Residence permit in Estonia: principles for obtaining

In Estonia, obtaining a residence permit and the acquisition of real estate are in no way connected with each other. There are several reasons for obtaining a residence permit: family ties, study, work and business, while the residence permit itself can be both urgent and long-term. In 2017, the immigration quota was 1,317 people - the volume of permits issued here is regulated by the law on foreigners.

A foreigner can obtain a residence permit in Estonia under the following conditions: marriage with a person who is permanently in Estonia; relatives of a foreigner permanently reside in the country; when entering and studying at an Estonian higher education institution; for employment; official income allows you to provide residence on the territory of the republic; exceptional cases of public interest.

Urgent residence permit

A foreigner who is not a citizen of the European Union can apply for a temporary residence permit if one or more criteria are met: reunification with a spouse or close relative (including the settlement of children with their parents and guardian for the child), for permanent living in Estonia, studying, working, doing business, extending a residence permit in the presence of legal income. A fairly diverse list of justifications is limited in number, the volume of permits issued on such grounds should not exceed 0.1% of the permanent population of Estonia per year. A temporary residence permit is issued for up to 5 years and can be extended for up to 10 years.

Long-term residence permit

It is possible to apply for a long-term residence permit in Estonia if the applicant has resided in the country permanently for five years on the basis of an urgent residence permit, has health insurance (Eesti haigekassa), passed an exam in Estonian language proficiency at least B1 level. the application is submitted at least two months before the expiration of the urgent residence permit. Estonia has a service of applying at service points and if less than two years have passed since the last request and giving fingerprints, it is also possible to apply for a residence permit by mail. For a child under 15 years of age or for a person under guardianship, the application shall be submitted by his legal representative.

Business immigration

If a foreigner intends to register an organization for the purpose of conducting business on the territory of Estonia and the European Union, the legislation, in conjunction with regulations, provides for the possibility of so-called business immigration. This motive is a good opportunity to register a legal entity in Estonia with the corresponding receipt of a two-year temporary residence permit, which can then be renewed. After this period, the residence permit is applied for an extension of five years, subject to a number of rules: regular payments of minimum wages to applicants, mandatory deductions of required taxes, timely provision of accounting and other reports to the auditing authorities. A significant drawback of such a residence permit is that it is issued under a quota, which, for example, ended on January 5 in 2019, that is, almost immediately.

Electronic citizenship

Since April 2015, it has become possible to apply for “e-citizenship” of Estonia at the embassies and consulates of Estonia in Russia, which is also called “e-residency”. Residents ID currently costs from 200 euros and in Estonia itself is issued in any police department. The application procedure itself takes no more than 15 minutes, but the decision has to wait at least 2 to 3 weeks, and the card itself, if the answer is positive, can be obtained in an additional two weeks either at any Estonian police station, or it will be sent to the country's consulate in Russia, if you inform about it in advance. Despite the seeming simplicity of the procedure, not everyone is issued an Estonian e-citizenship. During the filing of the application, a special survey is not arranged: they can simply accept the application, and then start asking questions by e-mail. It is common practice for specialists to check the accounts of a foreigner on social networks. Thus, the procedure takes 4 weeks in total.

The card gives the right to sign financial, tax and other documents throughout the European Union. For example, you cannot submit your tax return without it, and having “electronic citizenship” you can also sell and buy cryptocurrency in the European Union, purchase real estate for cryptocurrency and make other electronic payments. That is, if in Russia a large variability of electronic digital signature is possible (one for the bank, another for the tax one, etc.), then in the Estonian format everything is the same.

Estonian e-citizenship makes it easier to do business, as it allows you to identify a person when entering the websites of banks and government agencies, as well as digitally sign documents. True, at the moment, the implementation of the program actually has a number of problems: “e-residency” is issued, but local banks almost do not open accounts for non-residents and firms where non-residents are beneficiaries (even in the presence of “e-residency”), so sometimes the sense of obtaining it is lost ...

Thank you for your help in preparing the material:

Alexey Seppyanen, General Director of the company " GZhA rf St. Petersburg "

Sergey Gorlach, Real Estate Sales Manager, Trianon Grupp OU

Irina Dzyuina, specialist of the company "Adveks.Realty"