Residence permit for business – for start-up entrepreneurs

Route status

Active as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[5]

Open to new applications under the rules recorded below.

Residency route facts

Identity

Identity
Official name (local)	Elamisluba ettevõtluseks – iduettevõtjale as of 2026-08-08^[4] Estonian-language Police and Border Guard Board page.
Official name (English)	Residence permit for business – for start-up entrepreneurs as of 2026-08-08^[5] The authority's own English rendering.
Legal basis	Aliens Act s. 118(1)(5) and ss. 191-196 (temporary residence permit for enterprise), start-up company exemptions under s. 192(2-1)(2), s. 192(3-1) and s. 192(6-1) as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[5] The start-up limb was inserted by RT I, 03.01.2017, 1, in force 18.01.2017.
Instrument type	residence permit as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[5]

Who can apply

Who can apply
Nationals not served by this route	EU, EEA, EFTA as of 2026-08-08^[5]
Criminal-record condition	Not established from a qualifying source^[1]^[5]

Permit terms

Permit terms
Initial duration	up to 5 years as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[5] Statutory maximum. Aliens Act s. 119(1): a temporary residence permit is issued with a period of validity of up to five years; the Police and Border Guard Board states the same for the residence permit for business. The actual term is set case by case under s. 119(2).
Renewable	Yes as of 2026-08-08^[5] The Police and Border Guard Board states that a temporary residence permit may be extended for up to 10 years at a time.
Renewal duration	up to 10 years as of 2026-08-08^[5] Maximum extension term stated by the authority: up to 10 years at a time.
Work rights	full as of 2025-04-15^[1]^[2]

Permanent residence and citizenship

Permanent residence and citizenship
Counts toward permanent residence	Yes as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[9] Aliens Act s. 232(1)(1): a long-term resident's residence permit may be issued to a person who has resided in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit for at least the last five years before the application. The provision is not limited by the basis on which the temporary residence permit was issued.

Requirements

Requirements
Minimum capital	Not applicable^[1]^[5] Aliens Act s. 192(2-1)(2) and s. 192(3-1): the EUR 65,000 share-capital requirement and the EUR 16,000 sole-proprietor capital requirement do not apply in the case of a start-up company. The authority states the condition simply as holding a share in a company registered in the Estonian Business Register.
Business plan required	No as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[5] Aliens Act s. 192(6-1): the business-plan description requirement in s. 192(5) does not apply to a start-up company. The expert-committee application instead carries a description of the business model.
Endorsement required	Yes as of 2026-08-08^[5] The start-up company must have received a positive evaluation from an expert committee of the Ministry of the Interior, or be exempt from evaluation. The application is submitted before the residence-permit application and the committee gives its evaluation within 10 working days of a complete application. Evaluation is not needed where the company has already been evaluated or is on the list of companies exempted by a decree of the Minister of the Interior.
Innovation criterion	Yes as of 2026-08-08^[5] The authority defines a start-up company as an early-stage company aimed at creating and launching an innovative business model with strong international growth potential whose activities contribute to the development of the Estonian business environment.
Own means requirement	4 × subsistence level per month as of 2026-05-19^[3]^[5] Minister of the Interior's regulation s. 53(5): for a temporary residence permit for start-up business under Aliens Act s. 191 the legal-income rate is four times the subsistence level for each month spent in Estonia. The authority states the same condition as 'sufficient income (four times the subsistence level)'.

Process

Process
Where to apply from	either as of 2025-01-01^[7] The Police and Border Guard Board's state-fee schedule prices the application for a temporary residence permit for business both 'In Estonia' (EUR 350) and 'At a foreign representation' (EUR 380), so both submission routes exist. Neither Tier-1 page states a restriction on where the applicant must be at submission.
Statutory processing time	90 days as of 2026-08-08^[5] The Police and Border Guard Board states that a response is given within 90 days and that the residence permit card is issued within 30 days thereafter. The Aliens Act itself (s. 33) leaves the procedural term to a regulation and caps any authority-set term at six months.
Fees	Kind: application Amount: EUR 350 as of 2025-01-01^[7] Temporary residence permit for business, application submitted in Estonia. Charged per: applicant Paid by: applicant Condition: application submitted in Estonia Kind: application Amount: EUR 380 as of 2025-01-01^[7] Temporary residence permit for business, application submitted at an Estonian foreign representation. Charged per: applicant Paid by: applicant Condition: application submitted at an Estonian foreign representation Kind: renewal Amount: EUR 350 as of 2025-01-01^[7] Extension of a temporary residence permit for business; the schedule prices extensions in Estonia only. Charged per: applicant Paid by: applicant Condition: extension applied for in Estonia Kind: card Amount: EUR 70 as of 2025-01-01^[8] Residence permit card, applicant aged 18 or over, applied for at a service office. The same schedule prices the card at EUR 60 in the self-service portal and EUR 100 at a foreign representation, and at EUR 30 for applicants under 18, applicants who have reached retirement age in Estonia and persons with moderate, serious or severe disabilities. Charged per: applicant Paid by: applicant Condition: applicant aged 18 or over, applying at a service office
Quota	Quota exists: Yes as of 2025-11-06^[1]^[10] Aliens Act s. 113-114 establish an immigration quota capped at 0.1 per cent of the permanent population. Exempt from the general quota: Yes as of 2025-11-06^[10] The Ministry of the Interior states that foreign nationals engaged in start-up entrepreneurship, as well as those working in a start-up, are excluded from the immigration quota.

Physical presence

Physical presence
registration only	to keep the permit as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[5] Aliens Act s. 117(1)(2) makes Estonia being the actual place of residence a general condition for the issue of a temporary residence permit, and s. 121 requires the holder to register their place of residence in the Population Register within one month of arrival and to keep it registered for the whole period of validity. No minimum day count is stated.

Family inclusion

Family inclusion
Family members may be included	Yes as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[6] A family member of a foreign national residing in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit may be issued a temporary residence permit to settle with them.
Eligible relations	spouse, registered partner, minor child, adult dependent child, parent, grandparent as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[6] Aliens Act s. 118(1)(1)-(2): a temporary residence permit may be issued to settle with a spouse or registered partner or with a close relative. The Police and Border Guard Board publishes the family route in four parts – minor child, adult child, spouse, and parent or grandparent – and states that the inviting party may be an Estonian citizen or a foreign national residing in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit. Unmarried partners are not among the categories published.
Family may apply at the same time	Yes as of 2026-08-08^[6] The Police and Border Guard Board describes the family route as joining a family member already living in Estonia or settling together in Estonia on arrival, and waives the inviting party's registered-residence and actual-accommodation condition where the parties arrive in Estonia together.
Family members' work rights	full as of 2025-04-15^[2]
Additional means per family member	Relation: spouse Amount: 80% of this route's own threshold as of 2026-05-19^[3] Minister of the Interior's regulation s. 53(5): for the spouse or registered partner of a holder of a temporary residence permit for start-up business, the legal-income rate is 80 per cent of the permit holder's own rate (which is four times the subsistence level per month). Relation: registered partner Amount: 80% of this route's own threshold as of 2026-05-19^[3] Minister of the Interior's regulation s. 53(5), same rule as for a spouse. Relation: minor child Amount: Not applicable^[3] Minister of the Interior's regulation s. 53(5): no legal-income rate applies to the minor child of a holder of a temporary residence permit for start-up business. Relation: adult dependent child Amount: Not applicable^[3] Minister of the Interior's regulation s. 53(5): no legal-income rate applies to an adult child who, because of state of health or disability, is not able to cope independently.

Your next step

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Verification

Verification
Sources cited	10
of which official (tier 1)	10
Oldest as-of date	2025-01-01
Newest as-of date	2026-08-08
Reviewed on	2026-08-11
Schema version	1.1

Sources

[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] Working in Estonia (state portal article, text by the Police and Border Guard Board)
Riigiportaal eesti.ee / Police and Border Guard Board · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-04-15 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy
[3] 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
[4] Elamisluba ettevõtluseks – Äriühingu osanikule
Police and Border Guard Board (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
[5] Residence permit for business – For start-up entrepreneurs
Police and Border Guard Board (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
[6] Residence permit for a family member
Police and Border Guard Board (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
[7] State fee amounts – Residence permit and rights of residence
Police and Border Guard Board (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet) · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Published 2025-01-01 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy
[8] State fee amounts – Residence permit card
Police and Border Guard Board (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet) · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Published 2025-01-01 · Accessed 2026-08-08
[9] 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
[10] 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