Registration of a visa to Estonia

All citizens from Russia, Belarus and other post-Soviet countries will need an entry visa to stay in Estonia. The authorization document is drawn up both with the help of intermediary firms, travel companies, and independently.

Types of entry visas to visit Estonia

A visa is a special document that allows a Russian, Belarusian or citizen of another nationality to visit, travel, study or work in Estonia. Any type of visa is issued at the Estonian Consulate located in the homeland of a foreign citizen.

Without a permit, Ukrainians, Georgians and Moldovans who have a biometric passport can visit the country. If such tourists or guests have old-style passports at the invitation, the visa is made according to the general rules.

For immigrants from the post-Soviet republics, the Estonian mission opens the following types of visas:

• Type "C" - Schengen visa. The permit gives the right to visit the country within 3 months, but foreigners have the right to return to the Republic within six months after leaving Estonia. The presence of the document allows you to visit the states of the Schengen area. A business or business visa allows entrepreneurs to study the conditions for doing business in the country, find business partners, and sign business contracts. Another subtype of the Schengen visa is the guest visa. To obtain a permit, you must present an invitation from a resident of the country - an Estonian or a resident of Estonia, who has a long-term visa and who has housing;
• Tourist visa issued to foreign citizens who can prove the purpose of the visit by providing travel documents, a tourist voucher, driver's license, registration certificate and confirmation of the hotel reservation;
• Transit visa (type "C"), issued for the duration of a daily stay in the controlled area of ​​the airport until the time of transfer to flights to third world countries. To obtain it, you need to provide the official with a copy of the entry document (residence permit, visa) to a state that is not a member of the EU;
• National visa "D" issued to citizens who need to visit the Republic of Estonia very often. They can be students of Estonian universities, journalists, workers who have signed a contract with an Estonian employer. In the case of family reunification, this type of permit is also issued. A prerequisite for opening a D visa is confirmation of your financial independence based on the presence of at least 64 euros for every day of finding. The period of visiting the Republic is 180 days;
• Multivisa or a multiple permit document allows you to visit the Republic for any period, but not longer than 5 years. At the same time, it is impossible to stay in Estonia continuously during the entire validity period of the visa. Applicants who have real estate in the republic or have been invited by Estonians have an advantage to obtain it.

The latter type of permit is the most preferred for people who travel frequently. Its design will save the owner time to secure an unlimited number of next trips.

Where can I get a visa to Estonia

Consular departments of the Republic of Estonia in Russia (and other post-Soviet states) on their websites provide all the information necessary for applicants. The website address in Russia is www.estemb.ru. The booking of the visit time is carried out through the resource, the record is made individually for each family member or company.

The addresses and contact phone numbers of the Visa Application Centers can be found on the pages of the visa portals of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as other CIS countries. Thus, a single telephone number for Estonian visa application centers has been registered in Russia. +7 (499) 705-99-51which you can call during business hours every day.

By visiting the website at the URL, Russians can get all the necessary information about the location of institutions in the jurisdictional area of ​​the Estonian embassy in the capital of the Russian Federation, the North-West region and the city of Pskov.

Estonian Visa Application Centers in Russia

Few steps to get permission to enter Estonia

Before starting to issue an official permit to visit Estonia, you need to decide on the purpose of the trip, which determines the time of stay and the type of visa. If it is the first time to apply for a visa, the applicant must personally visit a diplomatic institution to take his biometric data - fingerprints.

The self-registration procedure for a permit includes the following steps:

1. Registration of the application;
2. Collection of official documentation;
3. Booking a visit to the institution;
4. Payment of consular fees;
5. Submission of business papers in person or through a representative;
6. Provision of fingerprints;
7. Getting the requested document.

The list of documents for obtaining a visa depends on the type of permit. The main package should contain:

• Valid passport with free visa pages;
• Civil passport of the applicant's country of residence;
• Receipt for payment of the consular fee;
• 2 photographs (color, on a white background, size 3.5 x 4.5 cm);
• Printed from the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, completed and signed application.

Additional documents are:

• Invitation;
• Confirmation of hotel reservation;
• Certificate of salary from a permanent place of work;
• Extracts from bank documents confirming that the applicant has sufficient funds to travel.

Without an insurance policy, the applicant will be denied a visa. The amount of coverage must be at least 30 thousand euros.

Terms of issuing a visa to Estonia

Our compatriots can become the owner of the coveted stamp in their passports in 6-8 days, but consular officials have the right to extend the procedure up to 1 month. During the time when the application is being considered and the authenticity of the documents is being checked, a foreigner may be invited to a conversation at a diplomatic institution, or some more business papers may be requested.

If the applicant can prove that the trip is extremely urgent, they will be able to get a visa within three days for an additional fee. If the waiting time for the document has expired, you must contact the institution in person or through a representative.

Ways to get a ready-made visa

You can get a ready-made passport with a Schengen visa in the following ways:

1. Having personally visited the institution where the documents were submitted. You need to have a domestic passport, a receipt for payment of the fee, an agency agreement with a visa center. It is also possible to obtain a passport through a proxy by providing it with the necessary documents (a notarized power of attorney, copies of the passport of the principal and his representative);
2. By using the Pony Express courier delivery service.

A citizen will be able to track the readiness of the document on the website of the visa center. The fact of a verdict on his request will be reported in an SMS notification.

Cost of obtaining an Estonian visa

How much money needs to be paid for services also depends on the type of visa:

• Short stay visa (category C) costs 35 euros;
• Long-term D - 80 euros;
• You must pay for the expedited review 70 euros.

Some categories of citizens are completely exempt from tax. These include:

• Relatives and relatives of Estonians or EU citizens;
• Children under 6;
• People with disabilities and persons accompanying them;
• Members of state, religious and other delegations;
• Participants in sports events, their coaches, doctors, etc .;
• Teachers, participants in humanitarian missions.

The cost of the procedure for opening a visa through visa centers or special companies will increase further ≈ for 25-30 euros.

Reasons for refusing to issue an Estonian visa

Visas can be refused for various reasons, but most often the application is not satisfied for the following reasons:

• Incorrect execution of visa documents or the provision of not all business papers. In this case, they offer to come next time and supplement the package;
• When trying to get a permit using forged documents;
• If consular officials are suspected of concealing by the applicant the true reasons for entering Estonia and the possible immigration of a citizen;
• Bad "visa history";
• If the person has a previous criminal record, as well as if there is a suspicion that the entry into Estonia is related to the conduct of terrorist or espionage activities by the alien.

The situation is difficult to fix, since officials do not explain the reason for the refusal, but it is still worth trying. To do this, you need to apply to the Estonian Ambassador in writing, and then to the body performing the functions of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Testimonials from citizens who applied for a visa to Estonia, with useful tips

Victor Nesmeyanov, Perm:“Much depends on the specific visa official who made the conclusion on the application. I missed such a moment as preliminary registration in the queue, but the officer nevertheless let me through when all the queues had passed. There is no need to despair in such a situation, there are people everywhere. "

Veronica P .:“I didn’t have an official place of work, so I didn’t have a certificate and they didn’t even let me into the office. It was necessary to bring a sponsorship letter from mom or dad and confirm the family relationship with a metric. And to submit certificates from the bank also from the sponsor "

Lyudmila Permyakova, Ivanopol:“I was pleasantly surprised that for our family of three to enter Estonia (Kingisepp), it took only 35 euros to pay the consular fee. My husband is a disabled person of the 3rd group, and my daughter is 5 years old. For them, the visa is made free of charge. "

Semyon Sedlovsky:“Apply for a visa through a hotel reservation! I am always given multi-Schengen, and if by invitation to Tallinn, then they issue a single entry. Recommend!".

For those wishing to visit Estonia, the risk of being refused will be minimal when all documents are submitted and executed in the proper form. Much depends on the visa history, but, according to statistics, a Schengen visa is refused only in 3-5% of cases.