Wise Guide: Applying For A Temporary Residence Permit At An Estonian Embassy

It’s possible to apply for an Estonian temporary residence permit (TRP) at an Estonian embassy abroad. Most embassies that handle D-visa applications will also accept TRP applications. When applying at an embassy, take into account that the process will take around 3-4 months before the TRP card can be collected from the embassy and the applicant can travel to Estonia.

In case there is another legal ground to enter Estonia (i.e. visa freedom/visa), the applicant can choose the pick-up location of the TRP card to be in Estonia and does not need to spend the entire processing time abroad.

NB! Submitting the TRP application does not give the applicant legal grounds to enter or stay in Estonia.

The TRP can be applied for while still abroad if, for example, there is an Estonian embassy in your or neighbouring country and the planned arrival date of the employee in Estonia is in a couple of months OR if you are the spouse/child of a person moving to Estonia for work and the working family member has already submitted their TRP application (either in Estonia or at an embassy).

NOTE: It is not possible to submit both a visa and TRP application at the embassy as they accept documents for one process only.

Booking an appointment for TRP application submission at an embassy

Go to https://broneering.mfa.ee/en/ to book an appointment.

Choose the correct embassy from the dropdown list and select ‘application for a residence permit’. If more than 1 person is applying (i.e. spouse and children), change the number of applicants from 1 to what is required.

Enter the contact details of the applicants. Make sure that the email address inserted is correct and the one in use regularly. This is where you will be emailed a booking confirmation which is important to bring with you to the appointment.

Select a day and timeslot that is available and works for you and confirm the appointment.

EMPLOYEES: In the comments section, enter information about your Estonian employer (company name).

FAMILY MEMBERS: In the comments section, enter contact details about your family member that is working in Estonia (name, date of birth, Estonian ID-code or passport number).

Once the booking has been confirmed, you will receive a confirmation email with the appointment details. Print out the confirmation.

EMPLOYEES: Let a MoveMyTalent representative know about your appointment time. There are some additional documents that they need to send to the embassy and the Police Board before you attend the appointment.

There are changes in the calendar from time to time and new slots are added. If you do not find a good slot right away, check the calendar regularly and you might get lucky.
In case the online booking system at the Estonian embassy in your country does not have the option of booking TRP appointments, reach out to the embassy via email to confirm whether they accept applications and ask for the required number of appointments.

Preparing for the appointment

EMPLOYEE applying for a temporary residence permit for employment

Share the finalized documents BEFORE PRINTING with your MoveMyTalent contact at least 3-5 business days before the appointment. Your MoveMyTalent contact will review all the documents and give feedback if changes are required before your appointment.

Make sure you have prepared and hand-signed the following documents before you attend the appointment:

Temporary residence permit application form. Download the form here, fill it out on your computer, print the PDF and sign it in the required places. The date field has to be filled with the date of the appointment.
Close family members’ data form. Download the form here, fill it out in PDF, print it and sign at the bottom of the page. The date field has to be filled with the date of the appointment. On the family members form, please include information about your parents, siblings, spouse, children – even if they are not moving to Estonia with you. If any of your close relatives are no longer alive, you don’t need to include their information on the form. If the data about your close relatives doesn’t fit on one page, fill out multiple pages.
Biographical Data form. Download the form here. Add all previous education and work experience from preschool with duration and location.
Your original passport- The embassy will make copies of it but will not keep it for the duration of application processing.
Passport-style document photo– Glue the document photo to the front page of the TRP application form.
Up-to-date English language CV- Needs to include details about all previous employment and education experience with start and end dates, starting from primary education. Print out the CV and sign and date (date of the appointment) at the bottom of all pages.
TRP state fee payment €125 (+ €20 if the card is collected at the Embassy)- MoveMyTalent will provide the payment confirmation.
Appointment confirmation booking;
Employer invitation form- MoveMyTalent will prepare and share with the embassy and the Police Board, cc-ing you in the email, before the appointment.

IMPORTANT: A good quality digital photo (original file) and passport digital copy has to be sent directly to Police Board ppa@politsei.ee. In the title of the email, include your name, date of birth, and ‘TRP application’. In the email text, add information about where you are applying and when.
Before printing the documents share the final drafts with your MoveMyTalent contact for review. The authorities prefer that you print the documents two-sided.

FAMILY MEMBER applying for a temporary residence permit to reside with a SPOUSE

Make sure you have prepared and hand-signed the following documents before you attend the appointment:

Temporary residence permit application form. Download the form here, fill it out on your computer, print the PDF and sign it in the required places. The date field has to be filled with the date of the appointment.
Close family members’ data form. Download the form here, fill it out in PDF, print it and sign at the bottom of the page. The date field has to be filled with the date of the appointment. On the family members form, please include information about your parents, siblings, spouse, children – even if they are not moving to Estonia with you. If any of your close relatives are no longer alive, you don’t need to include their information on the form. If the data about your close relatives doesn’t fit on one page, fill out multiple pages.
Biographical Data Form. Download the form here. Add all previous education and work experience from preschool with duration and location.
Printed booking confirmation which was received when making the appointment booking.
The spouse’s up-to-date English language CV, listing all of their previous work and education history (from elementary education) with start and end dates and names of the relevant institutions. Signed and dated (date of the appointment) at the bottom of all pages.
Proof of TRP application state fee payment of 95€. Payment info here.
The spouse’s valid passport. The consular officer makes a copy and they do not have to leave it at the embassy.
The original apostilled or legalized marriage certificate. The consular officer makes a copy and they do not need to leave it at the embassy. Read more about apostillation/legalization in the Family relocation overview (STEP 1). If legalization is required, contact your MoveMyTalent representative for guidance.
Spouse invitation form. Signed by the sponsor, i.e. the employed family member. The date needs to be the date of the appointment. Download form here.
Sponsor cover letter. The employed family member should write a letter stating that they will support the family member financially during the family’s stay in Estonia. The letter should include information about the employed family member’s role in the Estonian company and their monthly salary. It should also be stated that the sponsor confirms to cover the cost of private health insurance for the spouse at all times when the national insurance does not apply by law. Needs to be signed by the working spouse.
Confirmation of private health insurance. Read more about the health insurance requirements for spouses in the family relocation overview (STEP 4).

NOTE: Sometimes an embassy also wants to see the sponsor’s Estonian employment contract.

FAMILY MEMBER applying for a temporary residence permit to reside with a PARENT

NB! The parent (legal representative of the child) should sign all of the child’s application documents!

Make sure you have prepared and hand-signed the following documents before attending the appointment:

Temporary residence permit application form. Download the form here, fill it out on your computer, print the PDF and sign it in the required places. The date field has to be filled with the date of the appointment.
Close family members’ data form. Download the form here, fill it out in PDF, print it and sign at the bottom of the page. The date field has to be filled with the date of the appointment. On the family members form, please include information about your parents, siblings, spouse, children – even if they are not moving to Estonia with you. If any of your close relatives are no longer alive, you don’t need to include their information on the form. If the data about your close relatives doesn’t fit on one page, fill out multiple pages.
Biographical Data form. Download the form here. Add all previous education and work experience from preschool with duration and location.
Proof of TRP application state fee payment 95€ or 25€ (children under 1 year) (+€20 if the card is collected at the embassy). Payment info here.
The child’s valid passport. The consular officer makes a copy and you do not have to leave it at the embassy.
The original apostilled or legalized birth certificate. The consular officer makes a copy and they do not need to leave it at the embassy. Read more about apostillation/legalization in the Family relocation overview (STEP 1). If legalization is required, contact your MoveMyTalent representative for guidance.
Parent invitation form. Signed by the sponsor, i.e. the working parent. The date needs to be the date of the appointment. Download the form here.
Sponsor cover letter. The employed parent should write a letter stating that they will support the child financially during the family’s stay in Estonia. The letter should include information about the employed family member’s role in the Estonian company and their monthly salary. Signed and dated (date of the appointment) by the same parent.

IMPORTANT: A good quality digital photo (original file) of the applicant and their passport’s digital copy has to be sent directly to Police Board ppa@politsei.ee. In the title of the email, include the applicant’s name, date of birth, and ‘TRP application’. In the email text, add information about where they are applying and when.

Attending the appointment

Attend the appointment in person at the Estonian embassy you booked the appointment to be in. DON’T BE LATE!

EMPLOYEE

Tell the consular officer that you are applying for a temporary residence permit for employment and give them your passport and all of the documents which you have prepared.

Mention the employer invitation and photo has been sent to the Police Board, embassy CC-d. Please tell them that it has been digitally signed and sent via email with your name and employer’s name in the subject line.

FAMILY MEMBER

NB! Confirm with the embassy whether your child is required to attend the appointment in person or not. Children under the age of 6 are not required to submit fingerprints for temporary residence permit applications, however, some embassies may still want to see them present at the appointment.

Tell the consular officer that you are applying for a temporary residence permit to reside with a spouse/parent and give them your passport, the apostilled or legalized marriage/birth certificate and all of the documents which you have prepared.

The consular officer will go through all of the documentation you have prepared and may ask some additional questions about the documents or your stay in Estonia.

Get confirmation of the submission. Once they have checked all the documents the embassy will give you a confirmation that they have accepted your documents. None of your original documents will be kept by the embassy after application submission.

NOTE: Submitting the temporary residence permit application does not give the applicant legal grounds to arrive or stay in Estonia.

After the appointment

Shipping of documents: Your application documents will be sent by the embassy to the Estonian Police Board for processing. The documents are sent via diplomatic post, so it takes around 2 weeks for the documents to arrive in Estonia. The processing time (2 months by law) of your application begins when the Police Board receives your documents. You will not be notified separately of the arrival of the documents in Estonia.

Processing: The Police Board may reach out to you via email with some additional questions regarding your (or your family member’s) application. This is why it is important to regularly check your email once you have submitted an application.

EMPLOYEE: Forward correspondence from the Police Board to your MoveMyTalent contact who will assist you with a response. As your employer’s representative, your MoveMyTalent contact will get back to the Police Board officer on your and your employer’s behalf (unless otherwise agreed).

TRP decision: You will be notified by the Police Board separately once a decision on your application has been issued. The first email will be the electronic residence permit decision which states your TRP duration.

Getting the TRP card: Shortly after the first email with the decision, you will receive a second email stating that your residence permit card has been sent for printing. After that, you will receive a third email from the Police Board which states that your document is now ready for collection at the Police Board office in Estonia or at an Estonian embassy.

Collecting the TRP card

AT AN EMBASSY– further instructions given by the embassy

If you have been waiting for the TRP decision in your home or a neighbouring country, you will need to visit the same Estonian embassy in person to pick up your Estonian TRP card.
You will need to book an appointment for the collection of your document, using the online booking system (Select ‘Pick-up of a document – passport, ID card, certificate, etc’) or, if that option is not available, via contacting the embassy directly. Please check the embassy webpage for instructions on how pick-up can be arranged.

If collecting a document for a child, please have the child’s passport and birth certificate with you.
Visit the embassy at the booked appointment time (don’t be late!), and receive your new residence permit card which you can use from this point on for digital identification and signing purposes in Estonia. Most importantly, you will now be able to travel to Estonia! Note that the Estonian residence permit card is not a travel document and you will still need to have your passport with you in addition to the TRP card.
Visit STEP 3 (Arrival) in your relocation overview document to make sure you are prepared for your move to Estonia.

EMPLOYEE: Share a copy of the residence permit card (both sides) with the MoveMyTalent contact. They will then inform you of the next steps.

IN ESTONIA

If you had a legal ground to enter Estonia prior to receiving the TRP decision (i.e. visa, visa freedom), you are already in Estonia, and you get the notification that your document is ready for collection, you have to go and visit the Police Board office stated in the notification email. You will need to have your passport with you. Opening hours of the main offices are Mon-Fri 9-17. Appointment for that is optional.

If collecting a document for a child, have the child’s passport and birth certificate with you for identification.
Enter the Police Board office, ask for a number for collecting a document, and wait in the queue until your number comes up.
Present your passport at the desk, and receive your new residence permit card along with PIN codes which you can use from this point on for digital identification and signing purposes in Estonia.