Visa and Residence Permit
All students who are not Estonian citizens need to apply for a visa, temporary residence permit or register their place of residence in Estonia.
To find a suitable article, first identify yourself in the table below.
| I am... | I need... |
...a non-EU Prep-year student, incoming exchange student or coming to study for up to 1 year | Long-stay (D) visa |
| ...a non-EU student who needs to arrive on time for studies | Long-stay (D) visa |
| ...a degree student from non-EU country | Temporary residence permit (TRP) |
| ...a degree student from EU/EEA country | Estonian ID card |
Visa
Students, whose study period is longer than three months are not advised to enter Estonia visa free, as it is not in accordance with the laws and regulations of visa-free travelling and it may cause problems when reaching the first Schengen area country.
Please note that students, who are staying in Estonia based on D visa will not be entered to Polulation Registry and are not able to use public transportation for free in Tallinn.
If you are a student from outside the European Union and your studies at TalTech are up to 1 year, then you should apply for D visa (long-stay visa) prior to your arrival. D visa may be issued for single or multiple entries into Estonia with a period of validity up to twelve months and with the period of stay up to 365 days.
Receiving a D visa takes approximately 2 weeks.
A long-stay visa must be applied for in person at an Estonian Embassy or at the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) in Estonia. At the time of submission of the application, 10 fingerprints of the applicant will be collected.
For more information and requirements for documents, see Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
All non-EU degree students whose study period exceeds 1 year should apply for temporary residence permit (see next atricle). However, if time is of the essence and there is less than 3 months left for arriving to Estonia, you should apply for D visa at the closest Estonian Embassy.
Processing temporary residence permit takes approximately 2 months and therefore, we suggest to apply for D visa simultanously with the temporary residence permit.
For more information and requirements for documents, see Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
You can prefill the Long-stay (D) visa application form online here.
Temporary residence permit (TRP)
Non-EU citizens, who are accepted for Bachelor's, Master’s and PhD studies and do not own a valid Estonian residence permit, must apply for temporary residence permit for the duration of studies in the nearest Estonian Embassy prior to their arrival.
If time is of the essence then you may arrive with D visa (please see the article above) and apply for TRP in Estonia.
Note! People must reserve a time at the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (PBGB) Service Office to apply for a residence permit or extension of residence permit. Reservation can be done by phone +372 612 3000 or through PBGB webpage.
Temporary residence permit for studies is issued for the duration of nominal studies (bachelor 3 years and master 2 years).
Please schedule a date and time for your interview in the nearest Estonian Embassy.
You will need the following documents:
- An application for temporary residence permit to be filled in on screen and printed out (please see instructions here)
- Data of close relative and family members
- A document certifying the payment of the state fee
- An identity document
- 1 colour photo of 40x50 mm
- Confirmation of Enrollment letter (invitation by educational institution or student organisation). This document is sent directly to the Police and Border Guard Board by the University.
By signing the application you confirm that the copy appended to the application complies with the original document, it does not contain false data and it has not been forged and
- You have adequate legal income
- You have a health insurance contract
Information is also available on the Police and Border Guard Board web site
PLEASE NOTE:
- For the application you need to choose a Service Office of the Citizenship and Migration Bureau (Please do not forget to mark the corresponding office code which you can find below from the additional information) or a foreign representation of Estonia where you will be receiving your TRP card. If you change your mind about the location, you may be charged an additional state fee of 50 euros.
- A temporary residence permit for study shall be issued for covering the full-time curriculum of the university. (Aliens Act, § 162. Requirements for educational institution and voluntary service, subsection 2).
If you will be picking up or applying to your TRP in Estonia, there are two service points in Tallinn. The A.H.Tammsaare service point is the most convenient for TalTech students.
| A.H.Tammsaare service point (Office code 783) | P. Pinna service point (Office code 717) |
| A. H. Tammsaare tee 47, 11316 Tallinn | P.Pinna 4, 13619 Tallinn |
| Reception hours: Mon-Fri 9.00-17.00 | Reception hours: Mon-Fri 9.00-18.00 |
| Phone: +372 612 3000 | Phone: +372 612 3000 |
*PS! All service points are closed on the last Friday of every month.
The nearest service point to Tallinn University of Technology is A.H. Tammsaare Service Point. Please see video tutorial about the route to A.H. Tammsaare service point.
After you have received your TRP, you must register your place of stay. For that take your rental agreement and identification document with you and visit local City District Administration Office.
There are 9 City District Administration Offices in Tallinn, any one of them can be used to register one’s place of stay. The closest ones to TalTech are:
City District | Mustamäe | Kristiine |
| Aadress | Tammsaare tee 135 | Tulika 33b |
| Phone | +372 645 7500; +372 645 7511 | +372 645 7127; +372 645 7128 |
| mustamae at tallinnlv dot ee | kristiine at tallinnlv dot ee | |
| Business hours | Mon 8.15-12.00, 13.00-18.00 Tue, Wed, Thu 8.15-12.00, 13.00-17.00 Fri 8.15-12.00, 13.00-16.00 | Mon 8.15-13.00, 14.00-18.00 Tue, Wed, Thu 8.15-13.00, 14.00-17.00 Fri 8.15-13.00 |
| Public transport | Trolley No. 1 from final stop “Mustamäe” to “Tammsaare” station (Kaubamaja direction) | Trolley No. 3 from “Keemia” station to “Taksopark” station (Kaubamaja direction) |
NOTE! If the address of stay changes, the new address has to be registered with the City District Administration Office within 30 days.
A temporary residence permit for study is issued for students who are covering the full-time curriculum of Tallinn University of Technology (Aliens Act 2010 §162(2)). In case of failing to complete the full-time curriculum, the issued temporary residence permit for study will be annulled (Aliens Act § 173(1)).
The full-time curriculum means completing at least 75% of the study load (45 ECTS) by the end of each academic year (Universities Act §23).
- Only students studying on full study load can extend their temporary residence permits for study.
- Note, that a reservation at the PBGB service point is required.
Please submit an application for extension of temporary residence permit in person at a Service Office at least two months prior the expiry of the current residence permit. In case if less than 5 years have passed from the previous applying for residence permit and from capturing of fingerprints, you can also apply for residence permit or textension of residence permit by post or by e-mail.
The decision on extension or refusal to extend the temporary residence permit shall be made at the latest 10 days prior the expiry of the validity term of the temporary residence permit. The residence card shall be issued at the Service Office named on the application form.
For extension of temporary residence permit please submit the following documents:
- An application for temporary residence permit to be filled in on screen and printed out (please see instructions here)
- Data of close relative and family members
- A document certifying the payment of the state fee
- An identity document
- 1 colour photo of 40x50 mm
- Confirmation of Enrollment letter (invitation by educational institution or student organisation). This document is issued to you by the International Recruitment and Admissions Division (visit us in room U04-211 or send an e-mail to receive digitally signed document study at taltech dot ee).
By signing the application you confirm that the copy appended to the application complies with the original document, it does not contain false data and it has not been forged and
You have adequate legal income
You have a health insurance contract
Information is also available on the Police and Border Guard Board web site
NOTE! If you decide to travel outside Estonia, make sure your Estonian TRP card does not expire while you are abroad. You can apply for the extension in advance so that you could receive your extended residence permit card before you leave Estonia.
Estonian ID card
A citizen of the European Union, a member state of the European Union Economic Area and Swiss Confederation has a right to stay in Estonia on the basis of a valid travel document or an identity card for the period of up to three months without registration of the right of residence.
An EU citizen obtains the right of temporary residence upon registration of his/her place of residence. A student should register his/her place of residence in the local City District Administration (you can find below from the additional information where to register your place of stay) within 3 months from the day of entry to Estonia. In addition, a student has to apply for an Estonian ID-card within 1 month from obtaining the temporary right of residence.
Before EU/EEA students can apply for ID card, they must request an ID code and register their place of stay. For that take your rental agreement and identification document with you and visit local City District Administration Office.
There are 9 City District Administration Offices in Tallinn, any one of them can be used to register one’s place of stay. The closest ones to TalTech are:
City District | Mustamäe | Kristiine |
| Aadress | Tammsaare tee 135 | Tulika 33b |
| Phone | +372 645 7500; +372 645 7511 | +372 645 7127; +372 645 7128 |
| mustamae at tallinnlv dot ee | kristiine at tallinnlv dot ee | |
| Business hours | Mon 8.15-12.00, 13.00-18.00 Tue, Wed, Thu 8.15-12.00, 13.00-17.00 Fri 8.15-12.00, 13.00-16.00 | Mon 8.15-13.00, 14.00-18.00 Tue, Wed, Thu 8.15-13.00, 14.00-17.00 Fri 8.15-13.00 |
| Public transport | Trolley No. 1 from final stop “Mustamäe” to “Tammsaare” station (Kaubamaja direction) | Trolley No. 3 from “Keemia” station to “Taksopark” station (Kaubamaja direction) |
NOTE! If the address of stay changes, the new address has to be registered with the City District Administration Office within 30 days.
After registering the place of stay with City District Administration Office, the next step is to apply for an ID-card in a Service Office of the Migration and Citizenship Bureau service point.
Documents required for applying:
- an application form;
- an identification document;
- a color photo by dimensions of 40x50 mm;
- a document certifying the payment of state fee.
It is possible to take the photo and pay the state fee in the service point. See more info about the application process here.
The ID-card is issued within 30 days (after acceptance of the application for the proceeding) to an applicant in person at the service point.
To applying to your Estonian ID card, there are two service points in Tallinn. The A.H. Tammsaare service point is the most convenient for TalTech students.
| A.H. Tammsaare service point (Office code 783) | P. Pinna service point (Office code 717) |
| A. H. Tammsaare tee 47, 11316 Tallinn | P.Pinna 4, 13619 Tallinn |
| Reception hours: Mon-Fri 9.00-17.00 | Reception hours: Mon-Fri 9.00-18.00 |
| Phone: +372 612 3000 | Phone: +372 612 3000 |
*PS! All service points are closed on the last Friday of every month.
Additional Information
Migration Advisors at the Police and Border Guard Board will help you to understand legal specifics related to temporary residence permit for studies, temporary residence permit for work, long-term residence permit, etc.
Advisors work in in Estonian, English and Russian.
Service is free of charge.
Consultation is provided via phone, email or Skype call.
| Phone | +372 612 3500 (Mon-Fri 9.00-15.00) |
| migrationadvice@politsei.ee | |
| Skype | EstonianPolice_MigrationAdvice |
- Sign in to ÕIS (Study Info System) and opportunity to apply for scholarships
- Free public transport in Tallinn
- Enables to open bank account in Estonia without a fee
- Use e-services in the portal of Eesti.ee
The holders of temporary residence permit for study have a right for an additional temporary stay in Estonia for a maximum of 270 days, after the expiry date of their residence permit. It can be used to find a job, settle in Estonia - to apply for a new residence permit. Please note that this is not an extension of the residence permit and is valid only in Estonia.
Should there be a need to travel in Schengen during the 270 days period, then D visa can be applied at the Police and Border Guard Board in Estonia.