Estonia has decided to increase its E-residency card pickup stations to 20 countries.
The Estonian government announced that the E-Residency program will be rolled out in twenty countries around the world. Singapore, Thailand, Japan, South Africa, and Brazil are the countries where the E-residency program will be implemented initially.
The Estonian Ministry of the Interior, the Police and Border Guard Board and BLS International Services Limited have signed an agreement to expand the issuance of Estonian e-residency digital ID cards into 20 countries around the world.
Estonia is the first country to offer e-residency. It has introduced this program on 1st December 2014. Since then, it has generated 36.3 million euros in direct benefits for the Estonian economy in taxes alone. Estonia’s e-Residency Program Is a government-issued digital identity and status that provides access to Estonia’s transparent digital business environment and enables digital entrepreneurs to start and manage an EU-based company online.
The Estonian Ministry of the Interior announced on 22 October that in the first phase, e-residency digital IDs will start to be issued in South Africa, Singapore, Brazil, and Thailand, and issuance will continue in Japan.
Ruth Annus, head of the citizenship and migration policy department at the Ministry of the Interior has said that in the future, the plan is to extend the digital ID card issuance network to a further 15 locations.
According to Ruth Annus so far 73,000 e-residents have formed more than 14,600 Estonian companies with more than 1,400 employees, earning more than the average Estonian monthly salary. E-residency has a positive impact on the Estonian economy, bringing taxable benefits to the public exchequer and creating jobs. The most popular areas of business are information technology, communications, professional services, as well as wholesale and retail trade.
Other famous and useful work visa and residency programs of Estonia:
WHO CAN APPLY FOR E-RESIDENCY?
Generally speaking, everyone can apply for this card, but the focus is on the following by the Estonian government:
- Freelancer
- Digital Nomad
- Startup Company
- EU Company
When you apply for this E-Residency only by filling in an application form, you are asked for the reason for applying. There might be many reasons to apply, for example, business starting in the EU, or if you are an E-Residency fan, etc. You will have to write a motivation paragraph to show your interest in it.
COST
Though the amount you have to pay for the benefits of this E-Residency, €100 seems nothing.
BENEFITS OF E-RESIDENCY?
There are a lot of benefits for applying for an E-Residency in Estonia, but I will mainly focus on the following which allows you to:
- start an online business in Estonia
- register en EU based company entirely online
- operate your business remotely as the residency card can be attached with a laptop and you can access all business apps online to start the proceedings whilst traveling
- settle in abroad in any EU country after establishing the business online
- own your company without being present in Estonia
- pay all payments through PayPal
- sign, authenticate, encrypt and send documents digitally
- file taxes online to the Estonian government
- discover many new ways to grow in the EU market online
DRAWBACKS
E-Residency of Estonia is not a Schengen visa or a work permit. It does not allow you to enter any EU state without a visa.
HOW TO APPLY FOR E-RESIDENCY?
The only way to apply for the E-Residency of Estonia is online. The government of Estonia has opened an online portal for this purpose. But before you reach out to this portal, let me clear you a few more things.
Steps to apply
- You will need your government-issued ID for filling in details in the online form
- A passport-sized digital photo
- A visa or master card to pay for your fees online
- Write a motivational letter that why do you want to apply for Estonian E-Residency
- After filling in the online form, you will be asked to pay €100
- Once all done, you will receive an email confirmation
- After the process of 6 to 8 weeks, the Estonian Police & Border Guard Board will check the background information of your data provided
- Once everything confirmed, you will be notified to collect your E-Residency from the location you have chosen while filling the online form