* •\
REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA
/ , \ MINISTRV OF S0cIAL AFFAIRS
Nina Shvets
Consular section of the Embassy Your ref. 10.06.2022 No 6126/24-5.
of Ukraine in Estonia 40425/
consuIeemfa.gov.ua
Ourref. 14.07.2022 No 1.4-2/2119-2
Unaccompanied minors in Estonia
Dear Ms Shvets,
Estonia condemns in the strongest possibie terms the fuIl-scale invasion of Ukraine by armed
forces of the Russian Federation, and we are devoted to do our best to support Ukraine
during this war. We are fuily committed to protect, support and ensure safety, sociai
guarantees, health care and education to ali Ukrainian children who have come to Estonia
and are in need oftemporary protection.
Estonia foliows the principle that each chiid couid Uve either with his/her family or with a
famiiiar person with whom he/she has arrived in Estonia. Chiidren will not be separated from
their familiar persons regardiess of whether they aiready have an guardian appointed by the
Ukrainian authorities or not. If the child is in Estonia with his/her legal representative and
there is adequate documentation that proves the legal representation, the chiid shali not be
separated from these representatives and the representative can perform various actions on
behaif of the chiid. If the chiid arrives in Estonia with a person he/she knows (for exampie
grandmother, aunt, sister, good family friend etc.), usually the same person shaii be
appointed as the chiid’s guardian.
The latter situations shaii be reported to the iocai municipaiity, which can appoint the aduit as
a legal guardian of the chiid through the Estonian court system. The International Judiciai Co
operation Unit of the Ministry of Justice transmits ali court decisions (including transiations to
Ukrainian or Russian languages) to the Ukrainian Embassy in Estonia. The courts
themselves do not communicate directiy with the embassy. As of first week of July,
approximately 200 court decisions regarding guardianship have been transmitted.
The Ministry of Social Affairs does not possess any personalised data on people living or
staying in Estonia. According to the Estonian Personal Data Protection Act, the personal data
may not be issued without justification. The Estonian Personal Data Protection Act is
available on the website of Riigi Teataja. The direct 1mk to the English version is:
https:/Iwww. riigiteataia.ee/en/eii/52301 2019001 /consoiide.
The personalised data on Ukrainian children staying in Estonia can be obtained from the
Estonian Sociai lnsurance Board. Hereby we refer to the e-mail sent to Ukrainian Embassy
by Adviser of the Crisis Management Department of the Estonian Social lnsurance Board,
Ms Kersti Kask from 28 June 2022. Ms Kask explains that for receiving personalised data
about the Ukrainian children in Estonia there is a need to submit an application with legal
Suur-Ameerika 1 / 10122 Taliinn / ESTONIA / +372 626 9301
[email protected] / www.sm.ee / Reg. no
70001952
justification and professional tasks to be performed based on that data. If you need
assistance on submitting the application, we kindly ask you to contact the Estonian Social
Insurance Board (e-mail info(äsotsiaaIkindIustusamet.ee or
kersti.kasksotsiaaIkindIustusamet.ee) for practical details.
We remain at your disposal for any additional questions you may have.
Yours sincerely,
Hanna Vseviov
Deputy Secretary General on Social Policy
Eha Lannes +372 626 9361
[email protected]
2 (2)