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Russian aggression in Ukraine has markedly raised numbers of asylum-seeking refugees.
Estonia increasingly sought as shelter from war
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As at September 21st, asylum applications were filed by 35 citizens of Ukraine – while not a single Ukrainian sought for asylum in Estonia during the whole of last year.
The applications are up as the crisis in Ukraine deepens. This January and February, the Ukrainians filed no applications; these were triggered in March as Russia launched takeover of Crimea.
From Ukrainian citizens, asylum applications came as follows: in March, two; in April, four; in May, four; in June, two; in July, eight; and in August, 12. According to Police and Border Guard Board, in this month – by September 21st – three more applications had been filed.
Ilves appeals
Yesterday, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves called for a swift solution for those refugees from Ukraine with ties to Estonia. «These people, overrun by war, need help. By mutual cooperation, interior and foreign ministries should find – fast – solutions for such refugees as have links to Estonia,» said Mr Ilves in his statement.
According to the President, we should lay aside bureaucracy, red tape and apologies as to why this can’t be done, and find a way to kindly help.
To this, foreign minister Urmas Paet agrees: first and foremost, we might provide temporary protection to such asylum seekers from Ukraine as have family members or close acquaintances in Estonia.
As pointed out by Mr Paet, international refugee organisations state it is not all of Ukraine that is engulfed in war and violence, meaning that people can be relocated from Eastern Ukraine to other parts of the country.
«This is not a classic refugee situation like with some other nations where the entire land is overtaken by violence and war. Luckily, this is not the case in Ukraine today. There’s the East-Ukrainian region, where it is totally justified to help people leave; but the first option should surely be relocating people within Ukraine – as has also been done,» said the foreign minister.
To help Ukrainian fugitives, Estonia has provided financial assistance to UN Refugee Agency. In mid-July, foreign ministry allocated €70,000 to The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for supporting people fleeing East-Ukraine.
Numbers of Ukrainians seeking asylum are skyrocketing all over Europe. By the beginning of July, a total of 4,106 Ukrainians had sought shelter in EU, up from 903 year-on-year. The three most sought-for shelters were Poland (1,082), Germany (556) and Sweden (500). In addition to that, by beginning of July 380 Ukrainians had asked for asylum in Belarus.
Ukrainians do have other legal options to enter Estonia; thus, close to 700 have this year been granted temporary residence permit, while almost half thousand Ukrainian citizens have had their residence permit extended.
From the beginning of 2014 to September 21st, 661 Ukrainian citizens have been granted temporary residence permit by Estonia, including: 35 for studies; 166 to settle with spouse; 453 for work; and seven based on international agreement. At the same time, temporary residence permits have been extended for 458 Ukrainian citizens, including: 33 for studies; 282 to dwell with spouse; 126 to work; 15 under international agreement; and two for business.
Temporary residence permit
As explained by Maige Lepp, head of proceedings at citizenship and migration department of Police and Border Guard Board, temporary residence permit for studies is issued to foreigners for up to a year, but for no longer than the expected time period for studies; this can be extended by one year at a time, should the foreigner continue studying.
«The length of temporary residence permit to settle with spouse depends on the time they have been married. If a foreigner has been married to a person legally residing in Estonia for less than three years, the residence permit is issued for one year and it can be extended for one year in the three years that follow. If the marriage has lasted for a minimum of three years, the residence permit is issued for three years and can be extended by a maximum of three years at a time,» said Ms Lepp.