What are the rules for staying in Estonia during the court proceedings?
When appealing a negative asylum decision, you have the right to stay in the territory of Estonia until the final decision is made. A decision of the Police and Border Guard Board is considered to be final if it has not been appealed or when the Administrative Court has dismissed the appeal against it. The Supreme Court has clarified that, in this context, the Administrative Court judgment does not have to have entered into force to be considered final. This means that even though you have the right to appeal the Administrative Court judgment in the next court instances, you do not have the automatic right to stay in the country for these proceedings. However, you have the option to ask for the court’s permission to stay in Estonia until the end of the court proceedings in all court instances, by applying for interim relief in accordance with the Code of Administrative Court Procedure.
There are some exceptions where the court will have to already decide on your right to remain in Estonia during the first instance proceedings. These exceptions are limited to the following cases:
- your application is considered manifestly unfounded (e.g. you have knowingly provided incorrect information or falsified documents)
- your application is considered inadmissible
- your application is considered withdrawn (you have left Estonia or have not shown up for procedural acts)
- another Member State is responsible for reviewing your application in accordance with the Dublin Regulation