Estonia is the first country to offer e-Residency. An e-resident is a foreigner, for whom, as a benefit, Estonia has created a digital identity and issued a digital identity card – an e-resident digi-ID, on the basis of the identification credentials of their own country of citizenship.
What can I do with my e-resident's digital identity
Your electronic ID is key to all the Estonian e-services that require authentication. Holders of an e-resident's digi-ID card can sign documents digitally and log into every portal and access every information system that accepts the Estonian ID-card.
E-residents can establish a company in Estonia over the Internet and remotely manage it while living abroad. E-Residency also makes management easy for entrepreneurs who have already invested and created a company in Estonia.
Thanks to e-Residency, entrepreneurs from outside the European Union will have a chance to conveniently establish a company in Estonia and organise management within the European Union.
For example, e-resident entrepreneurs can make transactions in an internet bank, electronically submit income tax returns, as well as digitally sign documents and contracts.
NB! E-Residency does not provide tax residency, right of residence, or permission to enter Estonia or the European Union. The digital ID of an e-resident is not a physical identity or travel document and it does not include a photo.
See e-residency statistics in real time
How to apply for e-Residency
You can apply for e-Residency online at the Estonian e-Residency website and pick up your digi-ID card either:
- in Estonia, at the service points of the Police and Border Guard in Estonia
- at the Estonian embassies and mobile pickup points around the world.
The state fee upon applying for an ID card of an e-resident is 150 euros.
More information on applying for a digital identity document is available on the website of the Police and Border Guard Board.
How to establish a company electronically
E-residents can use the e-Business Register to establish a company quickly and conveniently.
More information and help in establishing a company can be found on the website of e-Residency.
E-Residency and taxes
An e-resident is a non-resident according to Estonian tax legislation. Only income derived in Estonia is taxed in Estonia.
Estonian companies are automatically considered Estonian tax residents. However, if an e-resident is actively managing their company from another country, it is possible that a permanent establishment will arise meaning that the company will have a taxable presence in that country. Estonian e-Residency does not automatically exempt e-residents from taxation elsewhere. However, Estonia has signed treaties with over 60 countries to avoid double taxation.
E-residents can use the Estonian Tax and Customs Board’s electronic services in the e-Tax/e-Customs environment on the same conditions as the persons with the Estonian ID card.
If an e-resident has established a company in Estonia, the legal representative (member of the management board) shall receive automatic access permissions to the Tax and Customs Board’s business client's electronic services (based on the data of the commercial register). A member of the management board can authorise other natural or legal persons to use the services.
More information can be found on the website of Tax and Customs Board.