
E-Residency in Estonia, Part I - tadasv
https://www.lawfareblog.com/e-residency-estonia-part-i-wherein-i-apply-digitally-betray-my-country
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iokevins
Toomas Hendrick Ilves, the current Estonian President, represents a
cybersecurity expert. Things like that can mean a big deal, with respect to
policy.

I lived next door, in Riga, Latvia, for several months, in late 1997; during
that time, we visited the beautiful city of Tallinn:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallinn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallinn)
. Definitely worth the trip.

~~~
paulsutter
Talinn is a beautiful city. It feels a bit Scandinavian, but newer, smaller,
friendlier, more optimistic, less rich but faster growing.

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occamrazor
In every EU country digital signatures have the same validity as physical
signatures since a long time (Directive 1999/93/EC). Most company filings are
submitted electronically. Every state keeps a list of certified identification
providers, which are mutually recognised. This list usually includes some
government agencies, the national post service, sometimes banks, professional
associations, chambers of commerce, and other private providers. The
identification device is either a smartcard or an RSA dongle. The smartcard
can be also used as PKI certificate for remote logine, S/MIME signatures, etc.

What is so special about the Estonian programme?

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DanBC
> What is so special about the Estonian programme?

They actually use it.

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gozo
They've had this in Sweden for like 10 years. It's all pretty clunky, even
though you can now use an app instead. You generally have to have your card,
then some plug-in, then the host have to implement the whole thing. Usually
signing things isn't the whole story either, so you still have to deal with
e.g. payments.

The Estonian system is probably better, since it's newer, but the challenge
isn't really in handing out cards. It's standardizing authentication on the
Internet and connecting that to whatever else matters.

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zutnop
That's the trick, all Estonian government services + all private services
which benefit from strong authentication or authorization have implemented the
ID-card log in and signature functionality to their services/apps/websites.

So whether I send 5€ to my mother, or I sell my car to a stranger on other
side of the country, or I submit my yearly tax data, or I complete my 1 000
000 € M&A deal, I use my digital identity (PKI infrastructure) to sign the
transaction.

The physical ID-card itself is not the most user friendly token in this
Estonian infrastructure (requires the reader + op system drivers/soft). The
alternative token is Mobile-ID, where the same PKI infrastructure is deployed
onto my phone SIM card and I use my mobile device to authenticate / authorize
my transactions. At the moment this only works with certified Estonian
carriers but in 2016 the next generation of mobile support should make this
channel usable over the whole world.

~~~
gozo
Don't get me wrong that's all good and well, but it's still 15 year old
technology being implemented and not a paradigm shift. Most of the time you're
still going to be typing in your e-mail, postal address and credit card number
when doing things online. It's not like you swipe your card once for logging
in to you computer and then when buying some service online to verify the
setting up a subscription payment and having all your data at the provider
encrypted with your identity.

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ssijak
Can I and if I can, how easy it is to get e-residency, open bank account and
form a company from abroad (I am from Serbia)? Anyone with such an experience
and using such company for a startup?

~~~
edko
Getting e-residency is pretty easy. You would have to pick up your ID card,
and residency package, at one of the authorized locations, though, and there
is none is Serbia. I think the closest may be the Estonian consulate in
Vienna. But, if you are going to travel, it may be more worthwhile to go to
Tallinn.

Once you have e-residency (which takes a few weeks to be granted) opening a
company can be done in a day. You will need an official address in Estonia,
but there are several companies that offer that service. I used LeapIn, whose
prices are very reasonable. They can also take care of your accounting.

Opening a bank account requires you to visit the bank in person (another
reason why traveling to Tallinn is worthwhile). It is not guaranteed that they
will open the account for you. I visited two banks. The first turned me down
because I could not prove sufficient ties to Estonia. Swedbank (one the the
three largest banks operating in Estonia) did accept me. They have a very good
service. LeapIn was very helpful in setting this up too. Please note that
Estonia is working on making the bank account opening process easier later
this year (I believe it will make it possible for you to open an account from
abroad; but it is not there yet, as far as I know).

~~~
ssijak
Thanks for the answer. I have seen this "The first turned me down because I
could not prove sufficient ties to Estonia." on some other place as a reason
for a turn down. What they actually need to prove ties to Estonia when you are
only e-citizen? Or that other bank that accepted you is not requesting such
proof? If you have income with that company, how hard and costly is to take
that money (as I understood they tax only when you pay income from the company
to you).

~~~
edko
The proof of your links to Estonia is really up to the bank. They each have
their own policy. I think, in my case, it helped that LeapIN was there with
me. A local business partner who speaks the language and is there with you for
support, I think is an advantage anywhere.

If your company is a foreign-operated LLC (OÜ), which is what I opened, and
what was recommended to me (I have no employees and reside in another EU
country) then the only taxes are VAT, and dividend tax, which is incurred when
dividend is paid out. There is no income tax.

Note that the dividend tax liability is of the company making the payment, not
of the individual receiving the payment. So, even if there was a taxation
treaty between Estonia and Serbia to avoid double taxation, you personally may
still be liable for dividend tax in Serbia, if Serbia taxes foreign dividend
income. But, here comes the usual disclaimer: I am not a lawyer or an
accountant. You'd better check with one!

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wcummings
Does anyone know if they will take a US DL, or do you pretty much need a
passport? Their form has an option for "other ID" but I'm skeptical that a
drivers license is adaquate.

Otherwise there's a consulate in NYC so it would be easy to pick up :)

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mlni
You need to present a legal travel document (passport or ID-card), driver
license won't do as mentioned in an update to the original article.

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therein
I applied for this about a year ago and actually got approved. I was
instructed to go to their New York embassy to pick it up but I live in SF. I
wish they would mail it in or were okay with it being picked up at other
consulates/embassies.

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bernie_o
I'm afraid there's a fingerprinting requirement

