Estonia
Destination country · migration, permits and visas
- Inflow of foreign nationals, 2023 (OECD)
- 20,124
- Largest group, 2023
- Ukraine
- First residence permits, 2025 (Eurostat)
- 5,177
- Schengen visa refusal rate, 2024
- 27.1%
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Who moves to Estonia
Inflows of foreign nationals recorded by Estonia, by nationality (OECD).
All inflows by year
Data table
| 2004 | 714 |
| 2005 | 929 |
| 2006 | 1,446 |
| 2007 | 1,905 |
| 2008 | 1,905 |
| 2009 | 2,194 |
| 2010 | 1,168 |
| 2011 | 1,634 |
| 2012 | 1,078 |
| 2013 | 1,597 |
| 2014 | 1,312 |
| 2015 | 6,844 |
| 2016 | 7,302 |
| 2017 | 8,636 |
| 2018 | 9,131 |
| 2019 | 10,047 |
| 2020 | 9,506 |
| 2021 | 11,997 |
| 2022 | 42,044 |
| 2023 | 20,124 |
Foreign nationals living in Estonia
Stock of foreign nationals by nationality (latest year reported) and acquisitions of Estonia's nationality (OECD).
Acquisitions of nationality by year
Data table
| 2002 | 149 |
| 2003 | 42 |
| 2004 | 168 |
| 2005 | 437 |
| 2006 | 386 |
| 2007 | 296 |
| 2008 | 163 |
| 2009 | 114 |
| 2010 | 109 |
| 2011 | 177 |
| 2012 | 217 |
| 2013 | 201 |
| 2014 | 254 |
| 2015 | 160 |
| 2016 | 323 |
| 2017 | 292 |
| 2018 | 269 |
| 2019 | 296 |
| 2020 | 269 |
| 2021 | 394 |
| 2022 | 433 |
| 2023 | 561 |
International migrants
People living in Estonia who were born in another country, or who hold foreign citizenship where country of birth is not recorded: mid-year estimates (UN DESA).
- Russia121,354
- Ukraine24,628
- Belarus10,721
- Latvia6,143
- Finland6,040
- Kazakhstan3,825
- Germany2,554
- Lithuania2,210
- Georgia1,804
- Azerbaijan1,656
- United Kingdom1,322
- Italy1,275
International migrants by year
Data table
| 1990 | 381,997 |
| 1995 | 315,755 |
| 2000 | 249,512 |
| 2005 | 233,701 |
| 2010 | 217,890 |
| 2015 | 194,664 |
| 2020 | 199,277 |
| 2024 | 203,046 |
- International migrants, 2024
- 203,046
- Share of the population, 2024
- 14.9%
- Counted by
- country of birth
Migrants in the labour market
Labour force survey results for Estonia: residents aged 15 and over who were born abroad, compared with those born in the country (ILOSTAT).
| Indicator | Born in the country | Born abroad |
|---|---|---|
| Employment-to-population ratio, 2025 | 63.3% | 52.4% |
| Unemployment rate, 2025 | 7.1% | 9.2% |
- Born abroad: share of all workers, 2025
- 14.4%
- Born abroad: share of high-skill jobs, 2025
- 9.9%
- Born abroad: share of medium-skill jobs, 2025
- 16.4%
- Born abroad: share of elementary jobs, 2025
- 27.3%
Earnings by occupation
Mean gross annual earnings of employees in Estonia by major occupation group, in enterprises with 10 or more employees (Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022).
| Occupation group | Mean annual earnings, EUR | Index, all occupations = 100 |
|---|---|---|
| All occupations | 22,763 | 100 |
| Managers | 37,342 | 164 |
| Professionals | 29,883 | 131 |
| Technicians and associate professionals | 25,418 | 112 |
| Clerical support workers | 19,492 | 86 |
| Service and sales workers | 14,187 | 62 |
| Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers | 15,818 | 69 |
| Craft and related trades workers | 19,584 | 86 |
| Plant and machine operators and assemblers | 18,345 | 81 |
| Elementary occupations | 13,121 | 58 |
- Mean gross annual earnings, all employees, 2022
- 22,763 EUR
- Women's mean earnings as a share of men's, 2022
- 77.8%
Residence permits
First residence permits issued by Estonia to non-EU citizens (Eurostat).
First permits by year
Data table
| 2008 | 2,277 |
| 2009 | 2,680 |
| 2010 | 2,144 |
| 2011 | 2,957 |
| 2012 | 2,175 |
| 2013 | 2,193 |
| 2014 | 2,979 |
| 2015 | 3,770 |
| 2016 | 4,146 |
| 2017 | 4,202 |
| 2018 | 4,995 |
| 2019 | 6,086 |
| 2020 | 4,905 |
| 2021 | 6,452 |
| 2022 | 8,348 |
| 2023 | 8,376 |
| 2024 | 4,789 |
| 2025 | 5,177 |
- Other reasons2,352
- Family1,325
- Work1,092
- Education408
- Ukraine2,978
- India250
- Russia192
- Pakistan136
- Türkiye127
- United States114
- Uzbekistan112
- Azerbaijan103
- Moldova93
- Brazil76
- China73
- Georgia67
- Philippines65
- United Kingdom64
- Nigeria58
- Other paid activities836
- Highly skilled workers (national schemes)167
- Researchers46
- EU Blue Card43
- Valid residence permits, 31 Dec 2025
- 125,312
- Long-term residence permits issued, 2025
- 876
- Changed status into work, 2025
- 163
- Seasonal work authorisations, 2024
- 992
Schengen visas issued by Estonia
Short-stay visa applications at Estonia's consulates worldwide.
Applications by year
Data table
| 2009 | 95,837 |
| 2010 | 120,135 |
| 2011 | 144,567 |
| 2012 | 175,360 |
| 2013 | 201,056 |
| 2014 | 170,731 |
| 2015 | 130,197 |
| 2016 | 122,872 |
| 2017 | 138,249 |
| 2018 | 127,561 |
| 2019 | 145,711 |
| 2020 | 25,554 |
| 2021 | 40,657 |
| 2022 | 23,151 |
| 2023 | 13,190 |
| 2024 | 12,125 |
| Country of the consulate | Applications 2024 | Refusal rate |
|---|---|---|
| Russia | 2,305 | 22.6% |
| Türkiye | 2,006 | 29.9% |
| India | 1,569 | 28.2% |
| Kazakhstan | 1,176 | 8.2% |
| United Kingdom | 1,139 | 40.9% |
| China | 857 | 5.8% |
| United Arab Emirates | 722 | 64.8% |
| Belarus | 664 | 9.8% |
| Egypt | 473 | 46.3% |
| United States | 395 | 42.0% |
| Canada | 237 | 30.4% |
| Ukraine | 191 | 16.8% |
| Georgia | 188 | 27.7% |
| Ireland | 98 | 23.5% |
| Australia | 61 | 6.6% |
Estonia's embassies and consulates abroad
Countries in which Estonia has an embassy or consulate, as recorded in Wikidata.
| Country | Embassies | Consulates-general | Consulates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1 | — | — |
| Austria | 1 | — | — |
| Belarus | 1 | — | — |
| Belgium | 1 | — | — |
| Brazil | 1 | — | — |
| Canada | 1 | — | — |
| China | 1 | 1 | — |
| Czechia | 1 | — | — |
| Egypt | 1 | — | — |
| Finland | 1 | — | — |
| France | 1 | — | — |
| Georgia | 1 | — | — |
| Germany | 1 | — | — |
| Greece | 1 | — | — |
| Hungary | 1 | — | — |
| India | 1 | — | — |
| Ireland | 1 | — | — |
| Israel | 1 | — | — |
| Italy | 1 | — | — |
| Japan | 1 | — | — |
| Kazakhstan | 1 | — | — |
| Latvia | 1 | — | — |
| Lithuania | 1 | — | — |
| Norway | 1 | — | — |
| Poland | 1 | — | — |
| Portugal | 1 | — | — |
| Romania | 1 | — | — |
| Russia | 1 | 1 | — |
| Singapore | 1 | — | — |
| South Korea | 1 | — | — |
| Spain | 1 | — | — |
| Sweden | 1 | — | — |
| Türkiye | 1 | — | — |
| Ukraine | 1 | — | — |
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | — | — |
| United Kingdom | 1 | — | — |
| United States | 1 | 2 | — |
- Countries
- 37
- Missions
- 41
Remittances sent abroad
Personal remittances paid from Estonia to other countries, in current US dollars (World Bank).
Remittances paid by year, US$ million
Data table
| 2000 | 3 |
| 2001 | 2 |
| 2002 | 5 |
| 2003 | 19 |
| 2004 | 26 |
| 2005 | 49 |
| 2006 | 74 |
| 2007 | 91 |
| 2008 | 128 |
| 2009 | 92 |
| 2010 | 123 |
| 2011 | 114 |
| 2012 | 113 |
| 2013 | 100 |
| 2014 | 114 |
| 2015 | 94 |
| 2016 | 122 |
| 2017 | 151 |
| 2018 | 234 |
| 2019 | 249 |
| 2020 | 245 |
| 2021 | 286 |
| 2022 | 332 |
| 2023 | 295 |
| 2024 | 265 |
| 2025 | 291 |
- Remittances paid, 2025
- US$291 million
Corridors into Estonia
Nationalities with a dedicated corridor page.
- Ukraine → Estonia
- Russia → Estonia
Official data, not advice. Visa Atlas publishes figures from government registers and statistics. It does not assess eligibility or give immigration advice; for advice, consult a regulated adviser. Read more