The largest number of short-term work permits in the first eight months of this year were issued to citizens of Ukraine (1,042 people), followed by Moldova (648), Uzbekistan (421), India (201) and Georgia (125).

Head of the border guard and migration policy department at the Ministry of the Interior Janek Mägi told ERR that Ukrainian and Moldovan citizens have continued to top the table in recent years, thanks to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian and Belarusian citizens are no longer granted work permits. Moldova, which borders Ukraine, was previously ranked third in terms of national groups obtaining short-term work permits, while Uzbekistan has moved up two places from fifth in this list.

The majority of Ukrainian and Moldovan citizens holding short-term permits work in construction, followed by agriculture and manufacturing, Mägi said.

"If we look at citizens of Uzbekistan, 37 percent of them work in the construction sector, 22 percent in manufacturing, and 21 percent in transport and warehousing. The number of Uzbek citizens in our labor market has not increased — in 2021 there were 1,200, this year there are 600. The peak year for workers from Uzbekistan was 2022, when as many as 2,800 were registered for short-term employment," Mägi said.

"This year, nearly 2,000 residence permits have been issued for work, and almost 4,500 short-term work permits have been granted. In total, around 6,500 people from third countries have come to Estonia for work this year," Mägi added.

Ain Käpp, head of the labor market working group at the Estonian Employers' Confederation, identified a twin issue where many sectors in Estonia lack skilled labor, while it is becoming harder for employers of unskilled labor to find locals willing to work in such areas.

"Many sectors are seeking foreign labor — very often the metal and construction industries, as well as agriculture, accommodation, and catering. From a demographic perspective, around 6,000 people leave the labor market every year. Whether we like it or not, we need to think about how and with whom to replace them," Käpp said.

Ants-Hannes Viira, head of agricultural policy at the Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce, said agriculture, too, depends on foreign labor as employment levels in general are already very high, and there are few people in rural areas willing to work in farming.

"The share of foreign labor in agriculture varies by activity. The highest proportion is probably in animal husbandry, especially dairy farms — in some enterprises there is no foreign labor at all, in others it makes up as much as 30 percent. There is less foreign labor in grain farming. Seasonal labor is of course important in horticulture, where planting and harvesting take place. Ukrainians were already working in Estonian agriculture before the outbreak of the full-scale war; now that many refugees are living here, their share in the sector has increased," Viira told ERR.

As reported by ERR News Estonia's migration quota of 1,298 set by the government for 2025 still has not been filled, with just a few weeks left in the year to go.

Ministry of the Interior showed that as of November 10, 901 residence permits had been issued under this quota, with another 99 applications under process.

This quota grants residence to successful applicants from third countries, meaning citizens of non-EU nations, aside from the U.S., U.K. and Japan.

While the quota used to get filled within a few weeks of the start of the year it applied to, in recent years it has not been filled.

Applicants for international protection, those moving for family and study reasons, those employed in academia and so-called top specialists are exempt from the quota, as are significant investors.

People granted a temporary residence permit for short-term work of up to one year are not counted under the quota.

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