In addition to a Syrian refugee family that returned in March, another Syrian national who had been granted international protection by Estonia returned in May, Kaisa Üprus-Tali, adviser on international protection policy at the Ministry of Social Affairs, told BNS on Tuesday.

The three families are made up of a total of 13 people who left Estonia at different times in 2017. The family that returned to Estonia in March includes four members.

According to Üprus-Tali, just like all permanent residents of Estonia, beneficiaries of international protection who are sent back to Estonia are linked to the municipality where they are registered as a resident according to the population register. She added that a beneficiary of international protection is entitled to be away from Estonia for a total of no more than 90 days within any six-mmonth period. Should this limit be exceeded, all payouts by the government to the beneficiary of international protection will be cut off.

"Upon return to Estonia, payment of benefits can be resumed, but the relevant authorities must be contacted for this," the ministry official explained. "A beneficiary of international protection is entitled to municipal need-based assistance. They also retain the right to the support person service, Estonian language courses and translation services to the extent prescribed by law."

Estonia has accepted 206 refugees, including 98 adults and 108 children, under the migrant plan agreed upon by EU member states in 2015. Of the 206 accepted, 141 arrived in Estonia from Greece, 59 from Turkey and six from Italy.