The e-Residency programme has attracted a much larger number of applicants than expected, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has announced, BNN reports.
The total number of applications that the state hoped to achieve by the end of 2015 was exceeded almost two times in the first half of the year. The initial goal was to receive 2,000 in 2015, but by the end of July the state had already received 3,816 applications.
“We estimated that if we had 30,000 e-residents one day, it would translate into 60 million euros injected in our economy,” explained the Minister of Economic Affairs Kristen Michal. He added that if the state provides additional funding then it would be possible to have 60,000 e-Residents by the end of 2017.
Michal revealed that 54 e-Residents have established a business in Estonia and 173 companies in Estonia are connected with e-Residents. The goal for 2015 full year is 600 new companies, which is likely to be reached.
The list of Estonian e-Residents includes British journalist Edward Lucas, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and CEO of Swedbank Group Michael Wolf.
The Republic of Estonia is the first country in the world to offer e-Residency – a transnational digital identity available to anyone interested in establishing and administering a location-independent business online. Estonian e-Residents can register a company online, perform e-banking transactions, access international payment service providers, declare taxes online, manage a company remotely, and digitally sign documents and contracts. For more information about the benefits of the programme and the application process, see the e-Residency website.
