The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia has prepared amendments to the law on restricting the acquisition of real estate, which will prohibit citizens from Russia and Belarus without the right of permanent residence from purchasing properties within the country’s territory.
According to ERR, the purpose of the initiative is to limit the possibility that hostile states or persons controlled by them could use real estate properties for espionage, sabotage, or influence activities against Estonia.
The prohibition will also target companies registered in Russia and Belarus, as well as legal entities where citizens of these countries are the real beneficiaries. The restrictions will not have a retroactive effect and will not apply to persons with long-term residence permits, whose situation has already been verified by the authorities.
The new provisions will standardize and regulate the rules regarding apartment ownership, which until now were not covered by the existing law. Also, the project eliminates the possibility of circumventing the ban through companies from Estonia or other states of the European Economic Area, as the authorities will mandatorily check the citizenship of the final beneficiary.
Details, HERE