Estonia’s new startup visa programme gets 106 applications in three months

Estonia had launched in January 2017 a new startup visa programme, which in its first three months attracted 106 applications from 29 countries.

Initiated by the startup community of the North European country and the Estonian ministry of interior, the startup visa programme lets non-EU nationals to arrive in Estonia and work for its startups, shift their existing startups to the Republic of Estonia or launch new ones there on preferential terms.

To be eligible for the Startup Visa, prospective startups must complete an application giving details of their business and team. This will be evaluated by a startup committee, which will comprise members of the startup community of Estonia.

According to Estonian World, 39 applications received positive assessment, 62 negative and five are still being processed. Most of the applications were said to be sent by citizens of Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Russia and India. The most number of successful applicants were nationals of Belarus, Turkey and Ukraine.

With regard to visas for working with startups in Estonia, of the 42 applications submitted, most successful were Ukrainians and Americans.

Once a startup receives a positive assessment, they can then initiate the process of applying for a visa or a permit at either at an embassy of Estonia or the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board. Since issuing a visa or living permit can take a few months, most of the applications are still being processed. Applications of nationals of India and Ukraine are said to have got most positive decisions.

If you are looking to travel to Estonia, get in touch with Y-Axis, a prominent immigration consultancy company, to apply for an Estonia Startup Visa from one of its several offices.