Is Estonia hiring foreign workers?

Those of you who are from Bangladesh or from any corner of the world and want to come to Europe at this moment, all of you usually ask one common question, and that is: which country in Europe gives the most visas to Bangladeshis? So today’s chapter is for you.

Many of you do not know that there is a country in Europe where the visa ratio is so, so, so high that out of 100 applicants, they give visas to at least 98 people—and this also applies in the case of Bangladesh. How you can come to Estonia at this moment completely risk-free—the chance of visa rejection is very low—and what qualifications you need, what documents you need, step-by-step how you will process it, how much it may cost if you process it yourself, or how much it may cost if you process it through an agency—We will explain everything in this chapter.

Let us briefly talk about Estonia. Right now, many Bangladeshis are getting visas to this small European country. It has become a very easy option to enter Europe. We spoke to many people, and all of them received visas. If we talk shortly about Estonia, then it is a small European country located on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Its area is almost like Bangladesh, even smaller. Bangladesh has 56,000 square miles, and this country’s area is around thousand square miles. And while Bangladesh has a population of 17 crore (170 million), this country has only 13 to 14 lakh (1.3–1.4 million) people living there.

If you get a visa to this country, then you can legally travel freely among the other 27 European countries. To come to Estonia, you can apply on your own or through an agency. If you come on your own, what will the cost be? And if you come through an agency, how much might it cost? We will explain everything in detail.

If you want to apply by yourself, then We will say you should come with a work permit. Or students who want to come can also come. In that case, what you need to do is research a bit—there are many Estonian recruiting agencies that hire people from abroad without any cost. If you prepare a cover letter and CV and contact these agencies, then they will provide all necessary documents without any cost and bring you here.

Secondly, if you want to come through an agency, then we will say that we still have not seen any renowned or trustworthy agency in Bangladesh that directly works with Estonia. What they do is: they make a tourist visa for you. And if you come with a tourist visa, you can never extend it here. After 90 days, you will become illegal. Many people then go to neighboring European countries within those 90 days and work illegally there. This is an uncertain life, and we would never recommend it.

For those who want to come as students, we will say there are good opportunities here. There are good universities. About money—the main point—if you come personally, we believe your cost will not exceed one to two lakh taka. And if you come through an agency, we will not mention the exact figure, but we will say that unlike other European countries where it is impossible to come under 12–14 lakh taka, Estonia is a new country in this field. Agents who work with this country do not charge that much because people still don’t know many things about this country. So when negotiating, keep this in mind and do not agree to pay such high amounts for this country.

For students coming to Europe, the minimum tuition fee in most countries is 10–12 lakh taka. But in Estonia, depending on the university, your cost may be around 7–8 lakh taka.

Now the question is: why should you come to this country? What about your future? How much can you earn? The biggest characteristic of this country is that there are not many Bangladeshis or immigrants living here yet. But because the birth rate is low and the population is small, they need many workers. Bangladeshis can fill that gap. At present, around 500 Bangladeshis live in this country.

If you come here, the biggest working field is the IT sector. This country competes with big European countries like Germany, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands in the IT sector. This country is fully digitalized. So those of you who have experience in this field can easily get a job here. The competition in the job market is low. For example, in Portugal, to get a job, you have to struggle a lot—even in winter. But Estonia does not have such competition. Here you can get a job easily.

Apart from IT, you can work in restaurants, tourism, agriculture, production houses, industries—you can easily work in all these areas. If you have no skill or qualification, then in the beginning you can earn around 850–900 euros, which is more than one lakh taka. And if you come with skills from Bangladesh, you can easily earn 1100–1200 euros, which is around 1.5–2 lakh taka.

About settlement: after only five years of legal stay, you can get PR. Unlike Portugal, where after five years you can apply but the result may take 7–8 years, Estonia does not have a huge immigrant population, so you can easily get PR after five years. No lengthy process. After getting PR, you can settle in any European country or stay in Estonia for life and bring your family. You will also get all other European facilities. After PR, it may take around five more years to get a passport, but there is no difference in facilities between PR and passport holders.

For visa processing, the documents you need are very common. If you want to come with a work permit visa or seasonal visa (three months, six months, or less than one year), then the required documents are similar to other Schengen countries: visa form, CV, two copies of European-size photos, passport with at least six months validity, proof of work experience if you have any job in Bangladesh, academic certificates, any supporting activities, NOC if you are in a running job, your bank statement (not necessarily a big amount—2 lakh taka is enough; even less if the company sponsors you). Whatever supporting documents you have, you can include them.

One important thing is: you may not need to go to India. If you apply for a short-stay visa (seasonal or less than one year), then you can process your visa through the German Embassy in Dhaka. But if you apply for a long-term visa, you must go to the Estonian consulate/embassy in India. If it is under one year, you can apply through the German Embassy.