e-Residency is an optional digital identification card issued by the Republic of Estonia to non-Estonian citizens who do not permanently reside in Estonia, but would still like to take advantage of Estonia’s and European Union (EU) public e-services. Approximately 60 000+ e-resident entrepreneurs from 165 countries have joined the community and started over 10 000 companies.
Estonia is the first nation to issue a digital identity and with its membership to the EU, the e-residents have access to not only the Estonian but also to the EU business environment including e-services. Having this status does not mean that an e-resident is granted any form of citizenship, tax residency, residency right or right of entry to Estonia or the EU. E-residents themselves are not inherently tax liable. The application can be submitted online (state fee of 100 EUR) and the card has to be picked up from one of approved pick-up locations by the applicant.