In a letter to Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) Director General Egert Belitšev, Madise wrote that PPA officials require residence permit applicants to submit complete bank account statements during the application process, in some cases covering more than two years.

The agency has requested information from applicants' personal, business and investment accounts. It has also declined to process applications when individuals have refused to provide the requested information.

Madise said the practice is unlawful because authorities are not permitted to require applicants to submit complete statements for all of their bank accounts as part of the residence permit application process.

The Constitution guarantees the protection of private life and bank records can reveal information about an individual's private life.

PPA officials have justified requesting bank account statements by saying they need to verify whether an applicant has sufficient lawful income, whether they have previously used a residence permit for its intended purpose and have actually lived in Estonia and to examine applicants' personal relationships.

Madise wrote that, where necessary, officials may ask applicants to provide account statements showing specific transactions relevant to the case.

To decide an application, authorities can also rely on other evidence, such as information from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, or ask applicants to provide an employer's certificate confirming their income or the receipt of specific income.

Officials can also request other evidence of residence in Estonia or family relationships. This avoids requiring applicants to disclose sensitive information that infringes on their right to privacy but is not necessary to decide a residence permit application.

In her letter, Madise called on the PPA to bring its administrative practice into compliance with the Constitution and the law and to stop requiring residence permit applicants to submit bank account statements.

PPA needs data

In its response to the Office of the Chancellor of Justice, the Police and Border Guard Board said bank account statements are typically requested during residence permit proceedings to determine whether an applicant has actually lived in Estonia and what connections they have to other people.

The PPA said it verifies income earned in Estonia using data from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board and does not request bank account statements for that purpose.

If there is reason to suspect that a person permanently lives in another country despite claiming to reside in Estonia, one way to establish their place of residence is to examine where they make their everyday purchases and banking transactions.

The PPA said that residing in Estonia is one of the requirements for obtaining a residence permit and that it must therefore verify this, sometimes by requesting supporting documents.

Under the Aliens Act, individuals are required, at the request of an administrative authority, to provide additional or clarifying information or evidence concerning matters relevant to the proceedings. If they fail to do so, the PPA may decline to process the application.

However, the PPA is not entitled to demand any information that could in some way be linked to a residence permit application. When requesting information, the agency must also comply with other laws that place important limits on what information may be requested from applicants and to what extent.

Liis Valk, head of the PPA's Identity and Status Bureau, said the agency will carefully review the justice chancellor's recommendation, which it received on Wednesday.

She explained that the PPA conducts residence permit proceedings in accordance with the Aliens Act. "The Aliens Act does not specify exactly what information may or may not be requested," Valk said.

Under the Aliens Act, applicants themselves are required to cooperate during the proceedings and provide the necessary evidence.

"We assess every residence permit application individually and request additional information only when the documents submitted are insufficient to determine whether the applicant is entitled to a residence permit," she added.

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