Estonia · Work authorisation

Temporary residence permit for employment

Issued by The Police and Border Guard Board (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet, PPA). It is checked against conditions rather than scored, so the question is whether you meet each one, not how many points you gather.

Basis
Checklist
Steps
5
Possible outcomes
2
Last checked
2026-08-09

Conditions

What this permit
asks of you.

Which desk decides

The authority, exactly

The Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund carries out the labour-market check the employer needs before applying; the Police and Border Guard Board decides the residence permit itself. If you are abroad, expect to apply for the long-stay visa you travel on at the Estonian mission responsible for your place of residence first.

2026 figure

Salary floor

EUR 2,092 a month

The Police and Border Guard Board states the general rule as: the employer pays a salary that is at least equal to the average gross salary in Estonia, subject to exceptions. It states that average as €2,092 a month for the period 06.03.2026–05.03.2027. This route carries no fixed premium over that average the way the EU Blue Card does, which is why it is often the more reachable route for a job offer that would not clear the Blue Card's salary floor.

A figure without the year it belongs to and the condition attached to it is how someone rules themselves out of a permit they qualify for. Both are above.

Qualification

What it wants from your degree

Documents proving you have the appropriate education, work experience, health, and the professional skills and knowledge the job requires.

The procedure

5 steps,
in the order they happen.

Prepare your documents

  1. Secure a concrete job offer in Estonia before you apply — the application starts from a specific position, not a search for one.
  2. Gather evidence of the education, work experience and professional skills and knowledge the job requires.The Estonian ENIC/NARIC issues a free written evaluation statement comparing a foreign qualification to the Estonian education system, if you want documentary evidence of comparability beyond what your employer already accepts.

Get your qualification assessed

  1. Your employer applies to the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund for permission to recruit you for the position before the residence-permit application is filed.

Close any gaps

  1. If you extend or reapply after five years spent on a temporary residence permit for employment issued since 16 July 2018, expect to be asked to show Estonian at level A2 of the Common European Framework.

Register and start working

  1. Submit the residence permit application and pay the state fee. Apply at the Police and Border Guard Board if you are already legally in Estonia, or start with the long-stay visa at the responsible Estonian mission if you are abroad.

Cost and time

What it costs,
and how long the authority says it takes.

Fees

Temporary residence permit for employment, filed in Estonia
€250
Temporary residence permit for employment, filed at a foreign mission
€280
Extension
€250

Timeframes

Decision
A response within 90 days of a complete application
Permit card issue, once approved
Within 30 days of the decision
Permit validity
Up to 5 years, extendable for up to 10 years at a time

Published processing times, not a prediction about your case.

Both halves together

Guides that use this permit.

Each one takes a profession into Estonia and runs the recognition branch and the authorisation branch side by side, including what your country of qualification adds.

Evidence

Every claim on this page, and where it came from.

4 official pages, each with the jurisdiction it speaks for and the date a human last opened it. The oldest is 2026-08-09, and that is the date this page is only as fresh as.

Is this the right permit for you?

That depends on where you qualified.

The planner compares every route Estonia opens to your country of qualification, and adds the recognition branch when your profession has one.

Check my path →All Estonia permits