If you decide to spend another vacation in Estonia , do not even think about it - there is definitely something to see and do. However, you should prepare in advance for this trip and first of all find out if you need a visa to enter Estonia?
Only the following categories of persons can enter Estonia without a visa:
- citizens of countries that are members of the European Union and the European Economic Area;
- owners of a residence permit for a full-fledged country that belongs to the members of the Schengen area.
What kind of visa is needed in Estonia?
Those who are planning a trip to this country, are wondering whether a visa is necessary for Estonia for Russians? Estonia is one of the member countries of the Schengen agreement, therefore, all residents of the CIS countries wishing to visit Estonia need to obtain a Schengen visa. There are several types of Schengen visas:
- A visa is a transit visa, issued to an alien for transfer at an airport in Estonia without the right to enter the city and is valid for 3 months;
- a visa to Estonia for category B - a transit visa, issued for a single or double travel through the country, with the right to stay in the city for up to five days and valid for up to 3 months;
- a visa of category C - a short-term one-time visa (the period of stay is not more than 90 days and valid for up to 6 months) or multiple (the period of stay not more than 90 days for six months and up to 5 years) visa that gives foreigners the right to visit the country for the purpose business trip or at the invitation of relatives or friends; a short-term visa for a single entry into Estonia for tourism purposes is issued for 5 calendar days during the validity of the tourist voucher;
- D visa is a long-term visa valid for 1 year and allows foreign citizens to stay in the country for up to 6 months.
How to get a visa to Estonia?
Registration of a Schengen visa to Estonia implies compliance with a certain order of actions, which are as follows.
On the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia in online mode, it is necessary to fill out a request form for the applicant. To do this, select the language, enter your email address and enter the characters from the picture, then proceed to filling out the questionnaire. The completed questionnaire should be printed out, the photo must be printed on it and signed personally.
The application for a visa to Estonia in electronic form is issued in the following cases:
- regardless of the chosen purpose of the trip - from groups of more than 5 people;
- from private persons who designate as the purpose of their trip a tourism or business visit.
For persons who do not fall under these categories, you must fill out a paper questionnaire. Filling is carried out in Latin letters. Each issued application will be assigned a unique number. Obligatory condition is the designation of the contact coordinates of the receiving party and the indication of the data, how it can be contacted (address, telephone, e-mail).
Make 1 photo. Photo requirements for a visa to Estonia: a color photo on a light background measuring 3.5 cm by 4.5 cm; the face of natural tone should occupy 70-80% of the image, without a headdress and with neatly combed hair that does not cover the face. The exception to the headgear is left only by persons who are guided by religious considerations. The image should not have ovals, frames and corners. The photo must be taken at least 3 months before the application was submitted.
Required documents for self-registration of a visa to Estonia:
- passport, valid for at least 3 months after the expiration of the visa and having at least 2 blank pages for visas;
- copies of all pages of the country's internal passport;
- medical insurance, valid in all Schengen countries during the validity of the visa and the amount of coverage of at least 30 000 euros;
- documents that confirm the purpose of the trip, the availability of funds and placements: round-trip tickets, hotel reservations, the invitation of friends or relatives, a certificate of income or an extract from your personal bank account.
It should be noted that for those who are interested in whether a visa is required for Ukrainians in Estonia, the same list and procedure for filing documents is required.
Schengen visa for Estonia - innovations in design
From a certain point, when deciding how to obtain a visa to Estonia, it is necessary to take into account the introduced rules, which relate to the delivery of biometric data. They are installed for people older than 12 years. This implies making a personal visit to the consulate or visa center in order to submit biometric data. For persons aged 12 to 18 years, the presence of one parent or legal guardian is mandatory.
The procedure that is set for the delivery of biometric data involves the following processes:
- Scanning of fingerprints of 10 fingers is carried out;
- is done digital photograph.
The received data will be entered in a special database VIS, where they will be preserved for 5 years. At the same time, when the next time you need to apply for a visa to Estonia during these 5 years, the re-issuance of fingerprints will not be required.
If a person has decided to formalize and file documents by issuing a power of attorney, it can do so only if it already handles fingerprints. The following persons can act as proxies:
- travel agencies that have been accredited at the embassy of Estonia;
- immediate relatives (husband, wife, parents, children);
- representatives from the place of work.
Visa to Estonia for pensioners
If it is necessary to issue a visa to Estonia for pensioners, this implies in addition to the main list of documents the submission of additional documents, which include:
- a copy of the pension certificate;
- confirmation of the sufficiency of funds for a visit to the country, at a rate of 60 euros per day. This may be an extract from the pension fund for the last 6 months, a certificate of income for working pensioners. In the event that the amount of the pension is insufficient, a certificate from the bank must be attached confirming the availability of funds on the account. So, a visa to Estonia for Ukrainians implies a pension of at least 3000 UAH per month, if the income is less, you need a certificate from the bank with a balance of at least 5000 UAH;
- can be attached and a certificate of income of the sponsor, which provides funds for travel of a pensioner, and a copy of his passport.
Validity of the visa
Visas vary in terms of the validity period for which they are issued. It is possible to carry out such conditional separation:
- Single entry visa to Estonia - as a rule, it is issued for a trip with a specific purpose, when the date of stay is clearly indicated on the territory of the country. A one-time Schengen visa to Estonia means a period of stay, which is indicated in the armor or invitation.
- A multiple entry visa to Estonia is the most common option, their validity period can be 3 months, half a year. In the event that a person has received a visa several times before, it has the right to issue a multivisa which is valid for 1 year. The period of stay in the territory of Estonia in the case of obtaining a multiple visa can be up to 90 days for every 180 days. If the passport contains a minimum of 2-year multivisa, the person has the right to issue a multi-visa for a period of 2 to 5 years.
Visa processing deadline for Estonia
When all necessary documents are collected, you should contact any regional courier service center Pony Express. Here your package of documents will be assigned a personal registration number and delivered to the embassy of Estonia. As a rule, applications in the embassy are processed within 7-10 days, after which the issued documents are delivered at the address indicated by the applicant. In addition, if possible and by appointment, you can independently file and collect documents in the consular section of the embassy or consulate.
An urgent visa to Estonia assumes the possibility of registration within 2-3 working days. But it can be given only at the discretion of the consul, if there are documents that confirm the need to consider the application in a special order.
How much does a visa for Estonia cost?
For residents of the CIS countries, the state fee for the visa application in the consulate is 35 euros. Urgent visa registration, of course, will cost twice as much - 70 euros. To pay this fee is required when submitting an application either in cash in euro currency or by cashless transfer directly to the bank account of the Estonian Ministry of Finance.