The Republic of Estonia is the first country to offer e-Residency — a transnational digital identity available to anyone in the world interested in administering a location-independent business online. e-Residency additionally enables secure and convenient digital services that facilitate credibility and trust online.

e-Residents can:

Digitally sign documents and contracts

Verify the authenticity of signed documents

Encrypt and transmit documents securely

Establish an Estonian company online. A physical address in Estonia is required to establish an Estonian company. An Estonian address may be obtained via an external service provider.

Administer the company from anywhere in the world.

Conduct e-banking and remote money transfers. Establishing an Estonian bank account currently requires one in-person meeting at the bank. E-residents are not guaranteed bank accounts and may establish them at the sole discretion of our banking partners.

Access online payment service providers

Declare Estonian taxes online. e-Residency does not automatically establish tax residency. To learn about taxation and to avoid double taxation please consult a tax professional.

All of these (and more) efficient and easy-to-use services have been available to Estonians for over a decade. By offering e-Residents the same services, Estonia is proudly pioneering the idea of a country without borders.

e-Residents receive a smart ID card which provides:

digital identification and authentication to secure services
digital signing of documents

digital verification of document authenticity

document encryption.

Digital signatures and authentication are legally equivalent to handwritten signatures and face-to-face identification in Estonia and between partners upon agreement anywhere around the world. Recent changes in EU law mean that within the next few years Estonian e-residents will be able to easily identify themselves, access online services, and conduct business across Europe. The e-Resident ID card and services are built on state-of-the-art technological solutions, including 2048-bit public key encryption. The smart ID card contains a microchip with two security certificates: one for authentication, called PIN1, and another for digital signing, called PIN2. PIN1 is a minimum 4-digit number used for authorization, and PIN2 is a minimum 5-digit number for digital signing.

e-Residency does not confer citizenship, tax residency, residence or right of entry to Estonia or to the European Union. The e-Resident smart ID card is not a physical identification or a travel document, and does not display a photo.


https://e-estonia.com/e-residents/about/