Residence permit for a family member — to settle with a spouse or registered partner

Route status

Active as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[6]

Open to new applications under the rules recorded below.

Residency route facts

Identity

Identity
Official name (local)	Elamisluba pereliikmele as of 2026-08-08^[4] Title of the PBGB's Estonian-language instruction page (single family-member instrument).
Official name (English)	Residence permit for a family member — to settle with a spouse or registered partner as of 2026-08-08^[1]^[6] The PBGB publishes one family-member instruction in four parts; this route is the spouse/registered-partner basis (Aliens Act s. 118(1)).
Legal basis	Aliens Act s. 118(1) and ss. 137-149 (settling with a spouse or registered partner) as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[6] Registered partners were added with effect from 01.01.2024 (RT I, 06.07.2023, 6).
Instrument type	residence permit as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[6]

Who can apply

Who can apply
Nationals not served by this route	EU, EEA, EFTA as of 2026-08-08^[5] Needed by foreign nationals — persons who are not citizens of Estonia, an EU member state, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. Family members of EU citizens use the right of residence under the Citizen of the European Union Act instead.
Criminal-record condition	Not established from a qualifying source^[1] Criminal record operates as a refusal ground (Aliens Act s. 124(1)(5), s. 124(2)(7)), not an application condition.

Permit terms

Permit terms
Initial duration	up to 5 years as of 2026-08-08^[1]^[5]
How the initial term is set	matches the sponsor's permit
Renewable	Yes as of 2026-08-08^[5]
Renewal duration	up to 10 years as of 2026-08-08^[5] Up to 10 years at a time, but not longer than the validity of the inviting party's residence permit.
Work rights	full as of 2025-04-15^[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): five years' residence on a residence permit qualifies, regardless of the permit's basis.

Requirements

Requirements
Who can sponsor	citizen, permanent resident, temporary permit holder as of 2026-08-08^[1]^[6] PPA: the spouse must be an Estonian citizen or a foreign national residing in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit (temporary or long-term); a foreign national still applying for a business, employment or study permit can sponsor only in exceptional cases.
Eligible relations	spouse, registered partner as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[6] S. 137(1). Unmarried (unregistered) partners have no basis. The marriage or partnership must show shared close economic ties and psychological dependence, be stable and not fictitious (s. 138).
Sponsor income requirement	2 × subsistence level per month as of 2026-05-19^[1]^[3]
Sponsor accommodation requirement	Yes as of 2026-06-29^[1]^[6] S. 140(1): registered place of residence and actual dwelling in Estonia, waived where the family settles in Estonia together (s. 137(2)), where the sponsor holds one of the s. 140(2) employment/business permits (creative workers, teachers, researchers and academic staff, sportspeople, management-body members, experts, fitters and skilled workers, top specialists, start-up employees), for the s. 140(3) study categories, and for large-investor sponsors (s. 140-1).
Sponsor waiting period	Not applicable No general waiting period; the two-year rule applies only to student sponsors (see sponsor_matrix).
Pre-entry language test	No as of 2026-08-08^[6] No pre-entry language test appears among the published requirements (income, insurance, residence registration). Recorded on the PBGB's enumeration of conditions.
Sponsor and relation matrix	Sponsor status: citizen Relation: spouse Resulting condition: No prior-residence requirement where the family settles in Estonia together (s. 137(2)); reduced state fee (EUR 115 / EUR 145); quota-exempt; an application may be refused as unjustified where settling in the other spouse's country is possible (s. 142(1)). Sponsor status: temporary permit holder Relation: spouse Resulting condition: Sponsor with a STUDY permit: possible only once the sponsor has lived in Estonia on a residence permit at least two years (s. 137(2-1)); waived for doctoral-study sponsors (s. 137(2-2)). Sponsor status: temporary permit holder Relation: spouse Resulting condition: Sponsor with a s. 176-2 SHORT-TERM-EMPLOYMENT permit: no spouse/registered-partner permit is granted (s. 137(2-3); carve-out for citizens of Ukraine as of 24.02.2022). Sponsor status: temporary permit holder Relation: spouse Resulting condition: Sponsor holding the LARGE-INVESTOR business permit: the actual-dwelling and population-register requirements do not apply to issue or extension (s. 140-1).

Process

Process
Where to apply from	either as of 2025-01-01^[5]^[7] The fee schedule prices both channels; the PBGB describes joining a family member already in Estonia or settling together on arrival.
Statutory processing time	90 days as of 2026-08-08^[5] Response within 90 days per the PBGB's family-member pages (same service standard as the other permits); card within 30 days.
Fees	Kind: application Amount: EUR 225 as of 2025-01-01^[7] Temporary residence permit (general rate), application submitted in Estonia. Charged per: applicant Paid by: applicant Condition: application submitted in Estonia Kind: application Amount: EUR 255 as of 2025-01-01^[7] Temporary residence permit (general rate), 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 225 as of 2025-01-01^[7] Extension of a temporary residence permit (general rate); EUR 115 for a child under 15 and for persons of Estonian retirement age. 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, at a service office; EUR 60 self-service, EUR 100 at a foreign representation, EUR 30 reduced categories. Charged per: applicant Paid by: applicant Condition: applicant aged 18 or over, applying at a service office Kind: application Amount: EUR 115 as of 2025-01-01^[7] Reduced rate (EUR 145 at a foreign representation) for settling with a spouse or close relative who is an Estonian citizen; extension at the same reduced rate. Charged per: applicant Paid by: applicant Condition: sponsor is an Estonian citizen
Quota	Quota exists: Yes as of 2025-11-06^[1]^[10] Aliens Act ss. 113-114. Exempt from the general quota: Yes as of 2025-11-06^[1]^[10] S. 115(2): spouses and registered partners of Estonian citizens, Estonians and resident aliens are not counted toward the quota; the Ministry of the Interior states the same ('pereränne').

Physical presence

Physical presence
registration only	to keep the permit as of 2026-06-29^[1] Aliens Act s. 117(1)(2) and s. 121: actual residence in Estonia and registration of the place of residence in the Population Register within one month of arrival. No minimum day count is stated.

Family inclusion

Family inclusion
Family members may be included	Not applicable This route is itself the family-reunification instrument; further family members apply under the same ss. 137-156 bases in their own right.
Eligible relations	Not applicable See allowed.

Your next step

Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.

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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 pereliikmele
Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
[5] Residence permit for a family member
Police and Border Guard Board (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
[6] Residence permit for a family member — for a spouse
Police and Border Guard Board · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy
[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