What kinds of services are offered to Ukrainian war refugees at the national information point?

The national information points are open 24/7 and are located:

• at the Tallinn Bus Station (Lastekodu 46)
• at the Narva border crossing point (Vestervalli 7)
• in Pärnu (Pikk 18)
• in Tartu (Riia 179)

The national information point offers a Ukrainian refugee primary information about the possibilities of staying in Estonia. It is possible to refer a person from the information point to emergency accommodation until the person receives temporary protection or leaves the country. As a rule, the accommodation is offered for up to 24h, in exceptional cases (e.g. the person holds a plane ticket for a certain date) for longer.

Can I travel from Estonia to Russia with my Ukrainian passport?

Estonia does not pose any obstacles for you to go to Russia. If Russia allows you to enter the country and you feel safe enough to go to Russia, Estonia will not stop you from going.

Where can a Ukrainian war refugee arriving in Estonia find the information necessary for staying in the country?

The information necessary for staying in Estonia is available at the border crossing point, at the state helpline 1247 (+372 600 1247) or from www.dopomoga.ee (in Ukrainian).

If a Ukrainian war refugee wishes to receive temporary or international protection, she needs to turn to a service office of the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA).

Applications for temporary protection are accepted at the following service offices 9:00-17:00 on working days:

• Tallinn: the Tammsaare (Tammsaare 47) and Pinna (P.Pinna 4) service offices
• the Tartu police station (Riia 132)
• the Jõhvi police station (Rahu 38)
• the Rakvere police station (Kreutzwaldi 5a)
• the Pärnu police station (Tammsaare 61)
• the Narva police station (Vahtra 3)

More specific information: the Police and Border Guard Board

If a person arrives in Estonia during a time when the service offices are closed (between 16:00 and 08:00 on working days, on weekends and during public holidays), she will be directed to a national information point (open 24/7).

The information points are located:

• at the Tallinn Bus Station (Lastekodu 46)
• at the Narva border crossing point (Vestervalli 7)
• in Pärnu (Pikk 18)
• in Tartu (Riia 179)

Do Ukrainian citizens need a visa to come to Estonia?

Ukrainian citizens can come to Estonia without a visa, including those who do not have a biometric passport or a Schengen visa. Relatives of a Ukrainian citizen who are citizens of some other country can also come along with him to Estonia without a visa.

Due to the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian citizens, their family members (spouses, children, parents), or third country citizens fleeing from Ukraine do not have to present a valid COVID certificate upon arriving in Estonia. On humanitarian grounds, the police and the border guard can allow other arrivals from Ukraine (e.g. partners) to Estonia, in order to maintain family unity.

Is it possible to apply for an Estonian visa in Russia and Belarus?

No, it is not, unless the visa would be needed to visit a family member or for some other family reason. Starting from March 10, it is no longer possible to submit visa applications in the Estonian foreign representations and at the visa centres of outside service providers in the Russian Federation and Belarus.

All visas issued are valid until their expiration date. The Estonian foreign representations will definitely also continue accepting the visa applications of those Russian and Belarusian citizens who wish to come to Estonia to visit their family members, as well as for humanitarian reasons, like severe illness of a close relative or a funeral. NB! Starting from May, the Estonian head consulate in Saint Petersburg and representation in Pskov are closed.

The decision to end the admission of visa applications in Russia and Belarus is due to the technical issues with making visa fee and service charge payments, as well as other unexpected limitations that have to do with the current situation in Russia and Belarus.

Is it allowed to bring shelter animals from Ukraine to Estonia?

It is not allowed to bring in cats, dogs and ferrets from shelters, breeders and other sources. The reason for that is the very high risk of the spread of rabies. Rabies is a disease that has no treatment.

Only pets that are with their owners are allowed to come from Ukraine to Estonia.

What will the police do if people who claim to be war refugees but are not Ukrainian citizens want to cross the Estonian border?

The police checks whether the person has valid travel documents, a basis for stay in Estonia and establishes the reason for their entry into the country. If a person does not have documents or the right to stay in Estonia, they will make a decision on whether to allow the person into the country or not.

How do you establish that the person entering the country is a third country citizen?

The police stop the person crossing the border, in order to check his citizenship on the basis of his travel documents. If the travel documents are missing, the citizenship or provenance will be established on the basis of other documents or person's own statements.

What is the basis for crossing the Russian-Estonian border?

Ukrainian citizens and their family members

• Ukrainian citizens and their family members, regardless of their citizenship, can temporarily enter Estonia without a visa, provided that they have a valid travel document (including both biometric and non-biometric passports). We still recommend applying for a visa from some Schengen member state representation in Russia, as we cannot be sure that Russia will allow people to leave the country without a visa.

European Union citizens, holders of long-term Schengen visas and their family members

• It is possible to enter Estonia and travel onwards from here with a Schengen visa or an Estonian (or other Schengen member state's) long-term visa. We recommend applying for a visa from some Schengen member state representation in Russia, as we cannot be sure that Russia will allow people to leave the country without a visa. Family members of an Estonian citizen usually submit a visa application at a foreign representation of Estonia.
• Family members of European Union citizens who need a visa in order to reach their destination country, submit a visa application at a foreign representation of their destination country.

Third country citizens (not European Union and Schengen)

• Third country (that is not European Union) citizens and their family members who need a visa for transit purposes, to travel to their home country through Estonia, submit a visa application at a foreign representation of Estonia.
• Third country citizens and their family members who wish to travel to Estonia have to present additional documentations proving the purpose of their trip when they apply for a visa.
• The drivers of embassies and consulates accredited to Russia who are Russian citizens and who are about to drive employees across the border with the cars of the representations, should hold a Schengen visa, as Russia will not let them cross the border without it.

Travelling with a pet

• Instructions for travelling with a pet: Travelling with a pet (pta.agri.ee) (in Estonian).

If the children are in Ukraine with one parent or guardian, can a parent (or a close relative) working in Estonia bring the children to stay with him? What documents are needed?

Yes, he can.

If a child is travelling from Ukraine to Estonia with at least one parent (or legal guardian), there is no need to have an officially certified consent or any other formal document.

If a child is travelling with an acquaintance or a family member (who is not the child's parent or legal guardian), we recommend that the minor have a handwritten consent with him, containing the contact information of the parents, to make border crossing(s) simpler.

Estonia cannot confirm what requirements are enacted by other European Union member states for crossing their external border -- this has to be asked from the specific country whose border is being crossed.

Is an undocumented child who is coming to Estonia with an adult companion who is not the child's mother or father allowed to cross the border?

The state of Estonia accepts all children who have had to escape the war taking place in Ukraine.

If the child does not have an identity document, then at some point the adult companion and the minor have to turn to the Ukrainian Embassy in Estonia, where the child will be issued a certificate with his personal data.

We recommend giving the child or adolescent a hand written permission with her parents contact information to take along, in order to simply the crossing of border(s).

On what conditions can foreigners who have a Ukrainian residence permit come to Estonia?

In order to cross the borders it is necessary to have a valid travel document and a legal basis for entering Estonia (a visa, visa freedom, an Estonian residence permit etc).

The list of countries whose citizens have a right to travel to Estonia without a visa can be found on the web page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Can a child without documents cross the border if she is coming to Estonia with a parent who has Ukrainian citizenship?

Estonia accepts all children of Ukrainian citizens regardless of whether the minor has documents or not. After entering the country, the war refugees need to turn to the Ukrainian Embassy in Estonia at some point, so that they could enter the information of the child or the adolescent to the parent's passport or issue a certificate with identity data.

What identity documents can Ukrainian children, adolescents and minors use to enter Estonia? Are children who come without documents and an adult companion also accepted to the country?

Yes, the state of Estonia accepts all children who have had to escape from the war taking place in Ukraine, regardless of whether they have a valid travel document or not.

If the child does not have a document (but is travelling with a parent or an adult companion), then in some time the adult companion needs to turn to the Ukrainian Embassy in Estonia along with the child and the child will be issued a certificate containing her personal data.

If a minor arrives on the border without documents and an adult companion, the Police , the Social Insurance Board and other authorities will do everything they can so that the children would be cared for and safe here.

Can a Ukrainian citizen who does not have a biometric passport or a Schengen visa come to Estonia?

The order of the Director General of the Police and Border Guard Board gives legal grounds for entry into and staying in Estonia to all Ukrainian citizens and their family members, regardless of their citizenship -- including those who do not have a biometric passport or a Schengen visa, or who do not have a travel document at all (e.g. they only have an internal passport).

If a person does not have a valid travel document and she reaches the external border of Estonia, her citizenship will be established on the basis of her statements at the Estonian border. Some time after arriving in Estonia, the Ukrainian citizen has to turn to the Ukrainian Embassy in Estonia (+372 601 5815, Lahe 6, 10150 Tallinn) where she will be issued a certificate containing her personal data.

Can a Ukrainian war refugee come to Estonia with a pet animal? What must be kept in mind doing that?

Dogs, cats and ferrets are subject to simplified entry conditions. This means that it is allowed to bring the animals to Estonia even if the animals do not, for instance, have their passports with them, have not received the necessary vaccinations etc.

To avoid the spread of infectious diseases, primarily rabies, only animals that are accompanied by their owners can come to Estonia. Rabies is extremely widespread in Ukraine and it has no treatment. It is not allowed to bring in animals from shelters, breeders or other sources.

It is obligatory to notify the Agriculture and Food Board about a pet animal accompanying a war refugee immediately. The animal owner must fill out a form (in Estonian, Ukrainian, Russian or English) at the border crossing point or at first opportunity at her place of stay and forward it to the e-mail address: See e-posti aadress on spämmirobotite eest kaitstud. Selle nägemiseks peab su veebilehitsejas olema JavaSkript sisse lülitatud.. More information and the notification form can be found at the web page agri.ee. If necessary, the representatives of local governments, border crossing points, hotels, refugee centres will help to fill out the form.

After the notification, the Agriculture and Food Board will contact the animal owner, organise the examination, vaccination, microchipping etc. of the animal.

It is not obligatory to notify the Agriculture and Food Board (PTA) of travelling with other animals, like invertebrates, tropical decorative fish, amphibians, reptiles, rodents and domestic rabbits, as well as some species of birds, as there are no rules for movement of the listed pet animals in Estonia. The general requirement is that the animals have to be clinically healthy and the requirements for their welfare have to be ensured during transportation.

How is it currently possible to get from Ukraine to Estonia?

The airspace of Ukraine is closed, but it is possible to leave the country by land. When travelling to Estonia, avoid routes that take you to regions and states (Russia, Belarus) involved in the armed conflict. It would make sense to first travel away from the war affected areas towards west and then leave through Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, or Romania. These countries also have functioning air traffic.

The Police and Border Guard Board recommends entering Estonia through the Ikla border crossing point.

Which procedures are carried out at the Estonian border crossing point?

The border crossing point:

• establishes the border crossing of people and a Ukrainian war refugee's wish to submit an application for temporary protection;
• establishes the final destination of a person's movement;
• accepts an application for international protection if necessary;
• gives information about staying in Estonia;
• organises the further movement of an unaccompanied foreign minor.

When and why will the temporary border control on the Estonian-Latvian border end?

Temporary border control on the Estonian-Latvian border will end on May 25. The number of refugees arriving from Latvia has decreased substantially by now and the migration channels have changed -- most of the refugees are arriving in Estonia from Russia, as the war activities in Ukraine are mostly taking place in the eastern part of the country.

The fact that the border controls will end does not preclude assisting the people escaping the war in Ukraine on the border, or referring them to services. The police patrols are proceeding with random checks in the areas close to the border and if vehicles and people arriving from Ukraine are found in the course of these checks, they will be counselled, if necessary.