Estonia has granted temporary protection to 1,805 Ukrainian war refugees this year, while 295 people applied for international protection in the first five months, with the vast majority of applicants coming from Ukraine, according to officials.
The majority of those applying for international protection — over 80 percent — are Ukrainian citizens. Six applicants are citizens of Russia and five are from Sudan. Of the applicants, 211 have been granted subsidiary protection and 22 have received refugee status.
Steve Luks, head of the migration proceedings unit of the North Prefecture of the Police and Border Guard Board, says that temporary protection and international protection are two different things and the scale is also different.
“Temporary protection is for Ukrainian citizens and their family members. The temporary protection measure is currently valid until March 2027, and the decision to extend or terminate it will be made by the European Union,” Luks explained.
“If we look at those receiving international protection, 211 people have been granted subsidiary protection this year. This means they are individuals who may not be personally persecuted for political reasons, but are fleeing a general and persistent danger, such as warfare or widespread violence in their home country,” Luks said.
According to him, the main trend has remained unchanged in recent years, and Estonia primarily provides protection to victims of the war in Ukraine.
“If we compare the crisis situation at the beginning of 2022, when tens of thousands of applications for temporary protection were received, the current pace — about 1,800 people in five months — shows that migration pressure has stabilized and is under control. This also allows the state and local governments to deal with arrivals in a much more individualized way,” Luks noted.
Over the past couple of years, a large share of residents in refugee centers have been from Ukraine, often families seeking to quickly rebuild their lives here.
According to Jana Selesneva, head of the Vao refugee center in Lääne-Viru County, both the Vao and Vägeva centers are operating stably. Life there is relatively calm and routine, and people adapt and learn to live with one another.
Selesneva said that residents of the accommodation centers are supported according to their needs during their stay, with a focus on helping them move on to independent living. Over the years, the profile of residents has changed: there are more families and children, and with that has come a growing need for support in areas such as education, language learning, and day-to-day coping.
Jana Selesneva also noted that the local community has adapted over time. Attitudes have become calmer, and cooperation works well.
—
