Estonia.
How Estonia sells residence for investors (golden visa): one programme, open today. Every number and rule below links to the document it comes from.
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- numbers
- 14
- prices and rules
- 4
- events
- 4
- documents and articles
Business residence permit
Sells the right to live in the country (a “golden visa”), sometimes leading to citizenship later.
Official name: Elamisluba ettevõtluseks, sh suurinvestorile (Estonian temporary residence permit for enterprise, including for large investors)
The cheapest route is EUR 16,000 of capital invested by a sole proprietor (enterprise permit). That is an entrepreneur permit and requires running the business. A company shareholder needs EUR 65,000 (t-d58fbc6b83). The passive large-investor permit, the closest to a 'golden visa', needs EUR 1,000,000 (t-e74d31e3a1, from 18 Jan 2017). The main session may prefer the EUR 1m figure for comparability.
Notes from the research
Aliens Act: temporary residence permit for enterprise (EUR 65,000 invested in a company, or EUR 16,000 for a sole proprietor) and, from 18 Jan 2017, for large investors (EUR 1,000,000 directly invested in an Estonian company or fund, no obligation to live in Estonia). Permits up to 5 years, renewable. The Commission dates the Estonian investor scheme to 2009. Three large-investor permits were issued in 2017 (all to Russians). No official series found for later years.
Prices and rules
What is measured
- Golden visas issued8
- Applications received1
All the numbers we have for Estonia
Pick what you want to see. Each dot is one number from one document; click anything to open its source.
What happened, and when
The 4 documents behind this page
- 2026-01 · Law or regulationAliens Act (Välismaalaste seadus), English translation, consolidated text in force 01.01.2026-21.05.2026 · Riigi Teataja (Estonian State Gazette)
- 2019-01 · European UnionCommission Staff Working Document accompanying the Report on Investor Citizenship and Residence Schemes in the European Union, SWD(2019) 5 final · European Commission
- 2018-10 · European UnionCitizenship by Investment (CBI) and Residency by Investment (RBI) schemes in the EU: State of play, issues and impacts (PE 627.128) · European Parliamentary Research Service (Ex-Post Evaluation Unit and European Added Value Unit)
- 2018-04 · NewsEstonia issues three large investor residence permits in 2017 · ERR News
Who buys passports and golden visas, what they cost, and what happens when governments change the rules. Written from this data, in the newsletter.