The Chamber does not consider increasing fines by nearly 50 times to be reasonable

The Ministry of the Interior wants to increase the maximum fines for companies under the Aliens Act by up to 50 times. According to the Chamber, such a sharp increase is neither proportional nor in line with the rise in the cost of living.

€150,000 fine instead of €3,200
According to the draft legislation, the maximum fines stipulated in the Aliens Act will increase from the current €3,200, €6,400, and €32,000 to €150,000.

The ministry justifies the increase in fines with the general rise in the cost of living (the fines were last increased in 2010 and 2018) and the amendment to the Penal Code that came into force in 2018, which allows courts or extrajudicial bodies to impose fines of €100,000–€400,000 on legal persons for misdemeanors.

The Chamber informed the ministry that it understands the need to harmonize the Aliens Act with the Penal Code. However, we emphasized that increasing the maximum fines by 4.7 to 47.8 times is not proportional. Even if some of the fines were last increased in 2010, according to Statistics Estonia, the consumer price index has only risen by 86.5% since then.

A lower fine would still serve as a deterrent
Fines would still be effective, proportional, and serve as a deterrent even if the maximum fines were raised to the minimum set in the Penal Code, i.e., €100,000.

For example, if a legal entity allows a foreign national to work in Estonia without a legal basis, then according to the Chamber’s proposal, the maximum fine should be €100,000 instead of the €150,000 stated in the draft. Such a fine would still have the intended deterrent effect and reduce employers' motivation to violate regulations.

The fines are set to increase on May 22, 2026, according to the draft.