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Article 106. Registration of short-term employment in Estonia
(1) An alien may work in Estonia for a short period of time if he or she has a legal basis for temporary residence in Estonia and whose work has been registered with the Police and Border Guard Board prior to the start of the work.
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
(1.1) Short-term employment of an alien in Estonia may be registered if:
1) for the performance of work duties, a foreigner has the necessary qualifications, education, health status and work experience, as well as the necessary knowledge and skills in the specialty;
2) the employer is registered in Estonia. [RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
3) short-term work is registered for full-time work. [RT I, 14.05.2022, 1 - entry into force 24.05.2022]
(12) The requirements for registering short-term employment in Estonia must still be met by an alien during a short period of employment in Estonia.
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
(1.3) Short-term employment in Estonia must not exceed 365 days in 455 consecutive days, unless otherwise provided by this law.
[RT I, 29.06.2018, 4 - entry into force 15.07.2018]
(1.4) The provisions of subsection 13 of this section do not apply in the following cases:
1) work as a teacher in an educational institution that meets the requirements established by legislation in Estonia;
2) scientific activity, if the foreigner has professional training or work experience for this, or work as an academic worker;
[RT I, 14.05.2022, 1 - entry into force 24.05.2022]
3) work as a leading specialist, if the foreigner has special training in this field;
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
4) work in a startup.
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 1 - entry into force 18.01.2017]
(1.5) Short-term work in Estonia as a seasonal worker must not exceed 270 days in 365 consecutive days.
[RT I, 29.06.2018, 4 - entry into force 15.07.2018]
(1.6) If, taking into account the needs of the labor market and the economy, this is justified, the Government of the Republic may, in an emergency situation or in a state of emergency, establish by regulation a longer period than the period of short-term work of an alien provided for in subsection 13 of this section, but not longer than 730 days in for 913 consecutive days.
[RT I, 06.05.2020, 1 - entry into force 07.05.2020]
(1.7) The requirement of full-time employment provided for in paragraph 3 of subsection (11) of this section does not apply if it is a job as a teacher, academic worker or scientist in an educational institution that meets the requirements established by Estonian legislation or in a scientific and applied institution, or to work as a youth worker.
[RT I, 14.05.2022, 1 - entry into force 24.05.2022]
(2) An alien who has a legal basis for temporary residence in Estonia and whose work has been registered with the Police and Border Guard Board prior to commencement of work may work in Estonia without a residence permit in order to work under the conditions established by an international agreement in Estonia.
[RT I, 02.07.2013, 3 - entry into force 01.09.2013]
(3) For the purposes of subsection 14(3) of this section, a leading specialist is an alien who has specialized training in any field, for whom an employer registered in Estonia undertakes to pay for work in the specialty in an amount equal to at least the multiplication of the amount published by the Statistics Estonia last times the annual average monthly gross salary in Estonia by a factor of 1.5.
[RT I, 14.05.2022, 1 - entry into force 24.05.2022]
(4) Based on clause 3 of subsection 14 of this section, short-term employment may be registered if the company where the foreigner is employed has been registered in Estonia for at least 12 months and, in addition to the conditions laid down in subsection 11 of this article, at least one of the following conditions is met:
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
1) the company has contributed equity capital of at least EUR 65,000, from which real estate, machinery or equipment has been acquired and registered as fixed assets in Estonia, or from which investments have been made in other assets entered in the Commercial Register an Estonian company whose actual economic activity takes place in Estonia, or an investment fund established or established on the basis of the Investment Funds Act;
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 1 - entry into force 18.01.2017]
2) the sales income of the partnership is at least EUR 200,000 per year;
3) the social tax payable monthly for persons working in a company is equal to at least five times the social tax paid monthly on a salary equal to the annual average monthly gross salary in Estonia.
(5) Based on clause 3 of subsection 14 of this section, short-term employment may be registered if the company where the foreigner is employed has been registered in Estonia for less than 12 months and starts its activities with the support of the state or private investment , having received an investment or loan from the state or from a private fund manager licensed by the Financial Supervision Authority, or a subsidy from any government support measure.
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
(6) [Part invalid - RT I, 03.01.2017, 1 - in force from 18.01.2017]
(7) The short-term employment of an alien in Estonia may also be registered if it is a labor lease at a user undertaking within the meaning of subsection 6 (5) of the Employment Contracts Act, except for the grounds specified in subsection (13) of this section.
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
(8) Labor leasing may be registered as short-term work if the employer is a company registered in Estonia or another member state of the European Economic Area, which acts as an intermediary of labor leasing and the employer has as security the funds specified in subsection 1 of Art. 107 of this Law, in the amount of the foreigner's salary for one month.
[RT I, 14.05.2022, 1 - entry into force 24.05.2022]
(81) As a means of security specified in subsection (8) of this section, the employer may choose one of the following types of security:
1) guarantee;
2) deposit.
[RT I, 14.05.2022, 1 - entry into force 24.05.2022]
(9) The provider of collateral may be an insurer or credit institution located in Estonia or another Member State of the European Economic Area. The security must be valid for the entire period of short-term work.
[RT I, 14.05.2022, 1 - entry into force 24.05.2022]
(10) Short-term employment of a foreigner as a seasonal worker may be registered if:
1) an alien starts work in a seasonally dependent field of activity specified in the regulation established on the basis of subsection 110 (3) of this Act;
2) prior to submitting an application for registration of a short-term job, the employer has entered into a fixed-term employment contract with the foreigner or made a job offer in which he expressed his wish to be legally bound by the contract to be entered into and undertakes to employ the foreigner under the conditions specified in the concluded contract or in job offer;
3) the accommodation of an alien during their stay in Estonia is ensured in a dwelling or accommodation facility that meets the requirements set out in legislation.
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
(11) For the purposes of this Act, a seasonal worker is an alien whose permanent or main place of residence is located in a third country and who resides in Estonia on the basis specified in subsection 43 (1) 1), 2) or 4) of this Act and he/she performs Estonian seasonal work on the basis of a fixed-term employment contract concluded with an employer registered in Estonia. [RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
(12) If the placement of a seasonal worker is organized by or through an employer, the cost of the placement must not be excessively high or disproportionate in comparison with the salary of the foreigner for one month, and the cost of the accommodation cannot be deducted from the salary of the foreigner.
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
(13) Short-term work in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit issued to an employee transferred within an enterprise from another Member State of the European Union for the purpose of transfer within an enterprise is permitted as a leading employee, specialist or trainee during the period of validity of the residence permit.
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
(14) An alien may register as an employee transferred within an enterprise and performing short-term work in the case specified in subsection (13) of this section if:
(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]
1) the host unit belongs to the same group as a company located outside a Member State of the European Union or is a branch of a company;
2) an alien arrives in Estonia for the purpose of transfer within the enterprise;
3) the employee transferred within the enterprise has an employment contract with a company located outside a Member State of the European Union, on the basis of which the receiving unit undertakes to employ the person under the conditions specified in the employment contract.
[RT I, 03.01.2017, 2 - entry into force 17.01.2017]
(15) Short-term work for the purpose of practice may be registered if:
1) an alien is acquiring higher education or has acquired higher education within two years prior to submitting an application for registration of short-term work;
2) an agreement has been concluded between the person providing the opportunity for practice and the trainee;
3) the practice is related to acquired or being acquired education.
[RT I, 17.05.2018, 1 - entry into force 23.05.2018]
(16) Short-term work for the purpose of practice during vocational training may be registered with a referral from an educational institution located in a foreign country if the practice is part of the study programme.
[RT I, 17.05.2018, 1 - entry into force 23.05.2018]
(17) An employer is required to register a short-term employment of an alien in Estonia if the work of an alien in Estonia is related to the establishment in Estonia of an enterprise registered in another member state of the Schengen Convention in connection with the provision of services and the alien has a visa or residence permit issued by the competent authority of that state and has the right to work in that Member State.
[RT I, 29.06.2018, 4 - entry into force 15.08.2018]
(18) Upon registration in Estonia of a short-term employment of an alien for the purpose of providing services, the provisions provided for in subsection (11) of this section shall not apply.
[RT I, 29.06.2018, 4 - entry into force 15.08.2018]
(19) An undertaking registered in Estonia is a user undertaking within the meaning of this Act and has the rights and obligations of a user undertaking established by this Act if it directly provides an opportunity for a foreigner to work in Estonia:
1) whose work in Estonia is related to the establishment of a company registered in another member state of the Schengen Convention in connection with the provision of services in Estonia;
2) who is in possession of a visa or residence permit issued by the competent authority of that Member State, and
3) who is entitled to work in the said Member State.
[RT I, 10.07.2020, 4 - entry into force 20.07.2020]
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