Minister: Foreigners staying on tourist visa won't be able to work in Estonia in future

TALLINN - The Estonian state is about to say it out clearly which countries' passport holders are welcome to live and work in Estonia, as well as abolish the right to work in Estonia for those who have entered the country on a tourist visa, Interior Minister Lauri Laanemets said on Thursday. 

According to the minister, the government plans to amend the Aliens Act when it comes to the rules for aliens to stay and work in Estonia.  

"We are planning to introduce measures to improve the efficiency of migration related proceedings and to strengthen the capacity of migration control," Laanemets told a government press briefing.

The government wants to be more specific in its instructions as to who is welcome to live and work in Estonia, taking into account, for example, whether the person comes from a country with a high level of terrorism. 

One of the things to be done, for example, is to compile a list of such countries so that everyone knows where said threats may exist.

"The actions also concern visas -- if at present a person who arrives here on a tourist visa, meaning a C visa, can take up employment in Estonia, then in the future this would only be possible for holders of a D visa," the minister explained.