Opening a company in Estonia with a residence permit

Estonia is a country located in Northern Europe. The country has a border with Russia, Latvia, and a maritime border with Finland. The capital city is Tallinn. Estonia is a member of the UN, NATO, EU and OECD. The country is a member of the Schengen zone and the Eurozone.

It is advantageous to start a business in this country to obtain a residence permit. The advantage of doing business is that Estonia is a member of the Eurozone and has a simplified reasonable tax system. The legal system for small and medium-sized businesses is also reasonable and corruption level is low.

Obtaining a residence permit on the basis of an Estonian company's board membership

According to the legislation, the request for a residence permit in Estonia can take approximately 3 months. In addition to that, sending documents from the embassy to the police and back can take about 14 days. Submitting the application in the Police Bureau is more realistic, given there is an actual visa.

As a result, the first residence permit is issued for up to 5 years to the applicant and all family members for the same period. In the future it is possible to apply for a permanent residence permit, but a language examination is required.

Basic requirements:

• Presence of a company in Estonia, where the applicant is a board member. Before submitting an application it is important that the company operates for at least 5 months;
• After the residence permit is issued, it is necessary to have mandatory health insurance;
• It is also necessary to have a home in the country that is owned or leased. 

There are some conditions regarding the salary of the applicant. Before applying for a residence permit, it is advisable to pay value-added tax on the sale of products or services in the last quarter or more; this requirement is tacit.

Receiving a residence permit through a private company

The private business form in Estonia has the abbreviation FIE. A company is registered using the name and surname of a person, i.e. confidentiality cannot be maintained. There are pros and cons of registering this form of business if a person is a non-resident of the country.

One of the advantages is that it is required to submit only the Personal Income Declaration instead of the annual financial report. The documentation does not need to specify the income and expenses that were created outside the country. By investing in the FIE it is possible to obtain a temporary residence permit for an entrepreneur and his relatives.

The disadvantage is that there is no confidentiality, and it is required to pay social tax quarterly, which does not depend on indicators of income. Profit from transactions within the jurisdiction is subject to a tariff. If you have further questions regarding a residence permit through investment in the company, please contact our specialists at IT-OFFSHORE.