Wise Guide: Applying For The D-Visa At The Estonian Police Board

If arriving and staying in Estonia on a legal basis (i.e. visa freedom, short-stay C/D-visa, Schengen country residence permit) but the allowed number of days doesn’t cover the processing period of Estonian TRP (2 months from appointment), a D-visa should be applied for at one of the Police Board offices in Estonia. Submitting the D-visa application in Estonia gives the applicant legal ground to remain in Estonia until a decision on the visa is issued even if the legal stay is expiring during the process.

 Booking an appointment (here) for application submission is highly recommended. In case there aren’t any available appointments in the required time period, it may also be possible to submit the application in the live queue by just going to the Police Board office slightly before 9 AM with the prepared application documents. Visa processing takes approximately 15 days from the date of the appointment. After that, the applicant should visit the same Police Board office and collect the visa decision. 

Booking an appointment for D-visa document submission in Estonia

• Go to https://broneering.politsei.ee/ to book an appointment for applying for a visa.  If the site initially opens in Estonian, select ‘ENG’ at the top right of the page.  Select ‘Book an appointment. 

• Select ‘8. Long-stay (D) visa’ and ‘Continue’. 
• Select the Police Board service office where you will submit the documents. You can submit the application at any of the available offices. 

• Choose the time that works for you and ‘Continue’. The highlighted dates in the calendar show available dates for appointments. Select the date that works for you and click on it. You will be offered available timeslots for that day. 

• Fill in your personal details as seen in your passport. Make sure that the email address you insert is correct and the one you use regularly. This is where you will be emailed a booking confirmation which is important to bring with you to the appointment. Once the data has been entered, click ‘Confirm’ at the bottom of the page. If also applying for a child, mark the number of dependants on the last booking page before clicking ‘Confirm’. 
• Download the booking confirmation. If you need to change the appointment time or cancel it, you need to cancel the booking here and then make a new one. If you need to secure a different appointment, we suggest making a typo in your name and once the new appointment is booked, cancel the previous one as added slots can be booked fast.

Preparing for the appointment 

EMPLOYEE

• 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 the following documents before you attend the appointment: 

• Long-stay D-visa application form. Prepare it based on the guide here. After completing the online application form, print it. Sign and date (date of the appointment) in the required places; 
• Your original passport issued within the previous 10 years, that has at least two blank pages for visas and is valid until at least 3 months after the desired expiration date of the visa; 
• Short-term employment registration confirmation (STER)- MoveMyTalent will provide;
• Visa state fee payment €120- MoveMyTalent will provide the payment confirmation. 
• Appointment confirmation booking;  
• Accommodation confirmation booking- this can be either a signed rental agreement, a booking confirmation from AirBnb, Booking.com etc, or a digitally signed confirmation letter from a person that you are staying with. 
• Employer cover letter- MoveMyTalent will prepare and share with you and the Police Board.

Before printing the documents share the final drafts with your MoveMyTalent contact for review.

FAMILY MEMBERS

• Make sure you have prepared the following documents before you attend the appointment: 

• Long-stay D-visa application form. Prepare it based on the guide here. Note the differences between employee/family member details in the guide where applicable! After completing the online application form, print it. Sign and date (date of the appointment) in the required places. Children’s applications should be signed by a parent. 
• The original passport issued within the previous 10 years, that has at least two blank pages for visas and is valid until at least 3 months after the desired expiration date of the visa.
• The original apostilled/legalized marriage certificate (spouses), with translation into Estonian, English or Russian if needed.
• The original apostilled/legalized birth certificate (children), with translation into Estonian, English or Russian if needed. 
• Confirmation of private health insurance- for the entire desired visa duration for spouses, for 3 months for children if TRP has been applied for. Any travel insurance is OK. Check out AXA or, if applying for a visa for longer than 180 days ERGO.
• Visa state fee payment is €120.00 for applicants aged 12 and older, and €60 for children aged 6-11. Payment options are listed here. 
• Accommodation confirmation booking- this can be either a signed rental agreement, a booking confirmation from Airbnb, Booking.com etc, or a digitally signed confirmation letter from a person that you are staying with. 
• Appointment confirmation booking.  
• Documents proving sufficient funds (for spouse applications)- during the visa period, the applicant is by law required to provide proof of financial means amounting to €130 per day. The daily sum required is smaller if accommodation in Estonia and health insurance are already booked. The smaller daily sufficiency of funds amount is evaluated case by case and depending on the visa duration applied for, but our practice shows that the officials would like to see ca. €3000 in savings and the rest can be supported by proof of future income. The sponsor’s employment contract, screenshots of balances in savings accounts, bank account statements and transaction history from the past 6 months, etc. can be used as proof of funds.
• Cover letter by the sponsor (the working family member)- The employed family member should write a letter stating that they will cover the costs of the family member’s stay in Estonia and will support them financially throughout the visa validity period. The letter should include information about the employed family member’s future role in the company and their monthly salary + explain other sources of income (e.g. applicant’s salary, etc) that you will be providing to the Police Board. 

Attending the appointment

Arriving: 

• You should be at the Police Board office at least 15 minutes before your appointment time. You can get the ticket 10 minutes before your appointment.
• Before you can get a ticket to queue for your appointment, you need to go to the photo booth to take a document photo. !! If you are late, take the ticket first !!
• If there is a long queue for the photo booth, find an officer who works there and tell them that you have an appointment booked and that you need to take a photo beforehand, they should be able to guide you to the front of the line. 

• Taking the photo in the photo booth: 
• Set the language of the photo booth to English. 

• Enter your personal Estonian identification code (the 11-digit number which you were issued with your short-term employment registration) or your date of birth, and select which procedure you have come to apply for – ‘Visa’. 
• The photo booth will give you instructions for the photo and will let you know if the photo is suitable or not to proceed. If the photo has been done successfully, the machine will tell you that the data has been collected. 

• Taking the ticket for the appointment: 

• Once you are finished with the photo booth, take the queue ticket from the machine at the entrance. There is either an officer who will scan your booking confirmation QR code for you or do it yourself. 
• Check the screens for your turn. You will be issued a queue number. There are screens displaying the queue numbers and the corresponding desk number around the office. Once your number comes up, take your belongings and go to the desk. There might be slight delays with the appointments.

EMPLOYEE

• Tell the officer that you are applying for a long-stay D visa for employment  and give them your passport and all of the documents which you have prepared. 
• Mention the employer cover letter that has been sent by MoveMyTalent. 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

• Tell the officer that you are applying for a long-stay D-visa to visit a family member and give them your passport, marriage/birth certificate and all of the documents which you have prepared. 

• The 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. You can tell them that you are applying for a D-visa as your remaining legal right to stay in Estonia does not cover the 2-month processing time of the residence permit.  Your fingerprints will also be captured at the desk.

• Get confirmation of the submission. Once they have entered your application data in the system, they will issue a document confirming that you have submitted the visa application and will give you a date when you should visit the same office to pick up the decision. The processing time is 15 days. The Police Board will generally keep your passport during this time so that they can issue the visa stamp in case of a positive decision. If you have a valid reason why you need to keep your passport during that period, they may allow you to keep it. 

• Keep the confirmation document with you because you will need it when you go to pick up your decision. 
• EMPLOYEE: You can share the date on the document you received with the MoveMyTalent contact or let them know once you have collected the decision. 

After the appointment

• Processing: The Police Board may reach out to you via email with some additional questions regarding your application. This is why it is important to regularly check your email once you have submitted an application. 

• EMPLOYEE: Forward all correspondence from the Police Board to your MoveMyTalent contact who will assist you with the 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). 

• Visa decision: You will not be notified by the Police Board separately once a decision on your application has been issued. You will need to visit the Police Board office at the date given to you to find out the decision. 

Collecting the decision from the Police Board

• Go and collect the visa decision from the same office where you submitted your application. Opening hours of the main offices  Mon-Fri 9-17. No appointment should be booked for visa decision collection. 

• Enter the Police Board office, and inform them that you are there for your visa decision. You will be guided to a desk.  

• Present the application confirmation document at the desk, and receive the decision.