Relocating if You and Your Family are Non-EU Citizens
Long-term stay
- ACCESS TO ESTONIA. Children under the age of 18 can apply for a residence permit together with their parents. Their permit will be granted for the same period as yours. Your spouse can either apply for a residence permit at the same time with you or after you have lived here for 2 years (it depends on the type of your residence permit). Read more in the Temporary Residence Permit section.
- FIND A HOME. Find a home and sign a tenancy agreement with your landlord. The best websites for property search are city24.ee and KV.ee. Additional information about rental agreements can be found at the citizen portal eesti.ee and in our Housing section.
- REGISTER YOUR PLACE OF RESIDENCE. After receiving the residence permit, you can register the place of residence of all your family members at your local government service office. The registration data will be submitted into the Estonian Population Register. Read more in the Registering Your Place of Residence section.
- GET AN ID CARD. When you have registered your place of residence, apply for an Estonian ID card at the Police and Border Guard Board. Your ID card will become the document stating your right of residence. Read more in the Estonian ID Card section.
- FIND A SCHOOL / KINDERGARTEN. Contact your local municipality to get more information on school / kindergarten places available. For example, if living in Tallinn, you can contact Tallinn City Education Department. You can see a map of general education schools on the website of the Ministry of Education and Research.
- GET ESTONIAN HEALTH INSURANCE. When your employer pays at least the minimum amount of social security contributions, you’ll get the right for social security coverage. After registering your place of residence and the fact of employment with the Employment Register, health insurance by the Estonian Health Insurance Fund starts covering your family members as well (if they are eligible). Read more in the Health Insurance section.
- FIND A DOCTOR. Register at a GP’s office. You should submit an application for each family member to the specific clinic where you want to register. Read more in the Healthcare section.
- PARTICIPATE IN THE WELCOMING PROGRAMME. After you obtain the right of residence, the Police and Border Guard Board office will inform your family members (if they are also non-Estonian nationals and have lived in Estonia for less than five years) about the Welcoming Programme. You can find all the information on the Welcoming Programme on their website. Read more in our Welcoming Programme section.
- APPLY FOR SOCIAL SERVICES THAT YOU NEED OR ARE ENTITLED TO. After receiving your residence permit and moving to Estonia with your family, you are entitled to child and family support and benefits provided by the Estonian Social Insurance Board. Read more in the Social Care section.
- LOOK FOR A JOB. Should your spouse be looking for a job, he or she can use several options. If needed, he or she can register with the Unemployment Insurance Fund to get additional support with the job search or trainings.
Short-term stay
- ACCESS TO ESTONIA. Your family can also apply for a D-visa to accompany you when you’re going to work in Estonia for a short-term. Read more in the Applying for a D-Visa section.
- HEALTH CARE. Your family has to be covered by a private insurance provider during the entire stay. The companies that currently provide this kind of insurance in Estonia are: Inges Kindlustus, ERGO Life Insurance SE Eesti, and Salva Kindlustus.
- EDUCATION. Schools with vacancies are allowed to enrol your children even if they don’t have a residence permit and their residence is not registered. However, your children have to obtain an identification code from a local government service office. Read more about schools in the Education section. For more about education in Estonia visit: educationestonia.org