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Until 1 July 2006 the legal status of asylum seekers and refugees and their stay in Estonia was regulated by the Refugees Act which was adopted in 1997. At the same time Estonia acceded to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol 31.01.1967.
On 1 July 2006 the Grant of International Protection to Aliens Act brought Estonian asylum legislation in conformity with the relevant provisions of the EU directives.
Total number of asylum applications 1997-2005 is only 110. In 2007 first free months was only 1 asylum application.
Estonia`s accession to the EU has not increased the number of asylum applications. 15 asylum applications were registered in 2004 and 11 asylum applications were registered in 2005. Since 1997 asylum has been granted to 4 persons, residence permits on the grounds of subsidiary protection have been granted to 10 persons.
On these grounds there is no considerable case law in courts. Supreme Court of Estonia has made 3 judgements in cases connected with Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers and 3 judgements in cases when person is required to leave the country. In 10 cases is the issue the right for family life, but most of these cases are involved with the citizens of former Soviet Union.
II Application for international protection
While staying in Estonia, an alien may submit an application for asylum to the Citizenship and Migration Board (CMB). An alien must submit an application for asylum to the CMB immediately after his/her arrival in Estonia. If an alien staying at the border inspection point who wants to apply for asylum has no legal basis for entry into Estonia, he/she has to submit an application for asylum to the border guard authority. In both cases the application for asylum must be submitted personally by the applicant or by his/her legal representative.
An application for asylum cannot be submitted in diplomatic representations of the Republic of Estonia or by post or e-mail in Estonia and abroad.
III Review of applications for asylum
After submission of the application for asylum the officials of CMB or Border Guard Administration (BGA) shall perform the following acts with regard to the applicant. Such acts include identification, collection of explanations concerning arrival to Estonia or to the border of Estonia and the circumstances which constitute the basis for application for asylum, photographing, fingerprinting, etc. The applicant shall also be subject to medical examination, if necessary.
In case of submission of the application for asylum at the border of Estonia the border guard authority may, in concert with the CMB, reject the application for asylum if:
-there is a reason to consider the applicant’s country of origin as a safe country of origin;
-the applicant has arrived to Estonia through a country which can be considered as a safe third country;
-international protection has been accorded to the applicant in another country and such protection is still accessible to the applicant.
If such grounds are not present, the BGA shall forward all materials concerning the application for asylum to the CMB in order to continue the asylum proceedings.
In the process of reviewing an application for asylum, the asylum seeker is invited to the interview at the CMB, where the applicant is given an opportunity to present in person facts and explanations concerning circumstances which may have essential importance in the review of his or her application for asylum, including the circumstances which may prevent the applicant’s expulsion from the country. The CMB shall, on its own account, involve a translator or interpreter to be present at the interview. An applicant has the right to ask a translator or interpreter of his or her choice to be present at a procedural act.
The review of the application for asylum, assessment of circumstances of the application and making relevant decision by the CMB is preceded by the proceedings for determination of the Member State of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as EU) who is responsible for review of particular asylum application (pursuant to the Dublin Regulation). If such proceedings prove that the applicant stayed in another EU country before arriving to Estonia, he/she shall be sent to that country and his/her application for asylum shall be reviewed by the country responsible for review of the application. Otherwise the application for asylum shall be reviewed by the CMB.
After submission of the application by the asylum seeker and performance of procedural acts with regard to the asylum seeker, the CMB shall assess the correctness of information and evidence provided by the applicant and the credibility of his or her statements and, based on that, make a decision whether the granting of asylum to the applicant is justified. If the asylum is denied, the CMB shall consider whether the applicant may apply for temporary residence permit on the basis of supplementary protection.
IV Asylum and supplementary protection
A person has the right to apply for asylum in Estonia owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted in his/her country of origin for reasons of race, religion, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, whereas such persecution is oriented on an individual person, and the person applying for asylum, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to his/her country of origin, where the public authorities are unable or unwilling to protect him/her against persecution.
Persons, who do not fall into any of the above-mentioned categories, have no right to apply for asylum in Estonia. Furthermore, asylum is not granted to persons, who can be accorded sufficient protection from the public authorities of his/her country of origin or who can be accorded sufficient protection in another area of his/her country of origin.
If the asylum seeker fails to comply with the requirements for granting asylum, he or she has the right to apply for supplementary protection on the grounds that his or her return to country of origin may be unsafe. Supplementary protection is also granted on the grounds of well-founded fear that asylum seeker may be subject to torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or if there is reason to believe that such person or civilians are subject to violence due to international or internal armed conflict in the country of origin.
The issue of residence permit shall be refused, if the applicant has no basis for grant of asylum or supplementary protection.
The asylum proceedings are terminated by a decision to reject the application for asylum if, during the performance of procedural acts, it becomes evident that the application for asylum is clearly unfounded. The CMB may review a clearly unfounded application for asylum by way of expedited processing of application.
Both the decision to refuse to grant a residence permit and the decision to reject the application for asylum (except in case where another EU country is responsible for review of the application for asylum) the applicant is issued a precept to leave Estonia, which means that the person is required to leave the country. If the person does not voluntarily leave the country, the CMB shall impose compulsory expulsion on the person.
V Appeal
If the CMB refuses to grant a residence permit or if the CBM or BGA reject the application for asylum, the applicant has the right of recourse to the courts. A complaint shall be filed with the administrative court within 10 days after the publication of the decision.
Contestation of the decision to reject an application for asylum shall postpone the expulsion if the court suspends the compliance with precept to leave Estonia. Upon contestation of the decision to reject the grant of residence permit and related precept to leave Estonia, the precept shall not be subject to compulsory execution before the decision of the administrative court.
An applicant for asylum has the right to:
-receive, within fifteen days as of submission of the application for asylum and in a language which he or she understand, oral and written information concerning his or her rights and duties related to the asylum proceedings and the consequences of failure to perform obligations, based on temporary protection during proceedings of residence permit and during the validity period of international protection;
- receive victim support services pursuant to the procedure provided in the Victim Support Act;
- receive state legal aid pursuant to the procedure provided in the State Legal Aid Act;
- be in contact with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR);
- have a representative present at the asylum proceedings, except during the provision of explanations or the performance of other procedural acts which, arising from their nature, must be carried out personally;
-appeal to the courts if his or her rights and freedoms are violated;
- in the process of reviewing an application for asylum, to present, orally and in person facts and explanations concerning circumstances which may have essential importance in the review of his or her application for asylum, including the circumstances which may prevent the applicant’s expulsion from the country (failure by the applicant to appear for provision of explanations, failure to provide facts or explanations or waiver of the right to provide facts or explanations does not prevent the termination of asylum proceedings);
- ask a translator or interpreter of his or her choice to be present at a procedural act provided that this is possible without delay and the objectivity of the interpretation can be guaranteed;
- examine his/ her personal information entered in the electronic database of fingerprints EURODAC and require correcting or deletion of inaccurate data;
-withdraw the application for asylum;
- asylum seeker is allowed to work in Estonia, if the Citizenship and Migration Board has, within one year after the submission of the application for asylum, made no decision with regard to the application for asylum due to the reasons beyond applicant’s control, or if the asylum seeker has contested the decision on rejection of an application for asylum in court, provided that employment does not hinder his/her asylum proceedings, judicial proceedings or execution of the decision.
An applicant for asylum is required to:
- observe the constitutional order of Estonia and to comply with the legislation of Estonia;
- co-operate in every way in the clarification of the circumstances of the application for asylum;
- submit a standard format application for asylum on the demand of a border guard official or an official of the Citizenship and Migration Board;
- provide government agencies involved in the proceedings with oral and written information and explanations;
- submit all information and documents and other evidence, in his or her possession, which are relevant to the proceedings relating to the application for asylum;
- enable the examination of his or her personal effects and his or her person, performing fluorography and age test and accept the deposit of documents and personal effects;
- co-operate in obtaining documents as evidence of the circumstances presented in the application for asylum;
-agree to the performance of a medical examination;
-allow making photos, fingerprinting and taking DNA samples;
- allow his/ her fingerprints to be compared against the electronic database of fingerprints EURODAC in order to identify persons who have already applied for asylum in the European Union or who have been detained when crossing the external border;
- allow processing of information and evidence collected with respect to the applicant in order to ensure the performance of duties arising from an international agreement or legislation of an international organisation;
- co-operate in the collection of information needed for the identification of his or her person, and for verification purposes;
-comply with the surveillance measures applied to him/her;
- appear at the Citizenship and Migration Board for performance of procedural acts;
- co-operate in the asylum proceedings after withdrawal of application of asylum;
- immediately after submission of an application for asylum to submit the following: identification documents and proof of nationality and other documents to facilitate identification and verification of nationality; visas and residence permits; documents concerning the crossing of borders; documents in evidence of the circumstances of arrival to Estonia and stay in other countries after departure from the applicant’s country of origin (documents in evidence of travel, transportation, accommodation and other received services); documents and other evidence to demonstrate the application for asylum is justified;
- adhere to internal procedure rules applicable for stay in the official premises of the Citizenship and Migration Board;
- stay at the Illuka Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers (hereinafter referred to as “the Reception Centre”) during the asylum proceedings;
-adhere to the internal procedure rules of the Reception Centre;
- inform the Citizenship and Migration Board of changes in marital status and place of residence and the birth of a child.
An outline of legislation on asylum in Estonia
I Legislation and numbersUntil 1 July 2006 the legal status of asylum seekers and refugees and their stay in Estonia was regulated by the Refugees Act which was adopted in 1997. At the same time Estonia acceded to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol 31.01.1967.
On 1 July 2006 the Grant of International Protection to Aliens Act brought Estonian asylum legislation in conformity with the relevant provisions of the EU directives.
Total number of asylum applications 1997-2005 is only 110. In 2007 first free months was only 1 asylum application.
Estonia`s accession to the EU has not increased the number of asylum applications. 15 asylum applications were registered in 2004 and 11 asylum applications were registered in 2005. Since 1997 asylum has been granted to 4 persons, residence permits on the grounds of subsidiary protection have been granted to 10 persons.
On these grounds there is no considerable case law in courts. Supreme Court of Estonia has made 3 judgements in cases connected with Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers and 3 judgements in cases when person is required to leave the country. In 10 cases is the issue the right for family life, but most of these cases are involved with the citizens of former Soviet Union.
II Application for international protection
While staying in Estonia, an alien may submit an application for asylum to the Citizenship and Migration Board (CMB). An alien must submit an application for asylum to the CMB immediately after his/her arrival in Estonia. If an alien staying at the border inspection point who wants to apply for asylum has no legal basis for entry into Estonia, he/she has to submit an application for asylum to the border guard authority. In both cases the application for asylum must be submitted personally by the applicant or by his/her legal representative.
An application for asylum cannot be submitted in diplomatic representations of the Republic of Estonia or by post or e-mail in Estonia and abroad.
III Review of applications for asylum
After submission of the application for asylum the officials of CMB or Border Guard Administration (BGA) shall perform the following acts with regard to the applicant. Such acts include identification, collection of explanations concerning arrival to Estonia or to the border of Estonia and the circumstances which constitute the basis for application for asylum, photographing, fingerprinting, etc. The applicant shall also be subject to medical examination, if necessary.
In case of submission of the application for asylum at the border of Estonia the border guard authority may, in concert with the CMB, reject the application for asylum if:
-there is a reason to consider the applicant’s country of origin as a safe country of origin;
-the applicant has arrived to Estonia through a country which can be considered as a safe third country;
-international protection has been accorded to the applicant in another country and such protection is still accessible to the applicant.
If such grounds are not present, the BGA shall forward all materials concerning the application for asylum to the CMB in order to continue the asylum proceedings.
In the process of reviewing an application for asylum, the asylum seeker is invited to the interview at the CMB, where the applicant is given an opportunity to present in person facts and explanations concerning circumstances which may have essential importance in the review of his or her application for asylum, including the circumstances which may prevent the applicant’s expulsion from the country. The CMB shall, on its own account, involve a translator or interpreter to be present at the interview. An applicant has the right to ask a translator or interpreter of his or her choice to be present at a procedural act.
The review of the application for asylum, assessment of circumstances of the application and making relevant decision by the CMB is preceded by the proceedings for determination of the Member State of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as EU) who is responsible for review of particular asylum application (pursuant to the Dublin Regulation). If such proceedings prove that the applicant stayed in another EU country before arriving to Estonia, he/she shall be sent to that country and his/her application for asylum shall be reviewed by the country responsible for review of the application. Otherwise the application for asylum shall be reviewed by the CMB.
After submission of the application by the asylum seeker and performance of procedural acts with regard to the asylum seeker, the CMB shall assess the correctness of information and evidence provided by the applicant and the credibility of his or her statements and, based on that, make a decision whether the granting of asylum to the applicant is justified. If the asylum is denied, the CMB shall consider whether the applicant may apply for temporary residence permit on the basis of supplementary protection.
IV Asylum and supplementary protection
A person has the right to apply for asylum in Estonia owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted in his/her country of origin for reasons of race, religion, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, whereas such persecution is oriented on an individual person, and the person applying for asylum, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to his/her country of origin, where the public authorities are unable or unwilling to protect him/her against persecution.
Persons, who do not fall into any of the above-mentioned categories, have no right to apply for asylum in Estonia. Furthermore, asylum is not granted to persons, who can be accorded sufficient protection from the public authorities of his/her country of origin or who can be accorded sufficient protection in another area of his/her country of origin.
If the asylum seeker fails to comply with the requirements for granting asylum, he or she has the right to apply for supplementary protection on the grounds that his or her return to country of origin may be unsafe. Supplementary protection is also granted on the grounds of well-founded fear that asylum seeker may be subject to torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or if there is reason to believe that such person or civilians are subject to violence due to international or internal armed conflict in the country of origin.
The issue of residence permit shall be refused, if the applicant has no basis for grant of asylum or supplementary protection.
The asylum proceedings are terminated by a decision to reject the application for asylum if, during the performance of procedural acts, it becomes evident that the application for asylum is clearly unfounded. The CMB may review a clearly unfounded application for asylum by way of expedited processing of application.
Both the decision to refuse to grant a residence permit and the decision to reject the application for asylum (except in case where another EU country is responsible for review of the application for asylum) the applicant is issued a precept to leave Estonia, which means that the person is required to leave the country. If the person does not voluntarily leave the country, the CMB shall impose compulsory expulsion on the person.
V Appeal
If the CMB refuses to grant a residence permit or if the CBM or BGA reject the application for asylum, the applicant has the right of recourse to the courts. A complaint shall be filed with the administrative court within 10 days after the publication of the decision.
Contestation of the decision to reject an application for asylum shall postpone the expulsion if the court suspends the compliance with precept to leave Estonia. Upon contestation of the decision to reject the grant of residence permit and related precept to leave Estonia, the precept shall not be subject to compulsory execution before the decision of the administrative court.
An applicant for asylum has the right to:
-receive, within fifteen days as of submission of the application for asylum and in a language which he or she understand, oral and written information concerning his or her rights and duties related to the asylum proceedings and the consequences of failure to perform obligations, based on temporary protection during proceedings of residence permit and during the validity period of international protection;
- receive victim support services pursuant to the procedure provided in the Victim Support Act;
- receive state legal aid pursuant to the procedure provided in the State Legal Aid Act;
- be in contact with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR);
- have a representative present at the asylum proceedings, except during the provision of explanations or the performance of other procedural acts which, arising from their nature, must be carried out personally;
-appeal to the courts if his or her rights and freedoms are violated;
- in the process of reviewing an application for asylum, to present, orally and in person facts and explanations concerning circumstances which may have essential importance in the review of his or her application for asylum, including the circumstances which may prevent the applicant’s expulsion from the country (failure by the applicant to appear for provision of explanations, failure to provide facts or explanations or waiver of the right to provide facts or explanations does not prevent the termination of asylum proceedings);
- ask a translator or interpreter of his or her choice to be present at a procedural act provided that this is possible without delay and the objectivity of the interpretation can be guaranteed;
- examine his/ her personal information entered in the electronic database of fingerprints EURODAC and require correcting or deletion of inaccurate data;
-withdraw the application for asylum;
- asylum seeker is allowed to work in Estonia, if the Citizenship and Migration Board has, within one year after the submission of the application for asylum, made no decision with regard to the application for asylum due to the reasons beyond applicant’s control, or if the asylum seeker has contested the decision on rejection of an application for asylum in court, provided that employment does not hinder his/her asylum proceedings, judicial proceedings or execution of the decision.
An applicant for asylum is required to:
- observe the constitutional order of Estonia and to comply with the legislation of Estonia;
- co-operate in every way in the clarification of the circumstances of the application for asylum;
- submit a standard format application for asylum on the demand of a border guard official or an official of the Citizenship and Migration Board;
- provide government agencies involved in the proceedings with oral and written information and explanations;
- submit all information and documents and other evidence, in his or her possession, which are relevant to the proceedings relating to the application for asylum;
- enable the examination of his or her personal effects and his or her person, performing fluorography and age test and accept the deposit of documents and personal effects;
- co-operate in obtaining documents as evidence of the circumstances presented in the application for asylum;
-agree to the performance of a medical examination;
-allow making photos, fingerprinting and taking DNA samples;
- allow his/ her fingerprints to be compared against the electronic database of fingerprints EURODAC in order to identify persons who have already applied for asylum in the European Union or who have been detained when crossing the external border;
- allow processing of information and evidence collected with respect to the applicant in order to ensure the performance of duties arising from an international agreement or legislation of an international organisation;
- co-operate in the collection of information needed for the identification of his or her person, and for verification purposes;
-comply with the surveillance measures applied to him/her;
- appear at the Citizenship and Migration Board for performance of procedural acts;
- co-operate in the asylum proceedings after withdrawal of application of asylum;
- immediately after submission of an application for asylum to submit the following: identification documents and proof of nationality and other documents to facilitate identification and verification of nationality; visas and residence permits; documents concerning the crossing of borders; documents in evidence of the circumstances of arrival to Estonia and stay in other countries after departure from the applicant’s country of origin (documents in evidence of travel, transportation, accommodation and other received services); documents and other evidence to demonstrate the application for asylum is justified;
- adhere to internal procedure rules applicable for stay in the official premises of the Citizenship and Migration Board;
- stay at the Illuka Reception Centre for Asylum Seekers (hereinafter referred to as “the Reception Centre”) during the asylum proceedings;
-adhere to the internal procedure rules of the Reception Centre;
- inform the Citizenship and Migration Board of changes in marital status and place of residence and the birth of a child.