 February 1918. From the year 1940 to the restoration of independence on 20 August 1991 Estonia was part of the Soviet Union. The main migration flows in Estonia are from the times of the Soviet Union. Today 26% of the Estonian population is people of Russian nationality 1. Although the migration from the areas of the former Soviet Union is no longer as active, the statistical data (bases for residence permits, visa applications) allows concluding that the citizens of the Russian Federation are in close contact with their national community living in Estonia. The first part of the report gives an overview of the situation in Estonia with regard to the asylum issues. In 2006 asylum was applied for in Estonia by 7 applicants. The second part of the paper analyses Estonian migration statistics. Estonian immigration is dominated by immigration from third countries (countries that are not member states of the European Union). The majority of the countries of origin of immigration to Estonia are countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), especially the Russian Federation. The immigration pressure from the CIS countries and other third countries has been constant and high although there was no sudden increase in immigration flow due to Estonia s accession to the European Union. By the bases for residence permits, nearly quarter of immigration is family migration for settling with a spouse or close relative living in Estonia. The third part observes the situation of illegal immigration in Estonia. In 2006 active preparations started for Estonia s accession with the Schengen area. The year 2006 saw three main changes in the legal acts regulating the migration and asylum area in Estonia, which were all due to transposition of the Directives of the Council to Estonian legislation. The Aliens Act was amended the permanent residence permit issued to the citizens of third countries was renamed to long-term residence permit and the bases for applying for long-term residence permit were also changed partially (i.e. the integration requirement). The new Citizen of the European Union Act was passed the temporary residence permit issued to citizens of the European Union was renamed to temporary right of stay. A new 1 Statistics Estonia www.stat.ee 3
basis for staying was established permanent right of stay of a citizen of the European Union. The Refugees Act was repealed and the Granting Aliens International Protection Act entered into force for the first time granting temporary protection was regulated in the legislation establishing the status of asylum seekers and refugees. Furthermore, the asylum seekers are allowed access to the Estonian labour market. In 2006 extensive work was done in the Estonian legislative area due to the fact that a number of Directives needed to be transposed from the European Union legislation to the Estonian legislation: Family Reunification Directive (2003/86/EC) of 22 September 2003; Reception Directive (2003/9/EC) of 27 January 2003 laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers; Temporary Protection Directive (2001/55/EC) of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof; Qualification Directive (2004/83/EC) of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection granted; Council Directive (2003/109/EC) of 25 November 2003 concerning the status of thirdcountry nationals who are long-term residents; Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (2004/38/EC) of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States Council Directive (2003/110/EC) of 25 November 2003 on assistance in cases of transit for the purposes of removal by air. Council Directive (2004/82/EC) 29 April 2004 on the obligation of carriers to communicate passenger data. Annexes of this paper include statistical data regarding Estonian population, residence permits, asylum seekers and illegal immigration. 4
1.1.Methodology This report is compiled on the basis of the format for studies of the European Migration Network (hereinafter the EMN). The aim of the report is to give an overview of the changes and features of the Estonian migration and asylum statistics in the year 2006 and at the same time compare statistics with the statistics of the previous years. The EMN compiles a summarised report on the basis of the reports made in the EU member states setting forth the similarities and differences in the migration and asylum statistics of the member states using the systematic comparative methodology. The information received allows understanding and analysing the developments in the EU member states in a better way. This paper was prepared in tight cooperation with several state authorities Citizenship and Migration Board, Ministry of the Interior, Estonian Board of Border Guard and Statistics Estonia. These institutions contributed to checking the Eurostat statistics as well as analysing the statistics. Writing this document has been significantly complicated by the fact that Estonia practically has no statistics pertaining to immigration and emigration. Currently the migration statistics is being developed posteriorly, however, it is a very time-consuming and thorough process and the result is very important for assessing Estonian migration flows. 5
2. ASYLUM The new Granting Aliens International Protection Act regulating the stay of asylum seekers in the country entered into force on 01.07.2006 to replace the previous Refugees Act. 2.1 Analysis and interpretation of asylum statistics 2.1.1 Please describe trends in first-time asylum applications (on the basis of persons, e.g. dependant children should be included, but counted separately) in 2006 compared to the previous year. Are these trends related to legislative or administrative developments/ changes? Upon Estonia s accession to the European Union on 01.05.2004 increase of the number of asylum seekers was feared. However, if we compare the number of asylum seekers of the year 2006 with the number of asylum seekers of the previous years, then we can see that the number decreased in 2006. When in 2004 and 2005 asylum was applied for in Estonia by 11 asylum seekers then in 2006 the number was 7. In 2006 asylum was applied for by 3 men in the age of 18-35 and 4 women (3 in the age of 18-35 and 1 in the age of 36-59). In 2006 no unaccompanied children came to Estonia. The small number of asylum seekers in Estonia can be explained by the strict asylum policy of the country and the small social support offered to the asylum seekers. 2.1.2 What is the total number of first and final positive decisions (again on the basis of persons) in 2006, disaggregated by the citizenship of the person concerned? Please explain changes in the total number of positive decisions in comparison to the previous year. In 2006 no first positive decisions were made for applications for asylum. Since 1997 in total 4 persons have been granted asylum and in total 10 persons have received residence permits on the basis of subsidiary protection. 2.1.3 When compared with the previous year, can you observe changes in the statuses regularly granted to particular citizenship groups? How do you explain these changes or continuity? In Estonia the procedure is based on individual cases, thus no certain citizenship is preferred. Still the most applicants come from the Russian Federation in 2006 there were 4 (in 2005 there were 4) and Turkey in 2006 1 applicant (in 2005 2, 2004 7 applicants). The most asylum seekers come from the Russian Federation mainly due to our geographical proximity. Generally Estonia is used as a transit country in order to move illegally on to other European Union countries. 6
Country of origin of asylum seekers in 2006. 4 4 3 No of applicants 2 1 1 1 1 0 Cameroon Nigeria Russia Turkey Diagram 5. Country of origin of asylum seekers in 2006 2 2.2 Contextual interpretations (legal, political and international factors) 2.2.1 New or amended laws effective in 2006 Please describe briefly any new or amended laws on asylum and relevant case law effective in 2006. Have there been important changes in comparison with the previous year? In 2006 significant developments took place in the legislation pertaining to Estonian refugees policy: on 01.07.2006 the Granting Aliens International Protection Act entered into force to replace the previous Refugees Act and brought the legislation regulating the asylum issues in Estonia into compliance with the following European Union Directives: Family Reunion Directive (2003/86/EC) of 22 September 2003 (only for the part concerning persons receiving international protection); Reception Directive (2003/9/EC) of 27 January 2003 laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers; Temporary Protection Directive (2001/55/EC) of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof; Qualification Directive (2004/83/EC) of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as 2 Illuka Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers www.ivv.ee 7
persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection granted; Additionally the preparation of the Granting Aliens International Protection Act considered in 2005 the provisions of the Directive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 2005 on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status. Due to the fact that in 2005 it was still a draft directive, a reference to the Directive 2005/85/EC has not been set forth in the Act. The most significant changes in the Granting Aliens International Protection Act as compared to the Refugees Act were the following: 1. For the first time the granting of temporary protection for aliens was regulated in Estonian law. 2. Asylum seekers were granted an access to Estonian labour market. Pursuant to the Refugees Act, the right of access to the Estonian labour market was held only by the aliens with the residence permit refugees and persons who receive supplementary protection. The asylum seekers had no access. The Act ensures an access to the labour market to the asylum seekers in case if the CMB has not made a decision regarding the application for asylum during one year from the submission of the application for asylum due to reasons independent of the asylum seeker or if the asylum seeker has contested the refusing decision in the court. The restriction for working is only the circumstance that working must not hinder the processing of the application for asylum of the person, execution of the judicial proceedings or a decision. 3. The compulsory execution of the percept to leave a country of persons who have received the decision to refuse to grant residence permit was speeded-up. Pursuant to the Refugees Act, the precept to leave the country was not subject to compulsory execution before reaching the first court settlement. The Act establishes as a new principle that in the case of contesting in the court the decision to refuse to grant residence permit to an asylum seeker made by the CMB and a precept thereof for leaving Estonia, the precept to leave Estonia shall not be subject to compulsory execution before the decision of the administrative court of the first instance, if by this the decision to refuse to grant residence permit made by the CMB remains in force. The reason for the amendment is the fact that practice has shown that the court proceedings in asylum cases take a long time (more than four years for one case), which makes it more difficult to later expel an alien. At the same time, however, the right of the person to stay in Estonia until the decision of the court of the first instance is ensured. 8
4. The fingerprinting of the asylum seekers and their forwarding for comparison to the central unit of the Eurodac-system as well as taking biological samples was regulated. Biological samples can only be taken in case if the person cannot be identified or his/her filiations established in any other way. The mentioned amendments help to establish the cases of human trafficking and combat illegal immigration. 3 2.2.2 Procedural changes effective in 2006 Please explain briefly administrative or legal changes in the application, decision, or appeals process contributing to any numerical changes. Have there been important changes in comparison with the previous year? In autumn 2004 the European Commission approved the application of Estonia to develop the reception system for asylum seekers, i.e. to build a registration centre for asylum seekers and receive co-financing from the European Refugee Fund. The CMB and the Ministry of Interior concluded a support agreement for realising the project for building the registration centre on 13 July 2005. The rooms of the officials of the Refugees Department, rooms for receiving asylum applications and interrogations, photographing and fingerprinting room, library room and rooms necessary for temporary accommodation of the asylum seekers were built and equipped with the necessary technical equipment on the basis of the developed project. The legal basis 4 for accommodating asylum seekers in the CMB existed already from 1 July 2006. The employees of the refugees department moved to the new rooms already in early spring of 2006. In 2006 the right of an asylum seeker to appeal the first decision to a court or the process of appealing to a court did not change the first decision is still made by the Citizenship and Migration Board. This decision can be appealed by an asylum seeker to the Administrative Court, which is the court of first instance. The next instance of the court is Circuit Court and from there the decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court. 2.2.3 Can you identify European / international factors explaining certain changes regarding asylum trends in 2006 in your Member State? Has the situation changed in comparison with the previous year? When joining the European Union on 01.05.2004 Estonia undertook the obligation to harmonize the Estonian legislation with the Council of the European Union Directives. As a result the new Granting Aliens International Protection entered into force on 01.07.2006 to replace the previous 3 Explanatory memorandum 2-1-1/6057 to the Granting Aliens International Protection Act 4 Granting Aliens International Protection Act entered into force on 01.07.2006 9
Refugees Act. The change in the Act did not make the rules for applying for asylum or processing the applications for asylum stricter but they were regulated and brought into accordance with the European Union legislation. 10
3. MIGRATION The aims of managing migration flows are arrival of aliens into a country and their stay in a country according to established conditions and ensuring leaving from the country of undesirable aliens. Those types of migration that correspond to public interests should be favoured, whereas the latter is a question of political decision-making. Since regaining of independence the Estonian migration policy has been stable, in its nature it has not been changed a lot during the past decade and is, as in other member states of the European Union, limiting immigration. Estonian immigration is dominated by immigration from third countries (countries that are not member states of the European Union). The majority of the countries of origin of immigration to Estonia are countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), especially the Russian Federation. The immigration pressure from the CIS countries and other third countries has been constant and high although there was no sudden increase in immigration flow due to Estonia s accession to the European Union. By the bases for residence permits, nearly quarter of immigration is family migration for settling with a spouse or close relative living in Estonia. Only in 2004 did the application for the residence permit for employment increase. 5 3.1 Analysis and interpretation of migration statistics 3.1.1 Migration Flows How did migration flows in your Member State change compared to the previous years, from 2002 onwards? Please explain the reasons for changes. Did the migration trends observed in this field reflect immigration policies at the time? According to the data of the Statistics Estonia and Minister of Population, the population of Estonia was 1,344,684 in 2006, in 2003 the population was 1,356,045 and in 2000 1,372,071 inhabitants. The main reason for the decrease of the population is the very low birth rate (negative population growth) since the middle of 1990s. 6 7 When in 2006 82% of the population were citizens of Estonia, 10% were aliens with undefined citizenship 8 and 8% were citizens of another state, then in 1992 the situation was the following: 68% of Estonian citizens and 32% of persons with undefined citizenship. 9 5 CMB development directives 2006-2010, web page of the Citizenship and Migration Board www.mig.ee 6 Statistics Estonia www.stat.ee 7 Statistics Estonia s change in the population does not include changes in migration. The estimated population decreases only due to natural negative population growth, howeverdue to the constantly increasing number of birthd and stable number of deaths, the decrease has slowed down during the past years. (Statistics Estonia letter to the Migration Foundation (A.Tammur) 8 EMN III small-scale study Conditions of entry and residence of third-country highly-skilled workers in the EU 9 EMN III small-scale study Conditions of entry and residence of third-country highly-skilled workers in the EU 11
During the years in between, a part of the persons with unidentified citizenship acquired Estonian citizenship, some acquired the citizenship of another country. 10 8% 10% Estonian citizen Unidentified citizenship Other nationalities 82% Diagram 2. Distribution of Estonian population by citizenship in 2006 32% Estonians 68% undefined citizens Diagram 3. Distribution of Estonian population by citizenship in 1992 3.1.2 Population by Citizenship in 2006 What were the largest groups (by citizenship) of third country nationals in 2006? If significant changes occurred in reference to the size of particular groups of third country nationals in 2006, what were the underlying causes of these changes (e.g. legal, political, economical, other)? A significant change in the percentage of citizens of third countries in the population cannot be observed as compared to the year 2005. There are still the most of citizens of the Russian 10 CMB Yearbook 2006 www.mig.ee 12
Federation, followed by Ukrainian citizens and Byelorussian citizens. The same three were the first also in 2004. In 2006 Estonian population consisted of the following in percentage: Estonians 69%, Russians 26%, Ukrainians 2%, Finns 1%, Byelorussians 1%, other nationalities 1%. 11 1% 1% 1% 26% 2% 69% Estonians Russians Ukranians Finns Byelorussians Other nationalities Diagram 4. Estonian population composition in 2006 3.1.3 Residence Permits: annual total of first issuing in 2006 How did the total number of residence permits issued for the first time in 2006 change in comparison to the previous year? Please explain the reasons for this (legal, political, administrative changes, etc.). Note that this section should refer only to the first issuing of residence permits and not any subsequent extensions to a residence permit issued in previous years. When the II half of 2004 and the year 2005 were characterized by a large-scale campaign for replacing the residence permits of the aliens, which meant that the terms of validity of the temporary residence permits of many aliens expired, then in 2006 there were less issuing and extensions of residence permits. In 2006 there were in total 4370 issued temporary residence permits (in 2005 in total 5430 first residence permits were issued, most of the residence permits issued in 2005 were extensions or as already mentioned before, replacements of residence permits). The bases for issuing residence permits were the following (on the bases of Aliens act): - Family migration 1185 - Employment 565 - Business 7 - Studies 207 - Legal income 43 11 Statistics Estonia www.stat.ee 13
- International agreement 2363 12. 0% 54% 1% 27% 13% 5% Family migration Studies Employment International agreement Legal income Business Diagram. 5 Temporary first residence permits by bases in 2006. The temporary residence permits were mainly applied for in Estonia in 2006 by citizens of Russia, followed by individuals with unidentified citizenship and citizens of Ukraine. 13 There were in total 7090 decisions to grant residence permits for long term residents (in 2005 the number was 9210), including issuing first residence permits for long term residents also to 1071 retired military personnel and to 499 family members of retired military personnel. 14 The so called retired military personnel are according to the law 15 persons who have served as professional members of the armed forces of a foreign country and assigned to reserve or retired. Many of them moved from the territories of the former Soviet Union to Estonia during the period 1940-1990 due to the service because there were many military units and there was the submarine training centre in Paldiski. Many members of the military personnel came to Estonia with their families. Most of the former members of the military personnel have now taken the citizenship of the Russian Federation but many of their children have already integrated into the Estonian society and become Estonian citizens. According to the wording of the new Aliens Act (entered into force on 01.06.2006) the former members of the military personnel can also apply for the long-term residence permit in Estonia, the previous wording of the Act did not allow that. 12 Foreign agreements consider aliens who settled in Estonia before 1 July 1990 and after that date have not left to live in another country and who have not been refused of residence permit or extension of a residence permit or whose residence permit has not declared invalid section 11 1 (2) 10) of the Aliens Act 13 Letter of the CMB to the Migration Foundation 3-2/2007-15 14 Letter of the CMB to the Migration Foundation 3-2/2007-12 15 Section 12(4) 7) of the Aliens Act 14
3.2 Contextual interpretations (legal, political and international factors) 3.2.1 What have been the main trends and most important developments in the area of migration policy in your Member State since the previous year (political stance; new or amended laws; procedural changes; etc.? Please give a short overview. Arrival to Estonia, stay, settling and employment in Estonia of third country citizens and the bases for legal liability of aliens are regulated by the Aliens Act. Stay in Estonia of the citizens of the European Union are established with the Citizen of the European Union Act. Visa: The developments concerning visa issues that took place in 2006 were: On 01.01.2006 the amendment of the Aliens Act entered into force, the aim of which is to establish in the applicable law the regulation of granting single entry up to five-day visas in order to promote tourism. The amendment of the Act was conditioned by Article 93 of the coalition agreement of the Estonian Reform Party, Estonian Centre Party and Estonian Peoples Union. The law foresees a different regulation for granting a short-term single-entry visa with the time of stay of up to five days for the purposes of using tourism services or entertainment services in Estonia. In addition to the general conditions for granting visas an additional condition for obtaining a visa for the mentioned purposes is a circumstance that the economic status of the alien must allow him/her to take responsibilities, which are usually held by the person inviting him/her to Estonia the obligation to ensure the accommodation of the alien and if necessary cover the costs for the alien s stay in Estonia and departure from Estonia. Thus, when an alien arrives in Estonia for the purposes of using a tourism service or entertainment service and does not wish to stay here longer than five days and its economic situation allows him/her to cover the costs for accommodation and stay in as well as departure from Estonia, such alien does not need and a sponsor in Estonia for obtaining a visa. 16 Residence permit: In 2006 several important changes were entered into the Aliens Act, which were mainly due to transposition of the European legislation to the Estonian legislation. 16 Explanatory memorandum 2-1-1/4982 to the draft amendment of the Aliens Act 15
On 01.06.2006 the amendment of the Aliens Act (hereinafter the AA) entered into force, which harmonized the following EU Directives: -Council Directive 2003/109/EC concerning the status of third-country nationals who are longterm residents, the aim of which is to create similar conditions for the residence and work in an EU member stat. - Council Directive 2003/86/EC on the right to family reunification, which establishes the rights of the family members who are citizens of third countries to stay in a member state. The main change involved the fact that as a new conception the status of a long-term resident and the residence permit proving it were introduced. While before the types of residence permits included temporary residence permit (with the validity of up to five years) and permanent residence permit (without a term), then after the entry into force of the amendment, there will be the temporary residence permit and residence permit of a long-term resident. The issue of permanent residence permits was terminated and all aliens holding the permanent residence permit were considered as long-term residents and they have the right to replace the document certifying permanent residence with the document certifying the long-term residence. Documents certifying permanent right of residence are valid until the end of their individual date of expiry and there is no obligation to replace the document. Pursuant to Directive 2003/109/EC, the main criterion for obtaining the status of a long-term resident is the duration of residence on the territory of a member state. The residence must be legal and continuous. In addition, the alien must prove that he/she has legal income and health insurance. Many things changed also for the citizens of the European Union in 2006 due to the fact that the new wording of the Citizen of the European Union Act entered into force on 01.08.2006 transposing the Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. 17 The Act replaces the valid Citizen of the European Union Act and established the new wording due to the fact that the amendments were extensive and principal. 18 The aim of the new Act was to establish the legal bases for the stay and residence in Estonia of a citizen of the European Union and his/her family member. The biggest change as compared to the previous one was that the system of residence permits was surrendered and instead, the definitions of the right of stay and the right of residence were introduced, whereas the regulations of the right of stay and right 17 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 and repealing Directives 64/221/EEC, 68/360/EEC, 72/194/EEC, 73/148/EEC, 75/34/EEC, 75/35/EEC, 90/364/EEC, 90/365/EEC and 93/96/EEC 18 Explanatory memorandum 2-1-1/10580 to the draft amendment of the Citizen of the European Union Act 16
of residence of the citizen of the European Union and his/her family members are somewhat different. A citizen of the European Union may stay in Estonia on the basis of the right of stay for up to three months from the day of entry. Thereafter he/she has to register his/her residence in the population register. By registering the residence in the population register the citizen of the European Union acquires a temporary right of residence for five years. 19 3.2.2 What were the existing categories of admission or non-admission in 2006? In order to arrive in Estonia and stay in Estonia an alien must have a legal basis. Pursuant to the Aliens Act the legal bases for an alien s stay in Estonia are: 1) an Estonian residence permit; 2) a residence permit issued by a competent agency of a member state of the European Union, a member state of the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation, except Estonia; 3) an Estonian visa; 4) a uniform visa issued by a competent agency of a member state of the European Union, a member state of the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation, except Estonia; 5) the right to stay in Estonia arising from an international agreement; 6) the right to stay in Estonia arising from the decision of the Government of the Republic to surrender the visa requirement; 7) the right or obligation to stay in Estonia arising immediately from the law, court decision or administrative act; 8) a residence permit or a return visa issued by a competent agency which belongs to the common visa area. Residence permit: A temporary residence permit may be issued to an alien for: 1) for employment; 2) for business; 3) for study in an educational institution according to the application of the educational institution; 4) in order to settle with a close relative permanently resident in Estonia; 5) whose permanent legal income ensures their subsistence in Estonia; 6) whose application for a residence permit is based on an international agreement. 19 Section 13(1) of the Citizen of the European Union Act 17
7) A temporary residence permit may be issued to an alien who is married to a person permanently resident in Estonia. 8) A temporary residence permit shall be issued to an alien who has served in the armed forces of a foreign state, has been assigned to the reserve forces thereof or has retired therefrom and to whom the "Agreement between the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Federation on Social Guarantees for Pensioners of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the Territory of the Republic of Estonia" (RT II 1995, 46, 203) applies, and to the spouse or minor children of the alien; the temporary residence permit shall be extended if the alien does not pose a threat to the national security. 20 A residence permit shall not be issued to or extended for an alien if: 1) he or she has submitted false information (including information concerning his or her earlier activities) upon application for a visa, residence permit or work permit or upon application for extension thereof; 2) he or she does not observe the constitutional order and laws of Estonia; 3) his or her activities have been or are or there is good reason to believe that such activities have been or are directed against the Estonian state and its security; 4) he or she has incited or incites, or there is good reason to believe that he or she has incited or incites racial, religious or political hatred or violence; 5) he or she has committed a criminal offence for which he or she has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of more than one year and his or her criminal record has neither expired nor been expunged, or the information concerning the punishment has not been expunged from the punishment register; 6) he or she is in the active service of the armed forces of a foreign state or to his or her spouse and minor child; 7) he or she has served as a professional member of the armed forces of a foreign state or has been assigned to the reserve forces thereof or has retired therefrom or to his or her spouse and minor child; 8) he or she has been repeatedly punished pursuant to criminal procedure for an intentionally committed criminal offence; 9) there is information or good reason to believe that he or she belongs to a criminal organisation, that he or she is connected with the illegal conveyance of narcotics, psychotropic substances or persons across the border, that he or she is a member of a terrorist organisation or has committed an act of terrorism, or that he or she is involved in money laundering; 20 Section 12(1) of the Aliens Act 18
10) he or she is or there is good reason to believe that he or she is employed by an intelligence or security service of a foreign state, or he or she has or there is good reason to believe that he or she has been employed by an intelligence or security service of a foreign state, and his or her age, rank or other circumstances do not preclude his or her conscription into service in the security forces or armed forces or other armed units of his or her country of nationality or to his or her spouse and minor child; 11) he or she has received or there is good reason to believe that he or she has received special training in landing operations, or in diversion or sabotage activities, or other special training, and if the knowledge and skills acquired in the process of such training can be directly applied in the formation or training of illegal armed units or to his or her spouse and minor child; 12) he or she has or there is good reason to believe that he or she has participated in punitive operations against civil population or to his or her spouse and minor child; 13) there is good reason to believe that he or she has committed a crime against humanity or a war crime; 14) prohibition on entry applies to him or her. 21 Visa: A visa shall be issued to a citizen of a third country for entry to Estonia and stay in the country. A visa may be issued to an alien: 1) who holds a valid travel document which is recognised by Estonia; 2) if the purpose and reason of his or her planned stay in Estonia have been proved and these are in accordance with the provisions of legislation regulating the temporary stay of aliens in Estonia; 3) if it is proved that the costs relating to his or her accommodation and stay are covered during his or her stay in Estonia; 4) if he or she proves the intention to leave Estonia not later than upon termination of the period of stay; 5) if it is proved that the costs relating to his or her return to his or her country of origin or departure from Estonia into another country into which he or she has a legal basis to enter are covered; 6) who has a valid health insurance policy guaranteeing that any costs related to his or her medical treatment as a result of illness or injury during the period of validity of the visa will be met. 21 Section 12(4) of the Aliens Act 19
A visa shall not be issued if: 1) the alien does not comply with the conditions for the issue of a visa provided for in 10 9 of this Act; 2) the alien has submitted false information or falsified documents upon application for the visa; 3) a prohibition on entry applies with regard to the alien; 4) a circumstance which is the basis for application of a prohibition on entry exists in respect of the alien; 5) there is doubt that the entry of the alien into Estonia may endanger public order, public safety or national security; 6) the alien fails to appear, at the invitation of a consular officer, in the representation in person in order to provide explanations concerning facts which are relevant upon application for the visa or for additional identification; 7) other circumstances precluding issue of the visa become evident. Issue of a visa may be refused if: 1) the alien has stayed in Estonia for longer than ninety calendar days within six months prior to submission of the visa application; 2) the alien has committed an offence in Estonia; 3) the alien has failed to pay an amount of pecuniary punishment imposed on him or her for an offence committed in Estonia; 4) there is doubt that the purpose of arrival of the alien in Estonia does not correspond to the alleged purpose; 5) there is doubt that the alien does not leave Estonia after the expiry of the visa; 6) there is doubt that the alien may violate the conditions of the visa; 7) there is reason to doubt the trustworthiness of the alien; 8) application for the visa is not justified; 9) an agency within the area of government of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is designated by the Minister of Internal Affairs refuses to grant approval for issue of the visa to the alien; 10) other circumstances precluding issue of the visa become evident. 22 The right of a citizen of the European Union to stay in the country: The stay in the country of a citizen of the European Union and his or her family member is regulated by the Citizen of European Union Act. 22 Sections 10 9, 10 10 of the Aliens Act 20
Due to the fact that in 2006 the Citizen of the European Union Act was significantly changed, the right of a citizen of the European Union and his family member to stay in Estonia before 01.08.2006 and after the amendment of the act on 01.08.2006 have been set forth separately. Until 01.08.2006 a citizen of the European Union could stay in Estonia without residence permit: a. for up to three months as of the date of his or her arrival in Estonia, also if he or she is employed in Estonia or engaged in business in Estonia; b. if he or she is employed in another member state of the European Union but resides in Estonia and returns to Estonia at least once a week; c. if he or she is a seasonal worker in Estonia; d. or up to six months for the purpose of seeking employment if he or she has registered the employment seeking pursuant to the procedure provided for in the Employment Service Act. A family member of a citizen of the European Union had the right to stay in Estonia together with the citizen of the European Union who had a legal basis for stay in Estonia residence permit or visa. The arrival or stay in Estonia of a citizen of the European Union or his or her family member may be prevented or ended for ensuring public order, public safety, national security or public health. 23 Residence permits were issued to citizens of the European Union for: 1) employment 2) business 3) studies 4) the citizen of the European Union has sufficient legal income which ensures his or her own subsistence and that of his or her family members in Estonia 5) long-term stay in Estonia. Residence permits were issued to family members of a citizen of the European Union for the purpose of settling with the citizen of the European Union. 24 A family member shall be granted temporary right of residence for up to five years but not for longer than the period during which the citizen of the European Union resides in Estonia, 23 Section 4 (1), (2), (3) of the Citizen of the European Union Act 24 Section 5(2), (3) of the Citizen of the European Union Act 21
furthermore, the temporary right of residence of a family member shall be extended for the period during which the citizen of the European Union resides in Estonia but not for longer than for five consecutive years at a time. 25 Since 01.08.2006 the new Citizen of the European Union Act is in force on the basis of which not later than after three months after the date of entry in Estonia, a citizen of the European Union must register his or her residence pursuant to the procedure provided by the Population Register Act. 26 A family member (if he/she is a citizen of a third country or a stateless person) has the right to stay in Estonia together with a citizen of the European Union on the basis of a valid travel document for a period of up to three months after the date of entry in Estonia. 27 During the mentioned three months a family member of a citizen of the European Union shall apply for temporary right of residence, or leave Estonia before the expiry of such term, unless he or she has applied for temporary right of residence. 28 3.2.3 Could you identify European / international factors explaining certain changes/continuity regarding migration in your Member State in comparison to the previous year? Due to the fact that with the accession to the European Union on 01.05.2004 Estonia undertook the obligation to harmonize the Council Directives into Estonian legislation, Estonia continued transposition of the European Union legislation to Estonian legislation also in 2006. As a result new wording of the Aliens Act regulating the entry into and stay in the country of citizens of third countries entered into force on 01.06.2006 and the Citizen of the European Union Act entered into force on 01.08.2006 regulating stay in the country of a citizen of the European Union and his/her family member. Specific descriptions regarding the amendments of the Aliens Act and Citizen of the European Union Act are set forth in chapter 3.2.1. 25 Section 19(1), (2) of the Citizen of European Union Act 26 Section 7(2) of the Citizen of European Union Act 27 Section 10(1) of the Citizen of European Union Act 28 Section 10(4) of the Citizen of European Union Act 22
4. REFUSALS, APPREHENSIONS AND REMOVALS Organising migration supervision in Europe without internal borders is an integral part of internal security and public order. An important keyword of the year 2006 may be considered to be preparations for joining the Schengen visa area. Estonian preparations for joining the Schengen area started gradually in 1998 together with the preparations for the accession to the European Union. More active preparations started in the autumn of 2005. In order to join the Schengen judicial area Schengen assessments had to be carried out in Estonia. Estonia passed them in 2006 and 2007. The Council Schengen assessment working group received the assessment reports for Estonian sea and air border, data protection, police cooperation and Schengen information system. Assessments of Estonia for accession with Schengen were: sea border on 1-5 July 2006 air border on 13-15 July 2006 visas on 17 May 2006 in St. Petersburg visas on 21 June 2006 in Kiev land border on 11-15 September 2006 police cooperation 7-10 September 2006 data protection 21-22 September 2006 follow-up assessments in data protection, land border, airport 2007 assessment of the Schengen information system on 24-28 September 2007. 29 4.1 Analysis and interpretation of statistics 4.1.1 Please describe developments/trends pertaining to the number of refusals in 2006 in comparison to the previous year. Have there been changes in the main countries of citizenship of refused migrants since the previous year? If possible, give reasons for these changes/continuity. When in 2004 2308 were prohibited to enter the country and in 2005 the number had decreased to 1924 persons, then in 2006 the number had again increased to 2669 persons. In 2006 the number of persons sent back from the border has increased due to the fact that the crews of the cargo ships visiting Estonia have had more persons who should have had a visa when arriving in 29 Flyer of the Ministry of the Interior Schengen, December 2007 23
Estonia but did not have that. Absence of visa was the main reason for denial of entry at border. 30 The highest number of persons sent back was still from India (1017), the Philippines (301) and Russia (261), thus the countries of citizenship of the persons sent back from the border have remained the same over the years. In 2005 the first place of the countries of citizenship of the persons sent back from the border was held by India, Russia and the Philippines. 4.1.2 Please describe developments/trends pertaining to the number of apprehensions of illegally-resident third-country nationals in 2006 in comparison to the previous year. Have there been changes in the main countries of citizenship of those apprehended in 2006? If possible, give reasons for these changes/continuity. As compared to the year 2005 the number of persons apprehended in the country has somewhat decreased in 2006: in 2005 there were 2703 persons apprehended and in 2006 the number was 2069. In order to explain a certain decrease, the previous years need to be observed. In 2004 a legal basis was created for the activities of the migration inspectors in the area of administration of the Citizenship and Migration Board. Earlier, they were just office workers and only the border guards and the police were involved in active search of illegal persons. In 2005 the number of persons apprehended was mainly due to the fact that the migration inspectors started their work. Furthermore, the campaign for the extension of residence permits, which started already in 2004 (this year there were many dates for expiry of the residence permits) was ongoing and in the case of a number of persons it was discovered that the validity of the residence permit had expired before he/she submitted the application for extension to the CMB. Thus the person was staying illegally in Estonia and he/she was taken into account as an illegal. This big number did not mean that most of the illegal persons had travelled to the country illegally or that there had been a massive immigration. The year 2006 was the backwash of the campaign of the previous year. 31 The groups of the persons of the mentioned categories by citizenship have remained the same. In 2005 as well as 2006 the biggest number was formed by stateless persons 1439 (in 2005 2029), citizens of Russia - 489 (in 2005 556) and citizens of Ukraine 47 (in 2005 38). 4.1.3 Please describe developments/trends pertaining to the number of removals in 2006 in comparison to the previous year. Have there been changes in the main countries of citizenship of removed migrants? If possible, explain the underlying factors for these changes/continuity. 30 Letter of the Estonian Boarder of Border Guard to the Migration Foundation 6-2/2008-24 31 Letter of the CMB to the Migration Foundation 6-2/2008-24 24
Although as compared to the years 2004 and 2005 the number of persons staying illegally in the country and removed from there has constantly been decreasing, then in 2006 it increased again somewhat. In 2004 there were 101 removed persons, in 2005 60 persons, however in 2006 the number was 91 persons. There is no general explanation for the change in the removal numbers. The mentioned number depends on the fact the citizens of which country have stayed illegally in Estonia and if the respective countries where the removed person is sent wish to cooperate upon removal 32 The countries of origin of the removed persons have generally remained the same, there were most removed persons from the Russian Federation (37), Moldova (16) and Ukraine (10). These persons are mainly violators of the visa regime. 4.1.4 In cases of refused, apprehended, and removed migrants in 2006, are these from the same countries in all categories, or are particular citizenship groups more common in a particular category? If possible, explain the underlying causes. In all three categories (persons sent back from the state border, persons caught staying in the country illegally, illegal persons sent out from the country) the biggest number was formed by citizens of Russia. The main reason for it the geographical location and historical background many citizens of Russia have relatives in Estonia and they often invite their relatives from Russia to visit on the basis of a visa who then stay here even after the expiry of the visa, thus they are violating the visa regime. In the European countries as well as in Estonia the family migration forms predominantly the biggest part of migration, not taking into account the persons applying for asylum. In the European countries, family migration forms the biggest part in illegal immigration. Although Estonia has no data regarding it, considering the general behavioural tendencies of the migrant population, there are no grounds to believe that it would be different in Estonia. The second biggest type of migration is arrival in Estonia for illegal employment. Very often such persons arrive here on the basis of visa and they work illegally, staying in Estonia illegally even after the expiry of the visa. 33 4.2 Contextual interpretations (legal, political and international factors) 4.2.1 New or amended laws influencing illegal immigration in 2006 Please explain the most important changes in policies regarding refusal of entry or return from the previous year. 32 Letter of the Ministry of the Interior to the Migration Foundation 6-2/2008-27 33 CMB development directions 2006-2010, Citizenship and Migration Board www.mig.ee 25