Visa and extending period of stay

Extending a period of stay designated on the visa

In general, the period of stay will not be extended. On the basis of legislation, the period stay may be extended up to 90 days.

The legislative grounds for entering and temporarily staying in Estonia

A legal basis must exist for an alien to arrive in Estonia and temporarily stay in Estonia. Legal grounds for a foreigner’s stay in Estonia are:

• visa issued by a competent Estonian institution
• visa issued by a competent institution in a state party to the Schengen convention, if the visa conditions do not exclude the right to stay in Estonia
• right arising directly from a treaty to stay in Estonia
• right to stay in Estonia arising from the decision of the Government of the Republic to forgo visa requirement
• right r obligation arising directly from legislation, court decision or administrative act to stay in Estonia
• residence permit issued by a competent institution in a state party to the Schengen convention
• diplomatic identity card issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to accredited personnel of foreign diplomatic missions and consular institutions and representations of international organizations in Estonia, their family members and private staff
• right arising from the expiry of the term of validity of a temporary residence permit to stay in Estonia
• residence permit issued by a competent institution of a EU member state under Directive 2014/66/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals in the framework of an intra-corporate transfer (OJ L 157, 27.05.2014, pp. 1–22) (hereinafter Intra-corporate transfer employee’s residence permit)

Extending period of stay on the basis of visa simplification agreements

The period of stay may be extended on the basis of provisions of visa simplification treaties under extraordinary circumstances if:

• You have citizenship of the Russian Federation, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine or Georgia,
• It is not possible for you or them to leave Estonian territory by the date specified on the visa or by the expiration of the visa-period of stay.

Extending a period of stay permitted by a short-term (category C) visa

The period of stay permitted by a short-term (category C) visa shall be extended if you demonstrate the existence of force majeure, humanitarian reasons or serious personal causes that prevent you from leaving the territory of the member states by the date on which the period of stay permitted by the visa.

Extending a period of stay permitted by a long-term (category D) visa or visa-free period of stay

The period of stay permitted by a long-term (category D) visa shall be extended by up to 90 days upon emergence of circumstances that were not known to the foreigner before they arrived in Estonia on the basis of the visa or a new circumstance that arose after the visa was granted and the foreigner arrived in Estonia (force majeure, serious professional or personal reasons).

Applying

An application for extending the period of stay must be submitted at least 3 working days before the end of the permitted period of stay either in person or through an authorized representative.

To submit the application to extend the period of stay, contact one of the following PBGB service offices personally:

• Tallinn (P. Pinna 4 and A.H. Tammsaare tee 47)
• Tartu (Riia mnt 132)
• Jõhvi (Rahu 38)
• Narva (Vahtra 3)
• Pärnu (A. H. Tammsaare pst 61)

When applying for an extension of the period of stay, you must provide fingerprints if you have not done so before or more than 59 months have elapsed since the last time fingerprints were taken from you. The procedure for taking of fingerprints can be found in Riigi Teataja.

Documents necessary for application

• Completed and signed application form.
• valid travel document
• one colour photograph
• document substantiating the reason for extension of the period of stay (such a certificate from a competent medical institution)
• document substantiating the payment of a state fee (unless the extension of the period of stay is being sought on the basis of force majeure or humanitarian reasons and Estonia has entered into a visa simplification treaty with those countries)
• identity document for the person signing the application form if you did not sign the application form yourself
• identity document for the person submitting the application form if you are not submitting the application yourself

Find the visa rules on the European Union legal acts page.