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Section 43. Legal Grounds for Entry into Estonia and Temporary Stay in Estonia
(1) An alien must have a legal basis in order to enter Estonia and temporarily stay in Estonia. The legal grounds for the temporary stay of a foreigner in Estonia are:
1) a visa issued by a competent Estonian institution;
2) a visa issued by the competent authority of a Member State of the Schengen Convention, unless the conditions of the visa exclude the right to stay in Estonia;
3) the right to stay in Estonia arising directly from an international agreement;
4) the right to stay in Estonia arising from the decision of the Government of the Republic to waive visa requirements;
5) the right or obligation to reside in Estonia arising directly from law, a court decision or an administrative act;
6) a residence permit issued by the competent authority of a member state of the Schengen Convention;
[RT I, 23.03.2015, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2016]
7) a diplomatic identity card issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the staff accredited in Estonia, family members of staff and private staff of diplomatic missions and consular offices of foreign states, as well as missions of international organisations;
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 1 - entry into force 01.02.2017]
8) the right to stay in Estonia arising from the expiration of a temporary residence permit;
[RT I, 23.03.2015, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2016]
9) a residence permit issued to an internally transferred employee (hereinafter referred to as a residence permit issued to an internally transferred employee) by the competent authority of a Member State of the European Union on the basis of Directive 2014/66/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on conditions of entry and residence third-country nationals as part of an intra-corporate transfer (Official Journal of the EU L 157, 27.05.2014, pp. 1–22).
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
10) Long-stay visa or residence permit issued by the competent authority of a Member State of the European Union on the basis of Directive 2016/801/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conditions for the entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of scientific research, training, internships, volunteering, student exchange or educational projects, as well as au pair work (Official Journal EU 132, 05/21/2016, pp. 21-57) for scientists to carry out scientific work or student education.
[RT I, 17.05.2018, 1 - entry into force 23.05.2018]
(2) A long-stay visa issued by the competent authority of a Member State of the Schengen Convention is the legal basis for the stay of an alien in Estonia in accordance with Regulation (EU) of the European Parliament and of the Council No 265/2010 amending and amending the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement and to Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 on the crossing of borders by persons on the basis of a long-term visa (Official Journal of the European Union L 85, 31.03.2010, pp. 1-4).
[RT I, 23.03.2011, 2 - entry into force 05.04.2011]
(3) The legal basis for the stay in Estonia of prisoners, remand prisoners and arrested persons who are in Estonia in a penitentiary institution is the legal basis specified in subsection (1) 5) of this section, and during their stay in a penitentiary they must not have any other established this Law or another law of the legal basis for staying in Estonia.
(3.1) The obligation to leave Estonia imposed by an administrative act or a court decision is not a legal basis for the temporary stay of an alien in Estonia within the meaning of clause 5 of subsection (1) of this section.
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 1 - entry into force 18.01.2017]
(3.2) The minister responsible for the area or, with the authorization granted by him, the director general of the Police and Border Guard Board, may, in an emergency or state of emergency, grant to an alien who is in Estonia whose return to the country of origin has been prevented a legal basis for staying in Estonia within the meaning of point 5 of part 1 of this article.
[RT I, 06.05.2020, 1 - entry into force 07.05.2020]
(4) The ground provided for in point 8 of subsection (1) of this section is the legal basis for the stay of an alien in Estonia for 90 days following the expiry date of the residence permit, if the validity of the temporary residence permit of the alien has expired upon expiration of the period.
[RT I, 23.03.2015, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2016]
(5) The ground provided for in point 8 of subsection 1 of this section is the legal basis for the stay of an alien in Estonia for 270 days following the expiration date of a temporary residence permit issued on the basis of point 3 of section 118 or point 6 of subsection 1 of section 181 of this Law, if the validity of a temporary residence permit of an alien has expired upon the expiration of the term.
[RT I, 17.05.2018, 1 - entry into force 23.05.2018]
(6) A residence permit issued to an employee transferred within an enterprise is a legal basis for staying in Estonia for the purpose of performing work within the framework of an internal transfer, as well as for moving in transit to another Member State of the European Union for the purpose of transfer to within the enterprise. [RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
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