Virtual Office FAQ
e-Residency is a transnational digital identity available to anyone in the world interested in administering a location-independent business online. e-Residency enables to use secure and convenient digital services that facilitate credibility and trust online. Please be aware that e-Residency does not confer citizenship, tax residency, residence or right of entry to Estonia or to the European Union. It is not a visa or residence permit. The e-Resident digi-ID card is not a physical identification or a travel document, and does not display a photo. You’ll find laws and regulations concerning current application here: Identity Documents Act, State Fees Act. You’ll find the terms and conditions for use of certificates of personal identification documents of the Republic of Estonia here. Please be informed that the Police and Border Guard Board performs background checks on all applicants. Single or multiple founders are possible. All founders must log in to the Estonian Commercial Register with an e-residency ID card and provide their signature. For this, you have to give us the right of representation in the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. That is, either by authorizing us directly with the ID card through the Estonian Tax and Customs Board e-environment or giving us the Power of Attorney. Take a look tutorial video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKJ3zgS5oTc .. and don’t forget to subscribe to our Youtube channel. No. Your e-Residency status itself does not come with a physical address in Estonia. To register your company in Estonia, you will likely need to use a contact person and legal address service. Estonia invites anyone in the world to apply for e-Residency, as long as: E-Residency is particularly well-suited for many freelancers, consultants, digital nomads, solo entrepreneurs and other digital entrepreneurs interested in establishing a digital services company they can manage from anywhere. E-Residency enables digital entrepreneurs to start and manage an EU-based company online: Note, an e-Residency digital ID card provides access to e-services, but it is not a valid form of physical identification and cannot be used as a travel document. e-Residency does not confer citizenship, tax residency, physical residency or right of entry to Estonia or the European Union. There are no annual or maintenance fees for the e-Residency digital ID card. The e-Residency digital ID card is valid for (5) years. The state fee for renewal or replacement is the same. Non-residents not registered in the commercial register in Estonia and operating in Estonia through a permanent establishment or non-residents not having a permanent establishment but being employers in Estonia have to register with the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Likewise, non-resident employees and recipients of payments not having an Estonian personal identification code have to be registered with the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Closer look: https://www.emta.ee/en/business-client/registration-business/non-residents-e-residents/registration-non-resident The best suited businesses for e-Residency are paperless companies that can be run completely online independent of location, for example consulting or freelance services in IT and communications, professional and scientific activities, and administrative and support service activities. We are increasingly seeing e-residents setting up small to medium eCommerce and dropshipping businesses, as well as larger companies manufacturing and/or selling physical goods wanting to set up a subsidiary in Europe. Your e-Residency digital ID card is an electronic personal identification used to securely identify yourself over the internet. Just like showing identification when completing a credit card transaction at a store, you show your digital ID for verification over the internet so companies are certain you are you. ID card is the national technical support in Estonia. If starting to use the card online seems difficult or daunting, they are there to assist you through the process. On their website, you can find how-to videos, support articles, step-by-step solution finders, and the contacts of the support team. For an example of the videos, check out how to create a digitally signed document on your computer! The e-Residency application environment is administered by the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board. PBGB is also responsible for processing e-Residency applications and making decisions. If you need help submitting your e-Residency application, consult with the FAQ below or contact the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board. In order to track your application status, please log in to the application environment. Please note that the e-Residency project team does not have access to the application environment. All inquiries related to application process, should be directed to the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board. Below is a list of the most commonly used Estonian government e-services. An e-resident is a non-resident according to Estonian tax legislation. Only income derived in Estonia is taxed in Estonia. If there is no activity or income derived from Estonia, taxes should be paid in the country where the service is provided or activity is done or income is derived from, the pure e-residency alone does not influence the foreign or Estonian taxation. An Estonian company established by an e-resident is an Estonian tax resident. The Estonian e-residency does not automatically exempt from taxation elsewhere. Tax residency is the place where you actually have to pay the taxes. For example, if you are an Estonian citizen, but have lived more than 183 days per year in Finland, then you become a tax resident in Finland and have to pay the taxes there. In general, a company’s tax residency is in the country where the company is established. So, if the company is established in Estonia, then by law the tax residency is in Estonia. There are exceptions to this rule that will change the tax residency of your company, which we will discuss later in this article. When talking about tax residency or even e-Residency, it is important to emphasize that neither is an actual residency. So, if you receive your e-Residency card, then this doesn’t make you a resident nor a tax resident of Estonia – it is a common false perception. E-Residency is not related to visa or a resident permit and doesn’t enable you to travel to Estonia. E-Residency card is a digital identity that allows you to run a business in Estonia from the distance and fully online. To explain tax residency and citizenship, we first need to consider that there are two separate parties involved: a private and a legal person. This means that your company is a legal person, and you alone are the private person. Citizenship only applies to a private person and is determined by your passport. The tax residency on the other hand is not the same as citizenship and is determined by tax laws. The tax residency status can be in the same country as your citizenship, but it also might be different or change in time. No. The application is considered to be submitted and the processing starts only if the state fee has been paid. No. Your status as an e-resident does not grant permission to live in Estonia or within the EU. You will not receive benefits related to EU residency by becoming an e-resident. e-Residency is a transnational digital identity available to anyone in the world interested in administering a location-independent business online. e-Residency enables to use secure and convenient digital services that facilitate credibility and trust online. Please be aware that e-Residency does not confer citizenship, tax residency, residence or right of entry to Estonia or to the European Union. It is not a visa or residence permit. The e-Resident digi-ID card is not a physical identification or a travel document, and does not display a photo. You’ll find laws and regulations concerning current application here: Identity Documents Act, State Fees Act. You’ll find the terms and conditions for use of certificates of personal identification documents of the Republic of Estonia here. Please be informed that the Police and Border Guard Board performs background checks on all applicants. No. Your e-Residency status itself does not come with a physical address in Estonia. To register your company in Estonia, you will likely need to use a contact person and legal address service. Non-residents not registered in the commercial register in Estonia and operating in Estonia through a permanent establishment or non-residents not having a permanent establishment but being employers in Estonia have to register with the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Likewise, non-resident employees and recipients of payments not having an Estonian personal identification code have to be registered with the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Closer look: https://www.emta.ee/en/business-client/registration-business/non-residents-e-residents/registration-non-resident E-residency in Estonia does not automatically mean tax residence. It only provides the opportunity to use the e-services that the Estonian state offers. Among them is the establishment of the company. If your turnover is less than EUR 40,000 per the calendar year, you don’t need to add VAT to your invoices. If the turnover is generated outside Estonia, you do not have to add VAT to your invoices if you exceed this amount. If the employees do not work in Estonia, the labour tax according to Estonian law does not have to be taken into account. An e-resident is a non-resident according to Estonian tax legislation. Only income derived in Estonia is taxed in Estonia. If there is no activity or income derived from Estonia, taxes should be paid in the country where the service is provided or activity is done or income is derived from, the pure e-residency alone does not influence the foreign or Estonian taxation. An Estonian company established by an e-resident is an Estonian tax resident. The Estonian e-residency does not automatically exempt from taxation elsewhere. Tax residency is the place where you actually have to pay the taxes. For example, if you are an Estonian citizen, but have lived more than 183 days per year in Finland, then you become a tax resident in Finland and have to pay the taxes there. In general, a company’s tax residency is in the country where the company is established. So, if the company is established in Estonia, then by law the tax residency is in Estonia. There are exceptions to this rule that will change the tax residency of your company, which we will discuss later in this article. When talking about tax residency or even e-Residency, it is important to emphasize that neither is an actual residency. So, if you receive your e-Residency card, then this doesn’t make you a resident nor a tax resident of Estonia – it is a common false perception. E-Residency is not related to visa or a resident permit and doesn’t enable you to travel to Estonia. E-Residency card is a digital identity that allows you to run a business in Estonia from the distance and fully online. To explain tax residency and citizenship, we first need to consider that there are two separate parties involved: a private and a legal person. This means that your company is a legal person, and you alone are the private person. Citizenship only applies to a private person and is determined by your passport. The tax residency on the other hand is not the same as citizenship and is determined by tax laws. The tax residency status can be in the same country as your citizenship, but it also might be different or change in time. An e-resident is a non-resident according to Estonian tax legislation. Only income derived in Estonia is taxed in Estonia. If there is no activity or income derived from Estonia, taxes should be paid in the country where the service is provided or activity is done or income is derived from, the pure e-residency alone does not influence the foreign or Estonian taxation. The Estonian e-residency does not automatically exempt from taxation elsewhere. An Estonian company established by an e-resident is an Estonian tax resident. For this, you have to give us the right of representation in the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. That is, either by authorizing us directly with the ID card through the Estonian Tax and Customs Board e-environment or giving us the Power of Attorney. Take a look tutorial video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKJ3zgS5oTc .. and don’t forget to subscribe to our Youtube channel. For this, you have to give us the right of representation in the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. That is, either by authorizing us directly with the ID card through the Estonian Tax and Customs Board e-environment or giving us the Power of Attorney. Take a look tutorial video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKJ3zgS5oTc .. and don’t forget to subscribe to our Youtube channel.
Background check (1)
The state fee for the e-Resident’s digital ID card is 100 euros. Depending on the chosen pick-up location, additional fees apply:
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Company formation (1)
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EORI number (1)
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General (15)
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State Portal
Log in to see and manage your personal information
Service Providers
Some service providers have integrated e-Residency digital ID log in on their websites
Company Registration Portal
Register your company online
e-Business Register
Manage your business information
e-Financials
Web-based public accounting software
e-Tax/e-Customs
Submit relevant documentation to the Estonian Tax and Customs Board
e-apostille
Use e-apostille when you need your company formation documents apostilled
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The state fee for the e-Resident’s digital ID card is 100 euros. Depending on the chosen pick-up location, additional fees apply:
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Package TWO (1)
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Taxis in Estonia (5)
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NB!
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Trademark registration (1)
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VAT number (1)
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