Return Support

The purpose of the return support is to facilitate the return of families with children who have been living abroad for a long time, as the number of family members increases in years and thus more support is needed for adaptation.

Support is also available for people who are incapacitated and persons who are up to 40 years of age and have completed postgraduate and doctoral studies abroad.

The purpose of granting return support is to prevent the deterioration of the socio-financial status of people returning to Estonia due to reasons related to their return.

You can apply for return support as soon as your residence details have been registered in the Population Register of the Republic of Estonia, but not later than 8 months after your return to Estonia.

Additional information: [email protected] and +372 55511739.

 

Who can apply for return support?

Check here to see if you qualify for the return support

The purpose of the return support is to facilitate the return of families with children who have been living abroad for a long time, as the number of family members increases in years and relocation services are expensive. Support is also available for people who are fully or partially incapacitated and for persons who are up to 40 years of age and have completed postgraduate and doctoral studies abroad with the aim to encourage young people educated abroad to return and start working in Estonia.

Please see the conditions and procedure for the payment of return support

A person who has Estonian citizenship or an ethnic Estonian with Estonian residence permit can apply for the return support, provided that:

  • they emigrated from Estonia at least seven years prior or was born in a foreign country and will come back to Estonia with minor children or to their minor children, or
  • they are a person of up to 40 years of age who has emigrated from Estonia or was born in a foreign country, has completed postgraduate and doctoral studies abroad, and has returned permanently to Estonia, or
  • they emigrated from Estonia at least seven years prior or was born in a foreign country and is partially or fully incapacitated.

In addition to one of the three conditions above, two additional requirements have to be fulfilled:

  • the person has returned to Estonia permanently no later than eight months prior to the submission of the application and has registered their place of residence (including children returning with them) in the Population Register of the Republic of Estonia;
  • the person’s return to Estonia needs to be supported due to their economic and social condition because the daily subsistence in disposal of the family remains below one half of the subsistence threshold established in Estonia.

A person is considered to be a descendant of Estonians if their parents or grandparents have Estonians among them.

 

How to apply for return support?

Download the (PDF) or get a copy of the return support application from our office; fill all the fields on the form and sign it (you can sign digitally with the DigiDoc programme).

RETURN SUPPORT APPLICATION (PDF)

The application can be submitted electronically with a digital signature by email to [email protected] or on paper to the support provider to the address Tallinn, Rävala pst 5, VI floor. The support provider has additionally created an opportunity for applicants living outside Tallinn to submit their application to the service points of the Police and Border Guard Board‌ of their respective county.

If an applicant is unable to personally submit their application due to their age or health condition, this may, in special cases, be done by their representative on the basis of a letter of authorization certified by a notary.

 

Which documents must be submitted with the application?

Please see the regulation here: The conditions and procedure for the payment of return support.

You can apply for return support as soon as your residence details have been entered in the Population Register of the Republic of Estonia, but not later than 8 months from your actual return to Estonia. The eight-month period allows the returning person to complete the application and submit it within a reasonable time without losing the right for return support. The need to apply for return support may arise later when resettling does not go as planned (i.e. an employment contract is not actually concluded, or an unexpected illness or accident affects the applicant or their family) and the applicant needs to start collecting the documents necessary for the application from abroad.

The applicant must fill in and sign the ‌application form and submit it to the Integration Foundation with the following documents:

  • All applicants must supplement the application with a copy of their identity document and the identity document of the child (children) who have been included on the application form and arrived in Estonia with the applicant. The applicant may submit a copy either of their identity card or passport.
  • Applicants who are not citizens of the Republic of Estonia must supplement the application with an Estonian residence permit and a document certifying their Estonian ethnic origin (i.e. birth certificate of parents or grandparents).
  • All applicants must include a document certifying that they were not living in Estonia for 7 years prior to their return. These may include excerpts from employment record books, employment contracts (with a beginning and end date available), social security excerpts from paid social security taxes, excerpts from reports of the tax authority, study certificates, letters of recommendation from employers, rental agreements etc. The documents must cover a total period of 7 years. Residence registration certificate is certainly not sufficient proof. The applicant must prove that they stayed in a foreign country through their activities there. If the returning person is a non-working person, it is possible to prove their stay in a foreign country through different client contracts (i.e. phone calls, consumer accounts, etc.). No more than the documents from the last seven years are to be submitted.
  • All applicants must supplement the application with proof of income for the 12 months preceding the submission of the application. Persons returning from neighbouring countries must provide the full statement of their everyday bank account for the 12 months preceding the submission of the application. Individuals who have not received any income can also file a 12-month statement of a bank account that has been in everyday use.
  • All applicants must supplement the application with a certificate on the organisation of the rental or ownership relationship of their living space in the country of departure, such as: termination of a rental agreement, real estate sales agreement or other clarification of ownership. The applicant shall indicate their last place of residence abroad on the application form. If the applicant was renting a living space, then they shall submit a copy of the last rental agreement and proof of termination thereof (if no official document exists, then e-mail exchange with the owner or similar can be submitted). If the applicant has owned a living space, then a sales agreement of the property must be attached to the application. If the property has not been sold, then the person who owned the property must explain and, if necessary, prove the circumstances why the living space has not been sold and supplement the application with a copy of the purchase agreement and the loan taken to purchase the property (if applicable). The support provider considers the property as a source of income and considers the proceeds from the sale or expected sale of the property when determining the support.
  • A person who is partially or fully incapacitated must submit a certificate to confirm this.
  • All applicants must supplement their application with cost statements or calculations that indicate their transportation and relocation expenses. Transportation and relocation expenses of the applicant and their family will be reimbursed according to the costs incurred. These must be verified with documents (invoices, confirmations of payment, purchased transportation tickets, petrol checks, etc.). Calculations are only accepted for persons returning from crisis regions where costs cannot be verified. Calculations are also allowed for the reimbursement of the fuel consumption costs of a vehicle.
  • All applicants must supplement the application with a description of the financial difficulties their family is experiencing. The description must be as detailed as possible (including their income/expenses/savings). The purpose of granting return support is to prevent the deterioration of the social and economic situation of those returning to Estonia due to the costs accompanying their return. It is therefore necessary for the applicants to provide information regarding their economic situation, sources of income, possible obligations and circumstances hindering the coping of them and their family. If the persons are unemployed, the applicant must include the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund’s certificate of registration as an unemployed person and provide explanations for the obstacles to finding a job. The applicant must be prepared to demonstrate described subsistence difficulties (i.e. health condition, costly divorce, accidents, etc.).

Please be mindful of the clauses that say ‘All applicants...’ – this means that the submission of these documents or clarifications is obligatory.

If the application review process reveals that the application is not clear enough or has deficiencies, the Integration Foundation has the right to request additional documents. The applicant will receive a respective notification by e-mail describing the circumstances that require further clarification, supplementation, or additional information and the deadline for remedying the deficiencies. The support provider may grant the applicant up to 60 working days to remedy the deficiencies, suspending the processing of the application for this period.

Return support is a one-time support for resettlement to Estonia. If a person has already been granted a return support years ago, it is assumed that the person has permanently resettled in Estonia.

How to apply for support for children?

* Data of children up to 15 years of age are entered in one of the parents’ application form by mutual agreement between the parents. The other parent cannot apply for support for the same child.

* Persons aged 15−18 must have written consent of a legal guardian to submit the application.

 

How are the applications reviewed/processed?

An application is processed within 30 working days from the date of its submission. Applications are processed in the order of their submission.

A decision to reject an application is made when:

  • the applicant and/or the application fails to meet at least one of the requirements set for the applicant and the application;
  • the applicant influences the review process by use of fraud or threat or by any other unlawful means;
  • the applicant has provided incorrect or incomplete information or information has been intentionally omitted;
  • the applicant does not allow the application to be checked for compliance;
  • due to the volume of the call for proposals, it is not possible to satisfy the application;
  • the applicant does not agree with the proposal to partially reduce the support if the application was partially satisfied. The proposal for a partial satisfaction of the application may be motivated, for example, by the fact that the budget proposed to meet the applications does not cover the full amount of the requested support. In this case, the applicant is offered the opportunity to consider whether they agree with a lower support amount.

The decision on the application will be sent to the applicant electronically, if they have given their consent in the application, or by registered mail.

 

How is the return support paid?

The support is divided into main support and additional support. The main support helps to create living conditions for the returnee in Estonia and to assimilate and adapt to the society faster. The additional support helps to create living conditions for minor children of the returnee in Estonia and covers the transportation and relocation costs.

The maximum amount of the main support is EUR 640 per applicant. The maximum rate of the additional support for the creation of living conditions for a minor child is EUR 640 per each returning child or per each child if the returning person has been the sole breadwinner of the family and up to EUR 640 for reimbursement of transportation and relocation costs.

The amount of the support will generally be transferred to the applicant’s bank account, so please check that the application has correct information. Supports of family members may be transferred to the bank account of one of the family members.