e-Residency guide

Estonian e-Residency: what it is, what it costs and how to get it

Estonia's digital ID for people who don't live there. Who can apply, the 2026 cost, how long it really takes, where you collect the card, and how to start an EU company with it.

Check if you can apply Start an Estonian company

€150 state fee in 2026
About 6 to 8 weeks
Valid for 5 years

01What is Estonian e-Residency?

e-Residency is a digital ID that Estonia issues to people who don't live there. It proves who you are online and lets you sign documents digitally, so you can found and run an Estonian company from anywhere. It isn't residency, citizenship, a visa or a travel document.

It is

A chip card plus PIN codes, issued by the Estonian state
A way to log in to Estonian e-services and sign documents
The key to founding and running an Estonian company online

It isn't

The right to live, work or travel in Estonia or the EU
A photo ID you can show at a border or a shop
A company or a bank account by itself

The programme launched in 2014. As of October 2026, its own counters show about 145,000 e-residents and 44,600 companies founded by them.

02e-Residency benefits, and its limits

The main benefit is running an EU company entirely online. What it doesn't do matters just as much: it gives no residence rights, no tax residency, and no bank account. Where an e-resident's company can bank instead is in our Estonian company bank account guide.

What you can do

Found an Estonian company online in minutes
Sign contracts and documents digitally, with signatures valid across the EU
File Estonian taxes and annual reports online
Use Estonian e-services on the same terms as residents

What it doesn't do

Let you live or work in Estonia or anywhere in the EU
Make you tax resident in Estonia, which takes 183 days there or a home there
Open a bank account for you; banks decide for themselves
Log in to other EU countries' e-services, for cards issued from 17 November 2025

03Who can apply for e-Residency?

Almost anyone who isn't an Estonian resident can apply. Since 1 October 2025, Estonia doesn't review applications from citizens of 12 countries, with a few exceptions, and every applicant passes a background check.

Can you apply?

Choose your citizenship. It's citizenship that counts here, not where you live.

Your citizenship

Choose a country to checkYour result appears here, with any exceptions that apply.

Applications not reviewed since 1 October 2025

Group I: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Iran, Mali, Nigeria, North Korea, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen. Exceptions include 3 years' residence permit in the EEA, UK or Switzerland, an active Estonian business, or a card used before.
Group II: Russia and Belarus. Only previous card holders with an ongoing Estonian business.

Why applications are refused

Always refused: a threat to public order or national security, a ban on doing business, or doubt about your identity.
May be refused: grounds that would refuse a visa or residence permit, an entry ban, or a purpose that doesn't benefit Estonia's economy, science, education or culture.
The background check covers criminal records, proceedings and visa history. The €150 isn't refunded if you're refused.

The full rules are on the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board's e-Residency pages.

04How to apply for e-Residency, step by step

You apply online in about 30 minutes, pay €150 by card, wait for the background check, then collect the card in person.

Get your documents ready. Your passport's photo page (EU citizens can use an ID card), a recent colour photo, a short CV, and a Visa or Mastercard that supports 3D Secure.
Apply on the official e-service. At the e-Residency programme's site, which takes you to the police application. Choose your pickup point as you apply.
Pay the €150 state fee. By card, at the end of the form, as the police fee page sets out.
Wait for the decision. Within 30 days, after the background check.
Collect your card. In person, with your passport, when you're told it has arrived.

Photo rules that trip people up

.jpg or .jpeg only; renaming a .png doesn't work
At least 1300 × 1600 pixels
Between 1 and 5 MB
Taken in the last 6 months

Your passport

Valid for at least 2 more months when you apply
From 2 March 2027, only biometric passports with a chip are accepted
Bring the same passport to collect the card

05How long does e-Residency take?

Usually 6 to 8 weeks from applying to holding the card: a decision within 30 days, then 2 to 5 weeks for the card to reach your pickup point.

Your e-Residency timeline

Pick the day you'll apply. The dates assume the usual official times.

I'll apply on

06e-Residency cost in 2026, and in 2027

The state fee is €150 in 2026. The e-Residency programme has announced €165 from 1 January 2027. Fees aren't refunded if you're refused.

Cost	Amount	When
State fee	€150	Applications in 2026
State fee, announced	€165	From 1 January 2027
Changing your pickup point	€10 from a police office, €80 from an embassy	After you've applied
New PIN codes if you lose them	€10 at a police office, €20 at an embassy	If needed
USB card reader	Bought separately	To use the card on a computer
Founding an Estonian company	€265 state fee	Once, when you register

Founding the company with Heirson costs €179 plus that €265, with your Estonian legal address and contact person included.

07Where to pick up your e-Residency card

In person, at an Estonian embassy or consulate, a police office in Estonia, or one of more than 50 pickup points worldwide. Your fingerprints are taken when you collect it.

You choose the pickup point when you apply. Changing it later costs €10 or €80.
Collect it within 6 months, or it's destroyed and you apply again.
The card is never posted, and honorary consuls can't hand it over.
Bring the passport you applied with.

08Using your e-Residency digital ID

You log in and sign with the card, a USB card reader and the free DigiDoc4 software. You can also add Smart-ID, a free phone app. Mobile-ID isn't available to e-residents.

Card and PIN codesPIN1 logs you in, PIN2 signs, PUK unblocks them.In the pack

USB reader and DigiDoc4The reader plugs into your computer; DigiDoc4 signs and opens files.Reader bought separately

Smart-ID appFree. Log in and sign from your phone. It closes when your card expires.Optional Mobile-ID: not for e-residents

09Starting an e-Residency company

With your card you can register an Estonian private limited company (OÜ) online. The state fee is €265, the register reviews it by the next working day, and share capital starts at €0.01.

The company needs an Estonian legal address, and companies run from abroad usually need a licensed contact person too.
Profit kept in the company isn't taxed in Estonia; profit paid out is taxed at 22%.
An annual report is due within 6 months of each financial year, even with no activity.

Your Estonian company, €444 all in for year one

€179 plus the €265 state fee, with your legal address and contact person included and no monthly subscription. Registered by the next working day.

See the Estonian company

10Is e-Residency worth it?

It's worth it if you want an EU company you run online. It isn't if you're after residency, a visa or a lower personal tax bill by itself.

Worth it if you

Want an EU company for European clients
Move around and want a company that runs online
Plan to keep profit in the company and reinvest it
Can reach an embassy or pickup point once

Look elsewhere if you

Want to live or work in the EU: e-Residency isn't residency
Sell mostly to US clients: compare a Wyoming LLC
Trade mostly in Asia: compare a Hong Kong company
Can't collect a card in person

11e-Residency renewal, and the December 2026 card revocation

Cards issued 10 December 2021 to 16 August 2023 stop working on 9 December 2026. More than 19,000 cards are affected because of new EU chip rules, not a security problem. Set up the free Smart-ID app before then, and apply for a new card as soon as you can.

Is your card affected?

Enter the issue date printed on your card.

Issued on

Enter your card's issue dateWe'll tell you whether it's part of the revocation and when it expires.

Cards last 5 years and can't be extended. You get a reminder about 3 months before expiry.
Apply again 2 to 3 months ahead as a renewal applicant. The form is pre-filled and the fee is the same.
Renewal checks that your Estonian company is up to date with tax, VAT, annual reports and owner records, which can delay it.

12What's changing for e-residents in 2025 to 2027

1 January 2025State fee becomes €150
1 October 2025Applications from 12 countries no longer reviewedWith exceptions for long-term EU, UK or Swiss residents and existing businesses.
17 November 2025New cards can't log in to other EU countries' e-servicesTheir digital signatures stay valid across the EU.
9 December 2026About 19,000 older cards are revokedCards issued 10 Dec 2021 to 16 Aug 2023.
1 January 2027State fee becomes €165Announced
2 March 2027Only chip passports accepted for new applications
2027A mobile app to apply without visiting a pickup pointWith your face image and fingerprints taken remotely.Planned

13e-Residency questions, answered

Does e-Residency give me EU residency or a visa?

No. e-Residency is only a digital ID for using Estonian e-services. It gives no right to live, work or travel in Estonia or the EU.

Do e-residents pay tax in Estonia?

Not because of e-Residency. You become tax resident in Estonia only if you live there or spend 183 days there in 12 months. An Estonian company pays Estonian tax on profit it distributes, and your home country may tax you too, or even the company if you run it from there. More in our Estonia tax guide.

Can I open a bank account with e-Residency?

e-Residency doesn't open one for you. Your company can use any bank or payment institution in the European Economic Area that accepts it, and each one decides for itself.

How long is the e-Residency card valid?

Five years. It can't be extended; you apply for a new card 2 to 3 months before it expires.

What happens if my application is refused?

The €150 state fee isn't refunded. Refusals follow the grounds in section 03, such as security concerns, visa refusal grounds or doubts about your identity.

Can I use Mobile-ID as an e-resident?

No. e-residents can use the card with a reader, or the free Smart-ID app, which stays active only while the card is valid.

Can I get my card by post?

No. Cards are collected in person at the pickup point you chose, where your fingerprints are taken. Uncollected cards are destroyed after 6 months.

How do I give up e-Residency?

Send a digitally signed letter to the Police and Border Guard Board and suspend the card's certificates. If you have no Estonian obligations, you can also simply let the card expire.

Next step

Got your card, or waiting for it? Your EU company is next.

Register an Estonian company the day your card arrives: €444 all in for year one, legal address and contact person included, no monthly subscription.

Start my Estonian company Check if I can apply