One EU Country Is Considering Imposing New Restrictions On Belarusians
- 4.07.2026, 10:05
We've made progress on this issue.
The Estonian government has approved a bill that would allow the government to prohibit certain citizens of Belarus and Russia from purchasing real estate. It is proposed to impose such restrictions on those who do not have a permanent residence permit in the country. The bill must now be reviewed by the Estonian Parliament.
In January of this year, it became known that the Estonian Ministry of the Interior intends to urgently draft amendments to the law restricting real estate purchases, which would deprive citizens of Belarus and Russia without permanent residence permits, as well as companies of which they are the actual beneficiaries, the right to purchase real estate in Estonia.
Minister of the Interior Igor Taro stated at the time that “the purchase of real estate by Russian and Belarusian citizens with an unknown past, who have been in Estonia for only a short time or have arrived recently, against the backdrop of ongoing aggression by the Kremlin and its satellites poses a security threat.”
“With rare exceptions, we have banned them from entering and staying in Estonia, and it follows logically that they should not have the right to purchase real estate here either, since it could be used for intelligence and sabotage operations, including, for example, to prepare positions that could be used against us in crisis situations,” Taro noted, stating that this is a “real security threat.”
As of January 9, there were 1,476 Belarusian citizens residing in Estonia with temporary residence permits and 1,190 Belarusian citizens — with permanent residence permits, as well as 7,797 Russian citizens with temporary residence permits and 70,237 Russian citizens with permanent residence permits.
According to 2024 data, 36,359 Russian citizens and 851 Belarusian citizens owned real estate in Estonia, with the number of Belarusian property owners also gradually increasing—by an average of about 100 purchases per year.
As a reminder, in the summer of 2025, the Latvian Parliament also passed a law prohibiting citizens of Belarus and Russia from purchasing real estate in the country. The law applies to both individuals and legal entities. Real estate already owned by citizens of both countries is not subject to the ban. Furthermore, the ban does not apply to the purchase of a primary residence if the buyer from Russia or Belarus has a permanent residence permit. An exception is also made for property inherited by relatives or recognized as property by a court decision.