9. Working during and after studies

Working while studying is very common in Estonia. Students from European Union countries (foreign students with the right of residence) are allowed to work during studies, just like Estonian students. Students from third countries (foreign students living in Estonia with a residence permit granted for studying) are also allowed to work, as long as this does not hinder their studies.

9.1 Working during studies

Foreign students from third countries are granted a residence permit for full time study. This means that if a foreign student, who lives in Estonia with a residence permit granted for studying, wishes to work, he or she must ensure that the job will not hinder his or her studies. If the student is unable to meet the full-time study requirements, his or her residence permit given for studying shall be revoked, whereupon the student must leave the country.

Employed students are eligible for a study leave. For this, the student has to provide the employer with the university’s confirmation about his or her student status. Study leaves can be taken for up to 30 calendar days in a calendar year. During this period, the employee will be paid the average salary for 20 calendar days, and the remaining 10 calendar days count as unpaid leave.

It is possible to take a further 15 days of study leave once to complete your studies. During this period, the employee will be paid minimum wage. If the completion is unsuccessful, the student will no longer be entitled to an additional study leave next year to complete the studies. The student retains the right to an annual study leave of 30 calendar days.

Students from third countries have 6 months to find a job after the completion of studies

In Estonia, there are few jobs entire- ly in English. If you are interested in finding a job in Estonia, you must be active in learning Estonian, if possible, and start to prepare for finding a job during your studies.

Every citizen of the European Union has the right to live, work, look for a job, and retire in any of the 28 European Union member states. The European Union rules of the free movement of workers also apply in the European Economic Area countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) and in Switzerland.

Students from third countries are able to stay in Estonia for 270 days after their residence permit’s validity ends (e.g. to find a job). During this time the person is allowed to work in Estonia.

To work after completing their stud- ies, they must submit a new appli- cation for a residence permit for employment.

To do this: • you must find a suitable job; • the employer must apply for a permit from the Unemployment Insurance Fund for hiring a foreign national. Exceptions apply for stu- dents who have received a degree or diploma from a school or uni- versity in Estonia. Please check the website of the Police and Border Guard Board for details; • you must submit an application for a residence permit to the Police and Border Guard Board.

Further information: Police and Border Guard Board: • Work in Estonia: www.workinestonia.com

9.3 Looking for a job

Many people find work through ac- quaintances or contacts obtained at university. It is recommended that you look for work while studying and obtain general work experience in ad- dition to professional.

Young people’s career planning portal Rajaleidja (PathFinder), www. rajaleidja.ee (in Estonian and Russian)

Job and career fairs, e.g. Key to the Future (Võti Tulevikku), www.vt.ee

Employment search-sites • CV-Online – one of the largest job sites, this portal has a separate internship offers section, www.cv.ee

• Work in Estonia - website aimed at spreading information about working in Estonia and advertising job offers, www.workinestonia. com/latest-offers/ • CV-Keskus – one of the largest job sites, this portal has a separate internship offers section, www.cvkeskus.ee • Hüppelaud – weekly job offers portal, www.ej.ee • Job.ee, www.job.ee – recruitment company, single job offers, mainly for managers. • The Welcoming Programme working module gives additional information about finding a job and operating on the labour market – www.settleinestonia.ee

9.4 Unemployment protection

Labour market policies and unem- ployment protection are the respon- sibilities of the Unemployment In- surance Fund. You can register as a job seeker or as unemployed at the Unemployment Insurance Fund, and use labour market services aimed at job seekers and unemployed people. Both EU citizens and citizens of third countries, who live in Estonia with a permanent or temporary residence permit, are entitled to both options. There are two ways of registering as a job seeker or as unemployed: • going to one of the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s offices in person (bring proof of identification!), contact details of the offices: www. tootukassa.ee/eng/kontaktid/ tootukassa-esindused; • submit an electronic application to register as a job seeker by logging on to the Unemployment

You can register as a job seeker or as unemployed at the Unemployment Insurance Fund, and use labour market services aimed at job seekers and unemployed people. Insurance Fund’s portal and going to Avaldused ja otsused > Arvelevõtmine > Tööotsijana arvelevõtmine / Töötuna arvelevõtmine. Online services are only available in Estonian.

Once registered as a job seeker, you can use the following services: • help looking for job offers and a suitable job; • development of the skills required to look for a job. People registered as unemployed have health insurance from the 31st day of registration. Health insurance is maintained throughout the period of unemployment and is still valid for one month after the end of the individual’s unemployed status. If unemployment ends at the same time as the payment of the unemployment insurance benefit, health insurance will still be valid for another two months after the benefit is no longer paid.

There are various limitations to registering as unemployed, for example registering is not allowed for a person who: • works with en employment contract, a contract for services, an authorization agreement, or other contract under the law of obligations, or who is a civil servant; • is a member of the board of a company, or is self-employed; • is in full time study.

You will find more information about the conditions of registering as unemployed on the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s website: www. tootukassa.ee

Once registered as unemployed, you can use the following services: • help looking for job offers and finding a suitable job; • development of the skills required to look for a job; • drawing up a personalised job seeking plan; • analysing possible problems that might occur when looking for a job or starting a job; • being instructed in what the support services required to get a job are.

People registered as unemployed can apply for: • unemployment insurance benefits; • unemployment allowance; • business start-up subsidy; • travel and housing subsidy (e.g. for participating in training courses aimed at unemployed people).