EE
Estonia · Tähtajaline elamisluba iduettevõtluseks · Startup · apply online, in person · processing up to 90 days
Temporary residence permit for a non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss founder who holds shares in an Estonian company that an expert committee has accepted as a start-up. There is no EUR 65,000 capital test. The permit is issued for up to five years and may be extended for up to ten years at a time. A long-stay visa can cover the stay before the company is registered.
Legal income is four times the 2026 subsistence level of EUR 220 for each month in Estonia, so EUR 880 a month. Show income for the six months before the application. A spouse or registered partner needs 80 percent of that rate, EUR 704 a month. A minor child, and an adult child who cannot cope independently because of health or disability, has no separate income rate. The state fee is EUR 350 in Estonia and EUR 380 at a foreign representation. A family member using the ordinary temporary-residence fee pays EUR 225 in Estonia and EUR 255 abroad. USD figures use the ECB reference rate of 8 October 2026, 1 EUR = 1.1186 USD. The Ministry of the Interior committee gives its opinion within 10 working days of a complete application. The Police and Border Guard Board then decides the permit within 90 days, and the card follows within 30 days. The EUR 65,000 shareholder investment and the business-plan requirement do not apply. The permit is outside the annual immigration quota. Medical-expenses insurance must cover at least EUR 6,000 per insurance year until the holder is insured under the Health Insurance Act. Before the company exists, a long-stay D visa for start-up business may be issued for up to 365 days. A further long-stay visa is allowed only if the combined stay is no longer than 548 days within 730 consecutive days. The D-visa fee is EUR 120, or EUR 60 for a child aged 6 to 11. Time on the visa is not time on a residence permit for the five-year long-term resident clock. Long-term residence needs five years on a residence permit, a registered address, B1 Estonian and health insurance with the Estonian Health Insurance Fund. Absences of up to six consecutive months, and ten months in total, still count. Citizenship needs eight years of residence, of which five on a permanent basis, a long-term residence permit, B1 Estonian, a constitution exam, and release from any other citizenship.
Estonia also offers a digital nomad visa for remote workers
Last verified Oct 9, 2026 Last changed Oct 10, 2026 Source
pointed the official, application and source URLs at the Police and Border Guard page, the application instructions and Regulation No. 7.
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