Estonia Startup Visa Guide 2027

What is the Estonian startup visa?

The Estonian startup visa is an immigration programme for non-EU founders building a technology startup in Estonia. Once the Interior Ministry’s expert committee approves your startup, you can apply on preferential terms for a long-stay D-visa and a temporary residence permit (TRP) for business.

Its legal basis is § 62⁴ of the Aliens Act (välismaalaste seadus), which defines a startup as an early-stage business unit of a company registered in Estonia, developing an innovative, repeatable business model with great global growth potential that contributes significantly to Estonia’s business environment.

The Police and Border Guard Board (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet, PPA) describes the Startup Committee as the Ministry of the Interior’s expert committee; its members come from the startup community, according to Startup Estonia. Startup Estonia, part of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (EIS), runs the programme, launched on 18 January 2017.

What are the stages?

The D-visa and the TRP usually come in sequence: the TRP needs a company registered in Estonia, and the D-visa covers your stay while you set it up (Startup Estonia).

Who can apply for the startup visa? The startup definition and the committee’s criteria

Founders from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland with a technology-based, innovative and scalable business can apply. Startup Estonia expects a working MVP and first traction, and its FAQ says the company running the startup should be under 10 years old.

What the committee looks for

• Technology: the product or service is technology-based.
• Innovation: something the market does not have yet, whether technology, IP or a business model.
• Scalability: a repeatable business model that is not tied to one market.
• Stage: a working MVP and first users, pilots or sales.
• Age: the company is under 10 years old.
• Contribution: the startup will add to Estonia’s business environment.

“Think Airbnb and Uber, not restaurants or one-man consultancies,” says Startup Estonia’s founder page, adding that traditional companies won’t make the cut.

The programme is for founders only; employees come via short-term employment registration and a visa, or a TRP for employment (Startup Estonia FAQ; see hiring). For the TRP you must hold shares in the Estonian company, and the PPA sets no minimum percentage.

How do you get an Estonian startup visa? The process in five steps

There are five steps: Startup Committee approval, the D-visa, an Estonian company, the startup residence permit and your first registrations. The D-visa is optional: with a company already registered in Estonia, you can go straight to the residence permit.

1. Startup Committee application: you present your startup in an online form.
2. D-visa: with committee approval, you apply for a long-stay visa.
3. Company formation: you register a company in the Estonian Business Register (Äriregister) and hold shares in it.
4. Residence permit: you apply for a startup TRP of up to five years.
5. Settling in: address registration, ID code and health insurance.

Step 1: How do you apply to the Startup Committee?

You apply through an online form on Startup Estonia’s website, in English or Estonian. The committee gives its opinion within 10 working days of receiving a complete application, and there is no state fee.

The company’s owner or representative applies via Startup Estonia’s startup visa page; co-founders who will need visas or permits file one joint application (Interior Ministry Regulation No. 2, §§ 5–6).

What the application contains

• The applicant’s identity and contact details (date and place of birth if you have no Estonian ID code)
• The company’s name, its registry code if it has one, and its country
• A description of the business model and evidence that the startup meets the legal definition
• Details of the company’s owners, plus any further documents the committee asks for

Startup Estonia suggests writing it like an accelerator application or an investor pitch. As a registry code is needed only if one exists, you can apply before founding an Estonian company (Startup Estonia FAQ).

Decision and outcome

If the committee asks for more information, the 10 working days run again from when it arrives (Regulation No. 2, § 9). Approval comes as a letter with a unique application code. Authorities may rely on the opinion for five years (§ 10), and it must still be valid when you extend your TRP (PPA).

The opinion covers a specific company and its owners: anyone not named who later seeks a startup visa or permit needs a new opinion (§ 10), so name every founder up front.

What if the answer is no?

The committee may instead invite you to reapply within up to a year of the first application (§ 9); Startup Estonia says rejected applicants get advice and can reapply when ready (Startup Estonia, 2021).

Step 2: How do you apply for the D-visa?

Apply in person at the Estonian representation that handles visa applications for your country of residence, or at the PPA if you are already in Estonia legally. The fee is €120 and the decision comes within 30 days.

It is a national visa for up to 365 days in Estonia within 12 months, with Schengen travel for up to 90 days in any 180 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). If no representation in your country handles long-stay visas, use the one accredited to it or the nearest, confirming the appointment first.

Documents

• Passport issued within the last 10 years, with two blank pages, valid at least 3 months after the visa expires
• Signed application form from the online pre-application system and a 35×45 mm colour photo taken within six months
• Travel medical insurance for the whole visa period
• Proof of funds, including your income over the past three months (amount, regularity, sources)
• Family members and biographical data forms; additional form 1 unless you are a NATO citizen
• Printout of the Startup Committee decision, a travel booking and the fee

Foreign public documents must be legalised or apostilled and translated into Estonian or English (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Everyone aged 12 and over gives fingerprints.

Funds and health insurance

Founders must show four times the subsistence level (toimetulekupiir) for every month of the stay: €880 a month in 2026, when the level is €220. A spouse needs €704 (80%), and minor children need nothing (Regulation No. 82, § 15; Ministry of Foreign Affairs). A 12-month visa therefore needs €10,560.

Health insurance has no legal minimum cover: the policy must pay for treatment of illness or injury while the visa is valid (Aliens Act § 62), and you need it only until the Estonian Health Insurance Fund (Tervisekassa) covers you.

Applying in Estonia and extending your stay

If you are in Estonia legally, visa-free or on a Schengen visa, apply at a PPA office in Tallinn, Tartu, Jõhvi, Narva or Pärnu (PPA) between two months and 30 days before your permitted stay ends (Regulation No. 82, § 10²). The decision takes up to 30 days, plus 30 for good reason (§ 11).

For startup purposes, your stay can be extended as long as your total time on long-stay visas stays within 548 days in any 730 (Aliens Act § 67). Apply at least 3 working days before your stay ends (PPA); the fee is €30 and the PPA decides within 3 working days (Regulation No. 82, § 12).

Step 3: How do you register a company in Estonia?

You register a private limited company (osaühing, OÜ) in the Estonian Business Register online, if every founder can sign digitally, or through a notary; the state fee is €200, or €265 for expedited registration, and there has been no minimum share capital since 1 February 2023. For the residence permit, your startup must belong to this company and you must hold shares in it.

Share capital: what the law says

Under § 136 of the Commercial Code (äriseadustik), share capital is expressed in euros with no minimum; as the smallest share value is one cent (§ 148), the floor is €0.01. Shares must be paid in full before you apply for registration (§ 140); founding a company without paying in capital ended on 1 February 2023.

Ways to register

• Online, expedited procedure: if every founder can sign digitally with an Estonian ID card, residence permit card or e-Residency card, the company is founded online with standard articles of association (§ 139¹). Fee: €265.
• Through a notary: the memorandum and articles of association are notarised (§ 138). Fee: €200, plus the notary’s fee.

The fees are set by § 62 of the State Fees Act (riigilõivuseadus). Keep the company details consistent with your committee application.

Registering remotely with e-Residency

e-Residency is a government-issued digital identity for founding and running an Estonian company remotely. It costs €150 now (PPA). The programme has announced a flat €165 from 1 January 2027, but the State Fees Act still says €150; the legal basis for the new fee has not been published yet. The PPA decides within 30 days; the card reaches your pick-up point in 2–5 weeks, and you collect it in person, giving fingerprints.

It is neither citizenship nor a residence permit: the PPA says it gives no right to live in Estonia and is not a travel document, and it is not a condition of the startup visa. Residence permit holders cannot apply for a new e-Residency card, as the permit card does the same digital job.

Step 4: How do you get the startup residence permit (TRP)?

The startup entrepreneur’s residence permit is a temporary residence permit of up to five years, issued by the PPA to founders with committee approval and shares in an Estonian company. It costs €350 in Estonia or €380 abroad; the decision takes up to 90 days and the card follows within 30.

Requirements

• Shares in a company registered in the Estonian Business Register.
• A positive opinion from the expert committee, or an exemption.
• Income of four times the subsistence level (€880 a month in 2026), confirmed by signing the application.
• Health insurance meeting § 120 of the Aliens Act: valid in Estonia, with cover of at least €6,000 a year.
• Settling in Estonia once the permit is granted and registering your address in the population register (rahvastikuregister).

Startup founders need neither the €65,000 investment (€16,000 for sole proprietors) nor the business plan of standard business permits (Aliens Act § 192), and their permits are exempt from the immigration quota (§ 115).

Documents

• Application, family members, biographical data and additional forms
• Passport and digital photo
• Proof of legal income for the past six months (amount, regularity, sources)
• Criminal record certificate (age 14+) from every country where you lived three consecutive months in the past three years, issued within six months
• Startup Committee decision (application code) and proof of payment

Foreign documents must be legalised or apostilled and translated into Estonian or English, by a sworn translator if the translation is made in Estonia (PPA).

Where to apply and how long it takes

Apply in person at an Estonian representation abroad or a PPA office in Estonia; fingerprints given in the past six years may spare you the visit. The PPA decides within 90 days of accepting a complete application, extendable for business permits for good reason; for applications lodged abroad, the clock starts when the file reaches the PPA (Regulation No. 7, § 26).

Fees and the permit card

The PPA fee table lists €350 in Estonia and €380 at a representation abroad; collecting the card at a representation abroad adds €20.

Official pages do not say explicitly whether the first card costs extra. The PPA says a card comes with the permit, and the identity documents regulation has it issued on the basis of the permit decision (regulation § 29); the €70 card fee (€60 online, €100 abroad) is for separate card applications such as renewals. Confirm with the PPA before you apply.

The card is your Estonian ID card and is valid for up to five years (PPA); if your permit is extended for longer, you apply for a new card in between.

Extensions, obligations and revocation

• Extension: apply at least two months before expiry; a complete, timely application is decided at least 10 days before the permit ends. The fee is €350, the committee opinion must still be valid, and permits can be extended by up to 10 years at a time (PPA).
• Address: register it within one month of receiving the permit or first arriving on it, and keep it registered.
• Revocation: an address not registered on time, not actually living in Estonia, lacking insurance or not using the permit for its purpose can lead to revocation; if the conditions are no longer met, revocation is mandatory (Aliens Act § 135).
• Challenge: decisions can be challenged within 10 days; a challenge gives no right to stay (PPA).
• Expiry: after a permit expires or is not extended, you may stay for up to 90 days (PPA).

Step 5: What do you need to do in your first month in Estonia?

Within one month of receiving your residence permit, or of first arriving in Estonia on it, you must register your address in the population register; your Estonian personal ID code (isikukood) comes with the permit. Then arrange health insurance and tax residency.

1. Address: registered with the local government within one month; eesti.ee explains how.
2. ID code and card: your ID code comes with the TRP (Startup Estonia); the card gives you access to e-services and digital signatures.
3. Health insurance: as a management board member, you are covered by the Health Insurance Fund once social tax is paid for you on at least €886 a month (at least €292.38 in 2026) (Tervisekassa); keep private cover until then.
4. Tax residency: you are an Estonian tax resident if you live in Estonia or stay at least 183 days in 12 months; notify the Tax and Customs Board (EMTA) with form R.
5. Adaptation programme: the free Settle in Estonia programme offers courses on Estonian life and A1–B1 Estonian within five years of your first permit (Integration Foundation).
6. Advice: the International House of Estonia in Tallinn offers its services, including residence permit counselling, free of charge (Work in Estonia).

For housing, banking, family doctors and schools, see our guide to moving to Estonia.

How much does the Estonian startup visa cost?

As of October 2026, the official state fees are €0 for the Startup Committee, €120 for the D-visa, and €350 in Estonia or €380 abroad for the startup residence permit. The D-visa also requires €880 in funds for every month of your stay; there is no investment requirement.

Startup Estonia confirms that the committee review is free (Startup Estonia FAQ). Translation, apostilles, insurance and travel vary from person to person and are not included.

Funds: 2026 and 2027

Funds and income requirements are multiples of the subsistence level, which the State Budget Act sets each year: €220 a month for 2026 (State Budget Act 2026, § 2). The 2027 budget bill (1037 SE), submitted to the Riigikogu on 29 September 2026, proposes €231; as of October 2026 it is at the first-reading stage and has not been adopted (Riigikogu).

Why do you see different figures?

Some figures on Startup Estonia’s pages are out of date; where they conflict, rely on the PPA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the legislation in Riigi Teataja.

How long does the startup visa process take?

Under the official time limits, the Startup Committee takes 10 working days, the D-visa up to 30 days (30 more for good reason) and the residence permit decision 90 days, with the card ready within 30 days of the decision. The total depends on whether you go via the D-visa or straight to the residence permit.

Two typical routes

• Via the D-visa: committee approval → D-visa → company in Estonia → TRP at the PPA. Keep your visa or other legal basis for stay valid while the decision is pending; a pending application is not among the legal grounds for stay listed by the PPA.
• Straight to the TRP: committee approval → company formed remotely via e-Residency → TRP application at an Estonian representation. You skip the D-visa fee; collecting the card abroad adds €20 (State Fees Act § 273).

Can I bring my family to Estonia?

Yes: your spouse or registered partner, minor children and adult children who cannot cope independently because of health or disability can get D-visas on the same terms as you. Once you hold a TRP, they can get family residence permits, and your spouse can then work without a separate permit.

Aliens Act § 62⁴ gives the family visas on your terms, and their stay can be extended with yours (§ 67). Marriage and birth certificates must be legalised or apostilled and translated (Startup Estonia).

Family residence permits

Your spouse applies for a temporary residence permit to settle with a spouse: €225 in Estonia or €255 abroad (PPA). The spouse’s income requirement is 80% of yours (€704 a month in 2026), and minor children have none (Regulation No. 7, § 53).

No registered address or dwelling in Estonia is required when a spouse joins a business permit holder (Aliens Act § 140); the marriage must be genuine (§ 138). Family permits are exempt from the quota (§ 115), and a spouse on a family permit may work without a separate permit (§ 259).

For schools and childcare, see our guide to moving to Estonia.

How can your startup hire employees from outside the EU?

Estonian startups with Startup Committee approval can hire non-EU staff without the immigration quota, a salary threshold or permission from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa). Employees come on short-term employment registration plus a visa, or on a TRP for employment.

According to Startup Estonia, an employee already in Estonia legally can start work on short-term registration before a residence permit is issued, and can bring immediate family. If your company is not on the exemption list, you need committee approval first.

Hiring step by step

1. Check your startup status; if you are not on the exemption list, apply to the Startup Committee (10 working days).
2. Register the short-term employment in the PPA’s online system: €140 at a service office or €130 via the self-service portal, normally decided within 15 working days (PPA).
3. Registration gives no right to stay, so an employee who needs a visa also needs a D-visa; for short-term work in a startup, the funds requirement is a one-off €880, or €704 for a spouse (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
4. For longer employment, the employee applies for a TRP for employment: €250 in Estonia or €280 abroad (PPA).
5. The employee registers their address within one month of arriving on the permit.

Startup status requires a company under 10 years old; for older companies that are still growing fast, Startup Estonia launched a Scale-up Visa in January 2023 (Startup Estonia, 2023).

Startup visa, e-Residency, digital nomad visa or business residence permit?

To live in Estonia and grow your own startup there, use the startup visa and residence permit. e-Residency is only a digital identity for running a company remotely, the digital nomad visa covers remote work for a business abroad, and the standard business residence permit requires a €65,000 investment.

For the standard business permit, the €65,000 must be invested in the company’s share capital and booked as fixed assets in Estonia (real estate, machinery or equipment); after a year, annual sales of at least €200,000 or a set level of social tax can replace it (Aliens Act § 192). The digital nomad visa is for work for employers, companies or clients abroad (Regulation No. 82, § 6), not for founding a startup in Estonia.

Why does the Startup Committee reject applications? Tips for a strong one

The Startup Committee rejects applications when it is not convinced the company meets the legal startup definition; Startup Estonia links the rising rejection rate to the growing popularity of startups and differing startup definitions worldwide. Official figures put the approval rate at 43% in 2017, 25.5% in 2020, 16% in 2021 and 27% in 2022; the latest committee figures are from 2022, when 667 startups applied.

The committee wants startup status to act as validation for companies entering the ecosystem (Startup Estonia, 2023). Its March 2021 report counted 761 approvals among the 2,778 applications made since launch.

Tips drawn from the criteria

• Make the innovation concrete: say what you do that the market lacks, from technology to IP.
• Show scalability: present a repeatable growth plan across several markets.
• Prove the product and traction: include an MVP link or demo, user numbers, revenue or pilots.
• Present the whole team: name every founder who will need a visa in the same joint application.
• Explain the Estonian link: the legal definition looks for a contribution to Estonia’s business environment, so say what you will do here.
• Get it complete first time: if the committee asks for more information, the 10-working-day clock restarts.
• Use the feedback: if the committee sets a deadline to reapply (up to one year), close the gaps and apply again.

What changes in 2027?

From 1 January 2027 the short-term employment residence permit is abolished and a new permit for labour-shortage sectors arrives, while e-Residency has announced a €165 fee that is not yet in law. Founders’ funds requirement depends on the 2027 budget: if it passes with the proposed €231 subsistence level, it becomes €924 a month.

The new amounts apply once the 2027 State Budget Act takes effect; until then, the 2026 amounts stand. The 2026 budget was adopted on 10 December 2025 (State Budget Act 2026). If you plan to apply in early 2027, budgeting on €924 is the safer choice.

The labour-shortage permit, for sectors listed by the government, requires the employer to pay at least 80% of the latest annual average gross wage published by Statistics Estonia (Statistikaamet), within an annual cap; the sector list and cap regulations had not been adopted as of October 2026. Existing short-term employment permits run until they expire, and startup employees keep their quota, salary and Unemployment Insurance Fund exemptions.

Do EES and ETIAS affect the startup visa?

Both concern short stays, while the D-visa and the TRP are long-stay documents. The Entry/Exit System (EES), running since 12 October 2025, records short-stay entries and exits of non-EU nationals (PPA); ETIAS, due to start in 2026, authorises short trips by visa-exempt nationals (PPA) and does not apply to visa nationals such as Turkish citizens.

How do permanent residence and Estonian citizenship work?

After five years in Estonia on a residence permit, you can get an indefinite long-term resident’s residence permit if you meet requirements such as B1 Estonian, stable income and Estonian health insurance. Citizenship takes at least eight years, and Estonia does not allow dual citizenship.

Long-term resident’s residence permit

• Five years on a residence permit immediately before applying; D-visa time does not count, as the law requires residence on a permit
• A valid temporary residence permit and a registered address
• Stable legal income and cover by the Health Insurance Fund (Tervisekassa)
• B1 Estonian; people educated in Estonian, under-15s and over-65s are exempt from the exam
• Absences in the last five years of no more than six consecutive months and ten months in total

The conditions are set out in §§ 232–234 of the Aliens Act. The fee is €185 (PPA); you apply at least two months before your current permit expires, and the PPA decides within two months (Regulation No. 7). The PPA also offers a temporary residence permit for permanent settlement, with conditions including at least three of the last five years on a permit, A2 Estonian and the adaptation programme’s basic training.

Estonian citizenship

Under § 6 of the Citizenship Act (kodakondsuse seadus), you need a long-term resident’s permit and at least eight years’ residence on a permit, five of them permanent, plus a B1 Estonian exam, an exam on the Constitution and the Citizenship Act, stable legal income, a registered address and an oath of loyalty; the fee is €150 (PPA).

An Estonian citizen may not hold another citizenship at the same time (§ 1), so the PPA asks for proof that you have given up, or will give up, your other citizenship. Within six months of applying, the file is forwarded to the government for a decision.