e-Residency (Estonia)

Estonia's e-Residency program, launched in 2014, allows non-residents to obtain a government-issued digital identity (smart card) enabling them to establish and manage EU-based companies remotely. With over 100,000 e-residents from 170+ countries, e-Residency is primarily used by digital entrepreneurs, freelancers, and consultants to incorporate an Estonian OÜ (private limited company) and access EU banking, payment processing, and digital signing. e-Residency does not confer citizenship, residency, or the right to work in Estonia. It is purely a digital identity for business management. Companies must still pay Estonian corporate tax or apply the 0% distributed profit model.

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