11–20 of 52 posts
How much is the cost of being an Estonian e-citizen? When i was there i understood there was some cost, roughly < 100 euros. Is every step of the procedure online? or some paperwork has to be done in Estonia (this is was my understanding of last time)
The problem is that in order to operate as a startup, as the whole point of the e-residency is, it's not that easy. Getting a bank account as of end of September is quite hard, border line of impossible. Without a bank account, no startup can be setup properly. Other than that - very good idea and probably the execution will be even better in the near future.
The article doesn't really explain what the e-residency service actually provides, but links to another article with more useful details: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/lets-all-become-e-residents...
"one of her colleagues signed his job contract on his mobile phone while out fishing on the sea." so in addition to leading the way in digital citizenship, they also have impressive data coverage? Count me in! Joke aside, I'm very interested in seeing how bigger countries will implement something similar
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you are e-citizen in estonia you can easily open a company there. Taxation in estonia is pretty nice since basically the only tax you pay is when you pull money out of the company, not when you sell something, as long as the money are inside the company you don't own anything. (Of course is a little bit more complex that this, but here is the idea, you need to pay tax if you have employee for example)
Well, you also pay VAT when you sell something. You just don't pay corporate taxes.
Has anyone applied to this? How much is the cost of being an Estonian e-citizen? When i was there i understood there was some cost, roughly < 100 euros. Is every step of the procedure online? or some paperwork has to be done in Estonia (this is was my understanding of last time)
The problem is that in order to operate as a startup, as the whole point of the e-residency is, it's not that easy. Getting a bank account as of end of September is quite hard, border line of impossible. Without a bank account, no startup can be setup properly. Other than that - very good idea and probably the execution will be even better in the near future.
Right now yes, to open a bank account in Estonia you need to visit a local bank physically (although then it is very easy). Part of the money laundering regulations common in Estonia. Luckily this law will change in spring.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Right now yes, to open a bank account in Estonia you need to visit a local bank physically (although then it is very easy). Part of the money laundering regulations common in Estonia. Luckily this law will change in spring.
Why is this considered hard? A date flexible return flight from Toronto is $935 ($725 USD). Compared to what a developer can make in really any Western country, I don't really see what the issue is.
In my Western European country, we make less than $20k/y on average, so that is kind of high (~ 2 months' rent) for developers on the lower end of the scale.
I'm not arguing against you, just pointing out that salaries for devs are very variable even in the Western countries.
Has anyone applied to this? How much is the cost of being an Estonian e-citizen? When i was there i understood there was some cost, roughly < 100 euros. Is every step of the procedure online? or some paperwork has to be done in Estonia (this is was my understanding of last time)
I applied to this and I am receiving my card from their consulate in Athens, tomorrow. I spent 50 euros for the application.
The problem is that in order to operate as a startup, as the whole point of the e-residency is, it's not that easy. Getting a bank account as of end of September is quite hard, border line of impossible. Without a bank account, no startup can be setup properly. Other than that - very good idea and probably the execution will be even better in the near future.
Let's start with having to call the bank weeks or months in advance for an appointment, like everything else in the UK. Even though your appointment is for a specific hour, once you arrive on time, be prepared to wait hours before someone sees you. You will then need two different proofs of address, alongside endless other documents. For a business account, you need all partners to be present at said appointment and you will be asked endless questions about the nature of your business and your expected cashflow. If for some reason your conversational English happens to be not so good, be prepared to be flat-out refused a bank account, without much explanation. All of this is usually justified by Know-Your-Customer and anti money lanundering procedures, which is a bit ironic, considering that HSBC are the ones doing all the money laundering to begin with.