Profile

Estonia

Residency route coverage

Residency route coverage
Route familyRoutesCoverage
InvestmentRoutes recorded
Remote workRoutes recorded
One route: the Digital Nomad Visa (Aliens Act s. 62-5 'visa for teleworking'), a long-stay national visa, not a residence permit. Estonia has no remote-work residence permit; time on the visa does not count toward permanent residence.
Passive income

Recorded; none currently open

Recorded; none currently open
EntrepreneurRoutes recorded
Three routes, all limbs of the residence permit for business under Aliens Act s. 191: company shareholder (EUR 65,000), sole proprietor (EUR 16,000) and start-up entrepreneur (no capital threshold, expert-committee evaluation instead). The permit is a single statutory instrument with four limbs; the fourth, the large investor, is recorded in the investment family.
WorkRoutes recorded
Six routes: the general temporary residence permit for employment, its top-specialist limb, the EU Blue Card, the intra-corporate transfer permit, employment as researcher, and the temporary residence permit for short-term employment. Estonia has no standalone job-search residence permit: job search after a study or research permit is a 270-day statutory right of stay (Aliens Act s. 43(1)(8), s. 43(5)), not a permit, and is recorded on the study route. Seasonal work exists only as employer-registered short-term employment under a visa or visa-free stay (PPA: 'seasonal workers (only short-term employment)'), not as a residence permit. Growth-company employment (0.8x salary rate, quota-exempt) and start-up employment (no salary floor, quota-exempt) are limbs of the general permit and are carried in its notes.
StudyRoutes recorded
FamilyRoutes recorded
Two routes: settling with a spouse or registered partner (Aliens Act ss. 137-149) and settling with a close relative (ss. 150-156). Estonia extended family reunification to registered partners from 01.01.2024 (RT I, 06.07.2023, 6); unmarried (unregistered) partners have no route.

Country facts

Identity

Identity
Local nameEesti
ISO codeEST
RegionEurope
CurrencyEUR as of 2026-08-08[7]
The EU country profile records the currency as the euro; the Police and Border Guard Board and the Tax and Customs Board state all thresholds and fees in euro.
Official languageset as of 2026-08-08[7]
The EU country profile records Estonian as Estonia's official EU language. The Police and Border Guard Board publishes parallel English, Russian and Ukrainian versions of its pages, and applications and appended evidence may be submitted in Estonian or English (Aliens Act s. 29(4)), but English is not an official language.

Memberships

Memberships
Memberships
    • Bloc: EU
    • Member: Yes as of 2026-08-08[7]
    • Since: 2004-05-01 as of 2026-08-08[7]
    • Bloc: EEA
    • Member: Yes as of 2026-08-08[3][7]
      EEA membership asserted via EU membership: EEA Agreement art. 128 obliges an acceding EU state to apply for EEA participation; EU membership and accession date confirmed separately, source ee-eu-country-profile.
    • Bloc: Schengen
    • Member: Yes as of 2026-08-08[7]
    • Since: 2007-12-21 as of 2026-08-08[7]
    • Bloc: Eurozone
    • Member: Yes as of 2026-08-08[7]
    • Since: 2011-01-01 as of 2026-08-08[7]

Permanent residence

Permanent residence
Qualifying years5 as of 2026-06-29[1][11]
Long-term resident's residence permit: Aliens Act s. 232(1)(1) requires residence in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit for at least the last five years before the application, together with a valid temporary residence permit, permanent legal income, health insurance under the Health Insurance Act, the integration requirement, and a registered place of residence. It is issued with permanent validity. Estonia also has a separate temporary residence permit for settling permanently in Estonia (s. 210-1), for which the authority states three of the last five years on a residence permit or right of residence, Estonian at A2 and completion of the adaptation programme's basic training; that instrument is a temporary permit, not permanent residence, so the five-year long-term-resident figure is recorded here.
Language requirementB1 as of 2026-06-29[1][11]
Aliens Act s. 234(1): Estonian language proficiency at least at the elementary level, language proficiency level B1 or a corresponding level. Persons under 15, over 65 and adults with restricted active legal capacity are exempt (s. 234(2)); persons who acquired basic, secondary or higher education in Estonian need not take the examination (s. 234(4)).
Integration requirementYes as of 2026-06-29[1][11]
Aliens Act s. 232(1)(5) makes the integration requirement a condition of issue; s. 234 defines it as Estonian language proficiency at B1, assessed by examination under the Language Act.
Income requirement1 × subsistence level per month as of 2026-05-19[8]
Minister of the Interior's regulation s. 53(7): for a long-term resident's residence permit under Aliens Act s. 232(1)(3), and for its restoration under s. 238(1)(3), the legal-income rate is one times the subsistence level established under s. 131(3) of the Social Welfare Act for each month spent in Estonia. Under s. 53(8) the rate is half the subsistence level for the persons referred to in Aliens Act s. 232(5).
Absence rules
  • maximum consecutive absence · 6 months · to qualify for permanent residence as of 2026-06-29[1]
    Aliens Act s. 233(1): the qualifying period includes temporary stays outside Estonia not exceeding six consecutive months. For holders of the EU Blue Card the corresponding figure is twelve consecutive months (s. 233(1-1)).
  • maximum total absence · 10 months · to qualify for permanent residence as of 2026-06-29[1]
    Aliens Act s. 233(1): and not exceeding ten months in total within the last five years before the application; eighteen months for EU Blue Card holders (s. 233(1-1)). Where the authority considers a longer absence justified, the required period of residence is extended by the excess (s. 233(3)). Time spent on a temporary residence permit for study counts at half (s. 233(2)) where a permit on another basis was issued later.

Citizenship

Citizenship
Years to naturalisation8 as of 2025-07-28[2][9]
Citizenship Act s. 6(2-1): before applying, the person must have lived in Estonia for at least eight years on the basis of a residence permit or by right of residence. The applicant must also hold a long-term residence permit or the right of permanent residence (s. 6(2)), be at least 15 (s. 6(1)), have a registered place of residence (s. 6(2-3)), have permanent legal income (s. 6(5)), be loyal to the Estonian state and take the oath.
of which on permanent residence5 as of 2025-07-28[2][9]
Citizenship Act s. 6(2-1): of the eight years, at least five must have been on a permanent basis.
Dual citizenshipnot allowed as of 2025-07-28[2]
Language requirementB1 as of 2025-07-28[2]
Citizenship Act s. 8(1): proficiency in the Estonian language corresponding to level B1 provided in the Language Act, or an equivalent level, assessed by examination. Persons who acquired basic, secondary or higher education in Estonian are not required to take the examination (s. 8(5)).
Citizenship test requiredYes as of 2025-07-28[2][9]
Citizenship Act s. 9: knowledge of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia and the Citizenship Act, assessed by an examination held in Estonian and arranged by the Education and Youth Board.

Tax

Tax
Tax-residency day threshold183 as of 2026-03-13[6]
Income Tax Act s. 6(1) as stated by the Tax and Customs Board: a natural person is a resident of Estonia if their place of residence is in Estonia, or they stay in Estonia for at least 183 days over 12 consecutive calendar months, or they are an Estonian diplomat in foreign service. Part days, including arrival and departure days, count towards the 183.
Other tax-residency triggershabitual abode, physical presence as of 2026-03-13[6]
Headline income tax rate22% as of 2025-11-11[5]
Rate of withheld income tax for 2026. The basic exemption is EUR 700 per month (EUR 8,400 per year), or EUR 776 per month at pensionable age, and no longer depends on the person's income. Corporate income tax is 22/78 on distributions.
Income tax structureflat as of 2025-11-11[5]
A single rate applies to taxable income; progressivity operates only through the basic exemption, which is a flat monthly allowance from 2026.
Net-wealth taxNot established from a qualifying source[5]
Inheritance or estate taxNo as of 2025-10-07[4]
No standalone inheritance or estate tax: the Tax and Customs Board states that property received as an estate (real estate, money, precious metals and other property inherited in Estonia) is not subject to taxation upon receipt. Income tax arises only on a later transfer of inherited property. Sole-official-publisher convention (rules §6.1, R28-C2): the tax authority is the administering authority; no second Tier-1 publisher of this rule was located.

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Reference figures

Reference figures
subsistence level
  • Local name: toimetulekupiir
  • Amount: EUR 220 per month as of 2026-01-19[13]
  • Period: month
  • Reset: annual
  • Officially published figure: Yes
annual average gross monthly salary (Statistics Estonia)
  • Local name: Eesti keskmine brutokuupalk
  • Amount: EUR 2,092 per month as of 2026-03-05[10][14]
    Average monthly gross wages and salaries for 2025, published by Statistics Estonia on 5 March 2026. Aliens Act s. 178(1) and s. 190-7 define employment-permit and EU Blue Card salary floors as multiples of the annual average gross monthly salary last published by Statistics Estonia. The Police and Border Guard Board applies the figure to applications accepted for proceeding from 05.03.2026 (rates published in its salary-condition table: 1.0 = EUR 2,092; 1.24 = EUR 2,594; 1.5 = EUR 3,138; 0.8 = EUR 1,674 for start-up companies). Under s. 178(2) the amount in force at the moment the application is accepted for proceeding governs, adjusted on extension.
  • Period: month
  • Reset: annual
  • Officially published figure: Yes

Changes

Recent changes

Recent changes
2025-01-01The rate of withheld personal income tax rose from 20 per cent to 22 per cent, and the reduced corporate income tax rate of 14/86 on regularly distributed dividends was abolished, leaving only the standard 22/78 rate.
Affects: country-core[5]
2026-01-01The basic exemption became a flat EUR 700 per month (EUR 8,400 per year), or EUR 776 per month at pensionable age, and no longer decreases as income rises.
Affects: country-core[5]
2026-01-01The subsistence level rose from EUR 200 to EUR 220 per month for a person living alone or the first member of a family, from EUR 240 to EUR 264 for each minor family member and from EUR 160 to EUR 176 for each further adult. Every residence-permit legal-income threshold defined as a multiple of the subsistence level moved with it.
Affects: ee-toimetulekupiir[13]
2026-01-01Aliens Act s. 192(2-1)(1), added by RT I, 17.04.2025, 2, disapplies the EUR 65,000 share-capital investment requirement where the company has been entered in the Estonian commercial register for less than 12 months and commences operation with the support of state or private investment, having received an investment or loan from the state or from a private fund management company licensed by the Financial Supervision Authority, or support from a public support measure.
Affects: Residence permit for business – for shareholders of a company[1]
2026-01-01The immigration quota for 2026 was set at 1,292 persons, again at the statutory maximum of 0.1 per cent of the permanent population, down from 1,298 in 2025 and 1,303 in 2024. No distribution of the quota by application ground or by period within the year is planned.
Affects: Residence permit for business – for shareholders of a company, Residence permit for business – for sole proprietors[12][15]
2026-06-12Aliens Act s. 121-1, added by RT I, 03.06.2026, 1, requires the Police and Border Guard Board to refer a person who has been granted a residence permit, or whose residence permit has been extended, to participate in the adaptation programme.
Affects: Residence permit for business – for large investors, Residence permit for business – for shareholders of a company, Residence permit for business – for sole proprietors, Residence permit for business – for start-up entrepreneurs[1]
2026-05-22Aliens Act s. 41(1-1), added by RT I, 21.05.2026, 2, provides that where the state fee for reviewing an application for a temporary residence permit for employment or its extension is paid by the employer, it may not be collected from the foreign national; the same amending act extended the Police and Border Guard Board's sponsor-reliability assessment under s. 40-2 to applications for registration of a change of employment.
Affects: country-core[1]
2026-05-22RT I, 21.05.2026, 2 rewrote the employment-permit flexibility rules: s. 184-1 introduced registration of a change of employer (PPA verifies the new employment against ss. 176-181-3, 182-183 and 190-1 to 190-7), s. 184-2 covers job changes with the same employer, s. 177(4) and (4-1) waive the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund permission for same-employer job changes and after 12 consecutive months of employment, and s. 189-3 restated permitted unemployment at up to three months (permit held under two years) or six months (two years or more), with a legal-income requirement of twice the subsistence level during unemployment over three months added to the Minister of the Interior's regulation as s. 53(9).
Affects: Residence permit for employment, Residence permit for employment — top specialist, Blue Card of the European Union, Temporary residence permit for intra-corporate transfer, Temporary residence permit for employment as researcher, Temporary residence permit for short-term employment[1][8]
2026-03-05Statistics Estonia published the 2025 average monthly gross wage, EUR 2,092 (+5.6%). Every employment-permit and EU Blue Card salary floor defined as a multiple of this figure moved with it; the Police and Border Guard Board applies the new rates to applications accepted from 05.03.2026 (1.0 = EUR 2,092; 1.24 = EUR 2,594; 1.5 = EUR 3,138; 0.8 = EUR 1,674).
Affects: ee-average-gross-salary[10][14]
2024-04-15RT I, 05.04.2024, 2 reformed the EU Blue Card transposing Directive (EU) 2021/1883: a higher professional qualification may now be attested by higher-level professional skills (professional experience) for Annex I professions as an alternative to a degree; the required employment contract or binding job offer term fell to six months; a reduced salary coefficient of 1.24 applies to listed specialist categories (s. 190-7(2)); Blue Card holders from another member state may start work 30 days after applying in Estonia; and new refusal and revocation grounds were added (s. 190-10, s. 190-12).
Affects: Blue Card of the European Union[1]

Verification

Verification
Sources cited15
of which official (tier 1)15
Oldest as-of date2025-07-28
Newest as-of date2026-08-08
Reviewed on2026-08-11
Schema version1.1

Sources

  1. [1] Aliens Act (Välismaalaste seadus), consolidated text, official English translation
    Riigi Teataja (State Gazette), Republic of Estonia · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-29 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  2. [2] Citizenship Act (Kodakondsuse seadus), consolidated text, official English translation
    Riigi Teataja (State Gazette), Republic of Estonia · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2025-07-28 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  3. [3] Agreement on the European Economic Area, consolidated text (CELEX 21994A0103(01))
    EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  4. [4] Estate (taxation of inherited property)
    Estonian Tax and Customs Board · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2025-10-07 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy
  5. [5] Tax rates
    Maksu- ja Tolliamet (Estonian Tax and Customs Board) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2025-11-11 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  6. [6] Determining residency
    Maksu- ja Tolliamet (Estonian Tax and Customs Board) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-03-13 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy
  7. [7] Estonia – EU country
    European Union (Directorate-General for Communication) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  8. [8] Tähtajalise elamisloa ja selle pikendamise ning pikaajalise elaniku elamisloa ja selle taastamise taotlemise kord ning legaalse sissetuleku määrad (Minister of the Interior Regulation), consolidated text
    Siseminister (Minister of the Interior), published in Riigi Teataja (State Gazette), Republic of Estonia · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-05-19 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  9. [9] Estonian citizenship for an adult – Conditions
    Police and Border Guard Board (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy
  10. [10] Residence permit for employment — for foreign nationals
    Police and Border Guard Board · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  11. [11] Residence permit for a permanent resident – Long-term resident's residence permit
    Police and Border Guard Board (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  12. [12] Valitsus kehtestas järgmise aasta sisserände piirarvuks 1292 inimest
    Siseministeerium (Ministry of the Interior) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-11-06 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  13. [13] Toimetulekutoetus (subsistence benefit) – Toimetulekupiir
    Sotsiaalministeerium (Ministry of Social Affairs) · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-01-19 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy
  14. [14] Average wages increased by 5.6% last year (average monthly gross wages and salaries 2025)
    Statistics Estonia · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-03-05 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  15. [15] Valitsuse 6.11.25 istungi kommenteeritud päevakord, item 4: establishment of the 2026 immigration quota
    Vabariigi Valitsus (Government of the Republic of Estonia) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-11-05 · Accessed 2026-08-08

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