Ukrainian citizens can enter Estonia and other countries in the Schengen Visa Area with an internal passport, biometric passport, visa or without. Underage children should have a birth certificate, but can also enter the country without one. This also applies to a spouse, child or parent accompanying a Ukrainian citizen of another nationality, including situations where the mother is a citizen of another country and the children are Ukrainian citizens.

List of emergency numbers for evacuation of non - EU nationals.

INFORMATION ABOUT BUSES

The Estonian Refugee Council is currently not coordinating evacuation from Ukraine. If the circumstances change and the need for coordinated evacuation returns, this will be announced separately.

Commercial buses coming from Poland to Estonia (all of them drive through Pärnu):

• LuxExpress ~ 49€
• Ecolines ~ 55€
• Flixbus ~ 45€

From Tallinn to Kyiv with Ecoline ~ 70€

PÄRNU

Pikk 18 (24/7)

+3725349 9911

TARTU

Riia 179a (24/7)

+37253770588

JÕHVI

Viru 5a

TALLINN

Tallinn's Bus Station,

Lastekodu 46 (24/7)

People in transit and coming through Narva or Luhamaa border crossing points:

• If a person needs temporary accommodation (up to 72 hours), they should contact the Border Guard or the information points of the Social Insurance Board (SKA).
  • information points (open 24/7):
    • Pärnu: Pikk 18, + 372 5349 9911
    • Tartu: Riia 179a, + 372 5377 0588
    • Narva border crossing point: Vestervalli 7
    • Tallinn`s Bus Station: Lastekodu 46
• ​​If a person has left the border crossing and needs accommodation for one night, we recommend contacting MTÜ Mariupol's Friends at Vaksali 19, Narva (open 9:00 - 20:00). Or write to https://www.facebook.com/MariupoliSobrad.

A person in transit is advised to ask the border guard for the wristband that allows free train rides across Estonia!

If you have any further questions, call the free national helpline at +372 600 1247 (you can also call from international numbers).

A war refugee who enters Estonia with a dog, cat, or ferret must notify the Agriculture and Food Board as soon as possible. To do this, you must fill in the notification form and send it to the following email address: pta@pta.agri.ee. The form, detailed isolation requirements, information about veterinarians and other instructions can be found here.

The Estonian Animal Rescue Group

provides free food and, if necessary, medical expenses for pets. Advises on the information line +372 5360 3604.

24/7 Emergency veterinary care: 

• Rannamõisa Petcity clinic 15 222 (Rannamõisa street 8, Tallinn)
• Pets ambulance +372 5023191 (Mustamäe street 44-2, Tallinn) 
• Animal Clinic of Estonian University of Life Sciences +372 7313224 (daytime), +372 503 3878 (night) (Kreutzwaldi 62, Tartu)

Varjupaikade MTÜ

assists in Harju, Pärnu, Lääne, Viljandi, Valga and Võru County (animal food, pet supplies, preparation of documents for animals, veterinary assistance, finding shelters if necessary, etc.). Information in Russian for refugees +372 5689 7495.

• Temporary protection is an annual residence permit that provides Ukrainian citizens and their families with a sense of security and social guarantees. Upon receiving temporary protection, the right to subsistence allowance arises.

• Book an appointment on the website of the Police and Border Guard Board www.broneering.politsei.ee // More information. Mon-Fri 8 am - 8 pm, Sat-Sun 8 am - 4 pm at the PBGB Tammsaare (Tallinn), Pinna (Tallinn), Tartu, Pärnu, Narva, Jõhvi and Rakvere service halls.

Refugees have to go to the Ukrainian Embassy if they don't have documents. The appointment must be arranged in advance. Embassy of Ukraine, Lahe 6, Tallinn (Mon-Fri 09.00-18.00, R 09: 00-16: 45) tel. +372 601 5815

• For persons with a national passport (where only Ukrainian / Russian) and/or only with a birth certificate, the embassy issues an A4 certificate with personal data in Latin.

Persons in vulnerable situations (unaccompanied minors, chronically ill, pregnant women, etc.) may be referred to the asylum procedure. We recommend doing this through the Estonian Human Rights Centre. Contacts: asylum@humanrights.ee, tel: +372 644 5148; +372 51949015 (works and WhatsApp and Viber).

If you have lost a document issued by the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, you must send a request for information to ppa@politsei.ee. The following information must be provided in the application:

• first and last name of the applicant or name of the legal entity/institution
• contact details of the applicant (postal or email address, telephone number) through which we can provide the requested information or contact the applicant
• the content of the information requested, the type of document, the name or the elements of the document known to the applicant
• the manner in which the request for information is complied with or responded to

If a person has a residence permit issued on the basis of temporary protection in two countries, the last residence permit remains valid and the first one is declared invalid. Estonian practice is to contact the person beforehand and ask them to make their own choice (i.e. voluntarily give up one). If they do not do this, it is assumed that the latter will remain valid and the former will be declared invalid.

If you leave Estonia permanently for Ukraine or another country:

• please notify the local government in which your place of residence is registered;
• please notify the Police and Border Guard Board of your departure by writing to ppa@politsei.ee;
• if you are registered as unemployed and are leaving for Ukraine permanently, please inform your consultant at the Unemployment Fund.
• If you leave for Ukraine permanently, the Police and Border Guard Board will revoke your Estonian residence permit.
• If you want to move to another EU country permanently, you will have to reapply for a residence permit on the basis of temporary protection in the new country. You cannot have temporary protection in more than one country at the same time.
• Once your temporary protection and residence permit expire or are withdrawn, you will not be entitled to the benefits provided in Estonia.

If temporary protection has already been obtained from one European country, there is no reason to ask for it in other countries. You cannot have the status of temporary protection in two countries at the same time, but a person who is among the recipients of protection has the right to choose in which country they exercise their right. If a person has made a well-considered decision to leave another country, renounce temporary protection there and apply for temporary protection in Estonia, it is recommended to first renounce protection in the current country that has issued temporary protection (i.e. ask for a corresponding document as proof) to speed up the process.

If you leave Estonia temporarily:

• you may temporarily travel to Ukraine, even repeatedly;
• you may stay in another Schengen country for 90 days over a 180-day period. Please note that not all EU Member States are Schengen countries.
• You do not need to notify anyone of your temporary departure. While you are temporarily away, you will also continue to receive the benefits you have been granted in Estonia.

If a third-country national who is a permanent resident of Ukraine becomes a citizen of the country, he or she must also prove if he or she is unable to return to the country of origin safely and permanently. Otherwise does not qualify.

A third-country national can only move freely if he or she is accompanied by a Ukrainian refugee. There is also no restriction in the order of the Government that the family must come to the country together in order for a family member of a Ukrainian citizen to be entitled to temporary protection. For the purposes of applying for temporary protection, it does not matter why family members apply for a temporary residence permit in different countries.

Example: if a Non - EU citizen enters Estonia and their Ukrainian spouse remains in Poland / Latvia / Lithuania, etc., this Non - EU citizen is staying in Estonia illegally (without an independent visa) and is being detained completely legally.

(Source)

Citizens of other countries and e-residents to be referred to Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (PBGB) migration advisers:

• advice by phone, email, Skype call and face-to-face meetings. The time of the meeting or Skype video call must be agreed in advance.
• Phone: +372 612 3500 (Mon-Fri 9.00-15.00)
• e-mail: migrationadvice@politsei.ee  
• Skype: EstonianPolice_MigrationAdvice
• (by appointment) Tallinn, Tartu, Jõhvi, Pärnu.

For an unaccompanied child who has no relative or other accompanying person, the Social Insurance Board will arrange a substitute care service. 

Contacts for unaccompanied children are Uljana Ponomarjova in ECHR and Ketlin Lepik (tel 5330 8787), if neither of them can be reached, the Child Helpline 116111 and the mailing list childprotection@sotsiaalkindlustusamet.ee  can help.

• If the child comes with a relative who is not their legal representative within the meaning of Estonian law, it would be good if the adult had a power of attorney (not required to be notarized). For example, the names of the parents written on the A4, their permission to transport the child and the rights that the sender acquires by proxy.

  • There must be details of the sender, details of the child and where they are going. The paper must be signed by the parents. Parents must take 2 pictures:

    1. A clear picture of A4 with the information written clearly

    2. A picture of the same paper with the child's parents' passports.

    ​​​ ​If the power of attorney and the pictures are not immediately included with the phone, they can be sent to the sender so that they can take all the necessary initial steps

• If it is not possible to make a power of attorney and the child's parents are not / cannot be reached, the child protection department must be contacted by the local government. They arrange for temporary custody and then the sender can arrange for the custody of the official (this goes to court and takes time). There is no need to be afraid to turn to the local government, no one will take the child away. The child is only taken away if the sender is suspicious and there is a risk that something is wrong.
• If the child is picked up and his or her parents live on the basis of a residence permit, a family member's residence permit can also be applied for. It takes more time than applying for temporary protection. It is also possible to apply for temporary protection first, and then later, when the residence permit issued on the basis of temporary protection begins to expire, to apply for a residence permit with a parent. Temporary protection is granted for 1 year, but a residence permit for parents has the same period of validity as that of the parents.