Estonia · Business & founder
Temporary Residence Permit for Business
Open, but subject to Estonia's national immigration quota — 1,292 places for 2026 across all quota categories. This is a hard annual cap and a genuine risk.
At EUR 65,000 this is one of the cheapest business residence permits in the EU, and it comes with the Estonian corporate regime attached — 0% on retained earnings, everything administered online. But it demands genuine settlement and registration in the Population Register, and it competes for a hard quota of 1,292 places a year. It is a real move, not a paper one.
Qualifying routes
invest at least EUR 65,000 in the activities of an Estonian-registered company in which you hold a shareholding
reported figure — corroborated by Invest in Estonia but not confirmed against the Police and Border Guard Board's own text
The facts
- Minimum investment
- €65k
- Total landed cost
- EUR 65,000 invested in your own company's activities (it stays yours), plus a EUR 160 state fee, plus income of six times the subsistence level and mandatory health insurance.
- Timeline
- 3–5 months — decision within 90 days; residence permit card issued within 30 days of approval
- Physical presence
- Real. You must actually settle in Estonia and register your address in the Population Register — this is a substantive obligation, not a paper one, and it is what distinguishes this from a golden visa.
- Family
- spouse and minor children may apply for family migration permits
- Permanent residency
- 5 years' residence for long-term resident status
- Citizenship
- 8 years total, of which at least 5 on a permanent basis — subject to renunciation
- Language test
- B1 Estonian plus a constitution and Citizenship Act exam
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted — you would have to renounce
- Requirements
- at least EUR 65,000 invested in an Estonian-registered company in which you hold a shareholdingincome of at least six times the subsistence levela health insurance contractactual settlement in Estonia and registration of your address in the Population Registera place within the annual immigration quota
- The immigration quota (1,292 for 2026) is a hard annual cap covering this route. The digital nomad and startup visas are exempt from it; this is not. Timing your application within the quota year matters.
- You must actually settle in Estonia and register your address in the Population Register. This is not a low-presence golden visa and should not be sold as one.
- The EUR 65,000 must be invested in the company's actual activities, not parked as share capital and withdrawn.
- Income of six times the subsistence level is required, set annually under the State Budget Act.
- The EUR 16,000 sole proprietor route and the reported EUR 1,000,000 major investor route are corroborated by Invest in Estonia (a government agency) but we could not confirm either against the Police and Border Guard Board's own text. Verify before relying on them.
- The endpoint is a passport that requires renouncing your existing one. Plan for permanent residence, not citizenship.