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Estonia e-residency is a program that enables creating a European company without setting foot in Europe. The program has served 14,000 companies to be formed since 2014. In addition, applicants from 175 countries have made use of this program. As a result of this, more than 83,000 e-residents formed their business in Estonia.
E-residency Estonia provides access to e-services in Estonia as well. However, you don’t simply become a legal resident in Estonia through this program. If you wish to stay in Estonia, you need to follow standard visa procedures.
Let’s first get you introduced to the program, and then review the details.
What is e-Residency Estonia?
Basically, digital nomads, entrepreneurs, and freelancers apply for this program to reach and become a part of the European economy. You can conduct your business from wherever you are through Estonia e-residency.
In return for this benefit, Estonia also makes profits out of this program, for example, from taxes collected through the program.
As noted above, you don’t become a legal resident in Estonia when you get your e-residency of Estonia. Also, it doesn’t provide you the right to residency in any other EU country.
You may also wonder if there’s any Estonia e-residency tax. Well, you need to pay income taxes in Estonia if you get earnings in Estonia. Or you need to pay taxes if you earn income through your Estonian company, or if you own the company. Note that you don’t in any way avoid paying taxes in the country of which you’re a resident.
The program provides you with a physical address. However, this is a virtual office that other companies share. This relieves you from paying fees and bills of a physical office.
Who Can Apply For e-Residency Estonia?
Digital nomads, freelancers, startup companies, and digital entrepreneurs can greatly benefit from Estonia e-citizenship. You may be a digital nomad but you may also want to live and work in Estonia. In this case, you need to apply for a digital nomad visa too.
One of Estonia e residency benefits is that startup companies can find it useful because it creates a bridge to the European business environment. Freelancers and digital nomads can easily sign contracts digitally. In fact, over 900 digital signatures have been formed in Estonia.
How To Apply For Estonia Digital Citizenship
It’s a straightforward process to apply for Estonia e-residency. You can do it completely online. Within a month, you can complete the whole application process.
Let’s find out the steps one by one:
- Preparing the documents is the very first step. Required documents include your passport’s scanned copy and a passport-sized photo. In addition, you’ll submit a motivation statement about why you want to get Estonia e-citizenship.
- Then, you’ll submit the application form that is available on the program’s website. When you fill out the form, the website will direct you to the payment portal. Here, you’ll pay a state fee of €100-120 as an Estonia e residency cost. To do this, you’ll need a Visa or MasterCard.
- Finally, the authorities approve you, and you get an e-resident card. You can get it from the embassy or consulate. After you get your card, you’ll need to submit your fingerprints and show ID proof that you submit with your application.
The E-Resident Card
The Estonia e-residency card provides you with a digital ID and a special chip on it. You can benefit from private and public services in Estonia through this card. In addition, it enables you to encrypt files and sign documents remotely. You can use online payment services as well.
So, the digital Estonia residency enables you to work remotely for a European business. Also, it’s very safe because blockchain technology enables you to protect sensitive data. In this way, you won’t worry about the security of your work.
Apply today if the advantages of the program suit you!
