Visas in Tartu

Good to Know

• The 90-day Schengen allowance is a shared pool across all 27 Schengen countries, not per-country — hopping into Latvia or Finland for a few days still uses up days from the same 90/180 counter.
• Leaving Estonia/Schengen and re-entering does not reset the 90-day clock — the 180-day window rolls continuously, so track your days carefully if you travel in and out of the region.
• There is no visa-on-arrival for non-exempt nationalities — the Type C application must be completed before travel, typically via an Estonian consulate or VFS Global center.
• Overstaying even by a few days can trigger fines, deportation, and a Schengen-wide entry ban, since Estonia shares overstay records with other Schengen states.
• Sources disagree on whether the €4,500/month income threshold must be net or gross income — the official government portal says net, but many immigration guides describe it as gross, so confirm the exact requirement with the embassy handling your application.
• The visa cannot be extended — once your 12 months are up you must leave Estonia, and total long-stay visa time is capped at 548 days within any 730 consecutive days.
• Staying 183+ days in any rolling 12-month window makes you a full Estonian tax resident on your worldwide income at 22%, regardless of what visa you hold — track your days if you want to stay under this line.
• Standard travel insurance often won't satisfy the visa's health insurance requirement — it typically needs to explicitly state coverage of at least €30,000.
• E-Residency (Estonia's digital business ID program) is not a residence permit and does not let you live in Estonia — it's commonly confused with the Digital Nomad Visa but serves a different purpose.