Business Permits & Incorporation for Foreigners in Tallinn

Good to Know

• You do not need a local partner, co-founder, or director — a foreign e-resident can be 100% sole owner and sole board member of an Estonian OÜ.
• The e-Residency card is a digital identity for signing documents and accessing e-services — it is explicitly not a visa, work permit, or path to physical residency in Estonia.
• Banking, not registration, is usually the real bottleneck: some traditional Estonian banks want an in-person visit or genuine local business substance, so many non-resident founders end up using EEA-regulated fintech accounts instead.
• Since a 2023 reform, minimum share capital for an OÜ is just €0.01 and doesn't need to be paid in immediately — don't be fooled by older articles quoting a €2,500 minimum, which was the pre-2023 rule.
• If your management board is entirely outside Estonia, you're legally required to have a registered address and/or licensed contact person in Estonia — this is a paid administrative service, not a business partner with any say in your company.
• The famous 'Estonia has 0% corporate tax' claim only applies to profits kept inside the company — the moment you pay yourself a dividend, board fee treated as a distribution, or certain non-business expenses, a 22% tax (22/78 of the net amount) applies at the company level.
• A previously announced hike to 24% for 2026 was reversed by Parliament before it took effect, so double-check any older article or calculator still quoting 24% — 22/78 is the current rate.
• Registering an OÜ can be done entirely online via e-Residency, but if you don't live in Estonia you'll need to budget for an ongoing local contact-person and accounting service, since most providers only support OÜ-type companies, not FIEs.
• Estonian tax authorities have become stricter about revoking or refusing VAT numbers for e-Residency companies that look like they have no genuine Estonian economic activity, so a 'letterbox' setup with no real substance carries increasing compliance risk.
• Even though the Estonian company itself may owe zero tax on retained profits, your home country's controlled-foreign-company (CFC) rules or worldwide-income tax rules may still tax you personally on those retained profits — this is a structuring consideration distinct from where you personally qualify as a tax resident.