How to get work permit in Estonia

So through today’s news, we will give you full information about the work permit — what a work permit is, how many types it has, and how you can apply for it step by step. And lastly, what salary should you have to apply for the work permit so that you can become eligible to apply for it. So in this news, we will talk about these topics only. 

First of all, if we talk about what a work permit actually means — a work permit is an official document that gives a foreigner permission to go to another country and work there. And there are two types of work permits. One is short-term employment, and the second is long-term, for which you have to apply for a residence permit.

Short-term employment means work that is less than one year or temporary. If you want to go to another country and work for a short time, then you can take the short-term employment work permit. For short-term employment, your company must register your work with the Police and Border Guard, which is a national government agency, stating that this person is coming to work for our company for a specific time period. After your company applies for the work permit, then you can apply for a D-visa. A D-visa has a duration of one year, and through this D-visa, you can come to this country and work.

The second is the long-term residence permit. A person can take it for one year, two years, or even more, depending on the long-term job offer you have received. With this, you can use all services in Estonia, and if you stay in Estonia for a specific period of time, meaning after 5 years, you can apply for permanent residence.

Now let’s talk about how you can apply for the work permit. First of all, you need a job offer. For that, you will have to apply for jobs. Which websites can you use to apply? Work in Estonia, CV, and Linkedin — from these three websites or platforms, you can search for jobs in Estonia.

And after you get a job offer, the company has to apply for your work permit. They will register you with the Police and Border Guard. Only after that can you go and apply for the visa, which is the D-visa for 6 months, and through that, you can come here and start living. After that, you can apply for a residence permit depending on your job size — meaning how long the job is for. Based on that, you might need a D-visa or a residence permit. You can apply accordingly.

For applying for the visa, you will need certain documents: your passport, passport-size photos, your job offer copy, your work permit copy, your health insurance, and the necessary educational documents required for the visa application.

The next step is that you come to Estonia, and after arriving in Estonia, you can start your work here.

Now let’s talk about the most important point — salary. What should be your minimum monthly gross salary to apply for a work permit?

First, we talk about regular employees. The minimum monthly gross salary for regular employees should be €1981 to apply for a work permit. This is the gross salary. After tax, the net salary should be around €1580. If you want to apply for a work permit, you must meet this requirement. If your salary is less than this, you cannot apply for a work permit, and you cannot come to Estonia. There is no chance of getting a work permit with a lower salary.

For top specialists, the minimum monthly gross salary must be €2971, which becomes around €2330 net. This must be your salary if you want to apply for a work permit as a top specialist.

Recently, we received a case. Someone told us that they applied for a work permit through an agent, and the agent told him that he would get a salary of €1200 and that they would apply for the work permit. And he had already given them a lot of money. So please do not fall for such scams. Your salary must be €1500 or €1580 (net) to be eligible for a work permit. Only then can you apply.

We hope through this news you got clear information about how to apply for a work permit and what the minimum salary requirements are for applying for it.