Is true that Estonia launch a visa for Digital Nomads? YES! THAT IS SO TRUE !!!!! I am so happy to hear this news. I try to find out more detailed information and share them with you. I put the sources link at the end of the article.

The new Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) is purposed for remote workers, which include digital nomads, freelancers and location-independent entrepreneurs, to live and work in Estonia. This program is the continue program of e-Residency that already applied since 1^st December 2014. So, with e-Residency and DNV, Estonia helps people to choose the way people prefer to work.

Where is Exactly Estonia?

Maybe the information about Estonia is not spread enough like other European countries. It is actually located in North Eastern Europe, which is in the middle of Russia (in the East side of Estonia) and Latvia (In the South side of Estonia).

About Estonia

When I search the information about Estonia, I find that this is the wonderful hidden place in Europe. As stated in CNBC International on February 2019, this Baltic country has 1.3 million people and it is claimed as one of the most advanced digital society in the world. And this is amazing. Based on the statement of Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia, we can apply for passport, a driving licence, sell and buy a car and register it via online. Basically, most of the public services in Estonia can be accessed through digital. The interesting part is this digital ambiance is the solution to understand today generation who grown up with digital communication.

The ID Card, as the example, has the digital signature and citizen can pay taxes, vote, do online banking, and access the health record through online. And the doctors also can access our health records. Paying taxes also very efficient, which is only takes 5 minutes. So, it makes our life very simple and easy. Overall, 99% of public services in Estonia can be accessed online 24/7.

As most of services are being access electronically, the Internet access has been declared as a human right in Estonia.

Welcoming the Digital Nomad Visa Offer for Remote Workers

As this country is already prepared with the high technology system, they finally open to offer the Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) for the remote workers, such as freelancers, digital nomads, entrepreneurs, and other people who has the job contract in their own country to legally work in Estonia. This could be mean that they will be less barrier to do their work while they are in Estonia, whether for holiday or a temporarily stay.

What are the requirements?

I, personally, very interested to apply for DNV and tried to find out the sources for the requirements. And I find it in the E-Residency website, and I take some notes as below.

• The ability to work independent of location. It means that the location won’t be the issue for working performance.
• The work duties can be conducted remotely by using telecommunications technology.
• The work current status should be an active employment contract with a company registered outside of Estonia, conduct own business that registered abroad or work as a freelancer for clients mostly outside of Estonia.
• Our income should be met the minimum threshold during the six months preceding the application. Currently, the monthly income threshold is €3,504 (gross of tax).

Therefore, we should prepare the above points before we applying the visa. After we are eligible for applying DNV, we should follow the following steps:

• Fill in the application form online. This application can be downloaded through this LINK. After finish filling the application, print the form and sign it.
• The application fee depends on the visa type. €80 for Type C (Short Stay visa) and €100 for Type D (Long Stay visa).
• Please contact the nearest Estonian Embassy or Consulate to submit the application and don’t forget to bring the supporting documents required.
• And after submission, our applications will be reviewed not sooner than 15 days.

Do you know that there is already e-Residency that has been applied in Estonia?

Actually, long before the DNV has planned to launch this year, Estonia was already launching the e-Residency of Estonia. It is also called virtual residency or E-residency. This program is purposed for a non-residence of Estonia to access the Estonian services, such the company formation, banking service, payment processing and taxation. The e-resident holder has a smart card that they can use to sign documents. So, this program can be used for location-independent entrepreneurs. So, the DNV is like the broaden scope of working flexibility inside and outside Estonia. For me, it is an extremely wow!!!!

The good things living in Estonia

After searching the information about this Baltic country, I will list top 5 good thing while living in Estonia. These are my version and you might have your own version.

1. The small population in Estonia, 1.3 million, will give their resident more space to live, in terms of the physical space and the atmosphere.
2. Don’t worry about the daily language. Even though their official language is Estonian, other common language are fairly widely spoken, which are English, Russian and German.
3. The education is another important factor that should be considered while moving to another country. In Estonia, particularly in Tallin and Tartu, have International schools and European school with English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Italian and Spanish teaching.
4. The security of Estonia is arguably quite safe as Estonia is a member of NATO. Beside of that, the public demonstrations are happened infrequently and normally peaceful. Another important thing would be the crime rates are generally low but still Expatriates should always be alert on pickpockets in tourist’s destinations.
5. Estonia is also offered various alternatives of transportation that we can choose, which are:

• Domestic flights for traveling in Estonia’s cities
• Good rail network with roomy seating and free Wi-Fi
• Ferries are also available for traveling to larger islands
• Good bus service
• The National driving license can be used to drive in Estonia for foreigners. However, to make sure, it is better to double check directly whether we are require an International driving permit instead.

The Challenges Living in Estonia

I know that if there are some good points, there will the challenge points that should be considered while living in Estonia. These challenges are not the barrier but those can be the motivation for better future instead.

1. The silence habit of people in Estonia. If you are a person who loves to chat, it means that you have to adapt with the quite habit.
2. There is almost no religion in Estonia, in general. However, we can still find some churches. The largest stronghold of religion is Russian Orthodox.

I only can find these two challenges during the desk research. I believe there will more while I already stay in Estonia.

Summary

The Digital Nomad Visa is being launched for living and working in Estonia. This visa is offering to the remote workers, digital nomads and people with independent-location working space. It is actually the continuation of e-Residency, which was already launched on 2014. That means this hidden high technology country gives the opportunity for us to choose the way to work and the preferred location to finish our working task peacefully. And I can’t wait to submit the application …

If you have any required information about Estonia or if you have any ideas of the country that can be categorized as a home, please let me know. I will search for it and share it with you.

Sources :

• https://e-resident.gov.ee/nomadvisa/
• https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/estonia-creates-digital-nomad-visa/
• https://medium.com/e-residency-blog/estonias-digital-nomad-visa-is-here-540cf6389ba1
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Residency_of_Estonia
• https://estonianworld.com/business/estonia-to-implement-a-digital-nomad-visa/
• https://www.britannica.com/place/Estonia
• https://www.workinestonia.com/living-in-estonia/
• https://youtu.be/NAxOUBMMQd4
• https://www.internations.org/go/moving-to-estonia/living
• https://discoverdiscomfort.com/living-in-estonia/

Published by nikensmartini

I am just a girl who loves all beauty stuffs and traveling. And I am really addicted to a hot cappuccino. View all posts by nikensmartini