Estonia investor visa (residence permit for business)

Company shareholder: you hold shares in a company entered in the Estonian Business Register and at least €65,000 has been invested in its activities in Estonia. Sole proprietor: your sole proprietorship (FIE) is registered in the Business Register and you have invested at least €16,000 in your business activity in Estonia. Large investor: you have made a permanent direct investment of at least €1,000,000 in an Estonian company that invests in the Estonian economy or in an investment fund that invests mainly in Estonian companies.

For large investors the investment must not decrease during the permit, apart from market price changes; the beneficiary can be changed only to another qualifying Estonian company or fund. Start-ups judged innovative by the Startup Committee use the separate start-up route without a fixed investment.

Shareholders and sole proprietors attach a business plan description in Estonian or English with the company or proprietorship details, the business idea, financial forecasts for the next two financial years, CVs of management and supervisory board members and shareholders (or your own CV as a sole proprietor), and a business-related justification for settling in Estonia. Proof of the investment is required in all three grounds.

In all three grounds you must also have income of six times the subsistence level, which is set each year in the State Budget Act; in 2026 the PBGB counts four times the level as €880, so six times corresponds to €1,320 a month. You confirm this and a health insurance contract meeting § 120 of the Aliens Act by signing the application, and the officer may ask for evidence such as bank statements covering six months.

Residence permit applications from abroad are lodged in person at an Estonian embassy or consulate by appointment, one booking per person, with an interpreter if needed. The mission sends the file by diplomatic post to the PBGB, which states a decision within 90 days with the card printed within 30 more days. The fee is paid by card at the mission or by bank transfer in euros, with the transfer costs borne by the applicant.

The fee is €380 at an embassy (€350 at a PBGB office in Estonia) under the table in force since 1 January 2025.

Settle in Estonia and register your residence in the Population Register. The permit is used for business, so the company must actually operate; at extension you present an updated business plan and proof of investment, and large investors show that the investment is still in place.

The first permit is issued for up to five years and can be extended for up to 10 years at a time, though a card is valid for at most five years. File at least two months before expiry; a complete, timely application is decided at least 10 days before the old permit ends, and e-mail filing is possible if your fingerprints are less than six years old. The extension fee for a business permit is €350.

A spouse can settle with a foreign national who holds or is applying for a residence permit for business, and minor children follow the parent. Their permits are tied to yours in length.