Does the EU Blue Card require a labour-market check and lead to permanent residence in Estonia?

When hiring on an EU Blue Card, the employer generally must obtain permission from the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund to fill the post. On the residence side, time spent on the Blue Card counts toward eligibility for EU long-term resident status, and the scheme allows aggregation of residence across EU member states under certain conditions, which can accelerate the path to long-term residence compared with national permits. Meeting the separate long-term residence criteria is still required.