Area: 45,339 km²
Residents: 1,323,824 (January 1, 2019)
Population density: 29 E / km²
Form of Government: Parliamentary republic
System of Government: Parliamentary democracy
Neighboring countries: Latvia, Russia
Capital: Tallinn (Reval) National
language: Estonian
Religions:
13.6% Protestant – Lutheran,
12.8% Orthodox,
0.5% Baptist,
0.5% Roman Catholic,
0.3% Jehovah’s Witnesses
Currency: Euro
Telephone area code: +372
Time zone: UTC +2 (EET)
UTC + 3 EEST (March – October)
In 2020, 92 Germans officially emigrated to Estonia and 53 returned to their homeland. Within the 10 years from 2010 to 2019, 798 Germans officially emigrated to Estonia and 639 moved back to Germany. In 2020 there were officially 1,650 Germans living in Estonia.
Estonia, as well as Latvia and Lithuania, are not necessarily typical immigration countries. Nevertheless, lately there have been more and more people who emigrate here – perhaps because of the naturalness of the landscape or because of the reliability of the people in this region. The Estonians are quite reserved people but with a very warm friendliness.
According to allcitycodes, Estonia, the northernmost country in the Baltic States, has around 1,500 islands in the Baltic Sea. The climate in Estonia is quite cool. There are bitterly cold winters and only moderately warm summers. Almost 50% of Estonia is covered with trees. In these forests you will find deer, roe deer, foxes, lynxes, elks, brown bears, wolves and mountain hares.
General travel regulations (up to the corona pandemic)
A stay of up to 3 months is possible without a residence permit. Entry takes place with a valid identity card or passport. The only special feature: Children under 16 years of age need a child ID with a photo. Anyone driving to Estonia by car requires an internationally valid driver’s license and the green insurance card.
Seasonal workers or jobseekers registered with the employment office can stay in the country for up to 6 months. Proof of sufficient health insurance must be provided for the duration of your stay.
Immigration and permanent residence, residence permit
A residence permit can be applied for at the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Berlin or, as an EU citizen, directly in Estonia.
Sufficient income must be proven. These include pensions, grants, assets, and wages. The permanent residence must be registered within one month of the issue of the residence permit. The temporary residence permit is issued for a period of 5 years and is automatically extended for a further 5 years when it expires. The extension only applies if the registered place of residence still exists. Staying in Estonia for at least 183 days a year is considered a permanent residence in Estonia.
Documents to apply for permanent residence permit:
- Complete the application (PDF form) by hand or on the computer
- Identity document (ID card or passport)
- 1 color photo with the dimensions 40 × 50 mm
- Document certifying payment of the state fee (€ 25)
When applying for ID for a minor child under the age of 15, the following must be added to the above documents:
- Child’s identity document, if one exists
- Parent’s identity document
- If the parent’s name on the child’s birth certificate differs from the name on the parent’s ID card, please submit a document confirming the change in the parent’s name (e.g. marriage certificate)
All evidence to be submitted must be translated into Estonian, Russian or English. For submission in Estonia, the civil status documents must be provided with an apostille at an authorized German authority.
If the following applies, evidence must also be submitted:
- worked in Estonia for the past 12 months
- a decision by the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund on the establishment of partial employability
- Certificate proving that you have worked in Estonia for at least 3 consecutive years
- Application form confirming that you will return to Estonia once a week (if your main residence is in another country)
The Estonian ID card will be issued within 30 days of the application.
