A Schengen visa (C-visa) is a short stay visa allowing its holder to stay up to 90 days in any 180 day period in Schengen area. Schengen visa can be issued as single or multiple entry visa with period of validity up to five years. More information about Schengen area and EU Common Visa Policy can be found for example on the webpage of European Commission.
Diplomatic missions and consular posts of Estonia are following when processing visa applications the regulation establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code).
In visa centres of VFS Global only US residents whose main destination in Schengen is Estonia can apply for Schengen visa.
Resident status can be confirmed either by valid US residence permit (Green Card) or valid resident visa type A, E, F (with form I-20), G, H, I, J (with form J1) , L, O, R. The US residence permit or visa should be valid at least three months beyond the intended departure from Schengen area.
Estonia is the applicant’s main destination in Schengen if applicant
Visa application should be lodged at visa centres of VFS Global (please find an appropriate visa center here). Detailed information about applying for a Schengen visa is available below.
Embassy suggests to use digitally signed invitation. Digitally signed document should be sent to Embassy’s e-mail [email protected] using applicant’s full name on the subject line. Applicant has to present printout of the digitally signed document together with information when it was sent to the Embassy’s e-mail (date and time).
Embassy suggests to use digitally signed invitation. Digitally signed document should be sent to Embassy’s e-mail [email protected] using applicant’s full name on the subject line. Applicant has to present printout of the digitally signed document together with information when it was sent to the Embassy’s e-mail (date and time).
Visa application must be lodged personally, visa application of minor (below 18) is lodged by parent or guardian. Application can be lodged up to six months before start of the trip to Schengen area (9 months, if applicant is a seafarer) and must be applied not later than 15 days before start of the trip.
Appointment must be acquired for lodging an application (appointments can be acquired on VFS Global webpage).
At the time of submission of the application, 10 fingerprints of the applicant will be collected. However, where fingerprints have been collected as part of an earlier application less than 59 months before the date of the new application, you do not have to provide your fingerprints.
Children below 12 and following applicants are waived for requirement to give fingerprints: persons for whom fingerprinting is physically impossible, head of states and members of national government and members of their official delegation and sovereigns and senior members of royal family when they are invited by Member States’ governments or by international organizations.
In visa centres of VFS Global in US visa fee is paid in US dollars, for information about amount of the fee in US dollars please visit this webpage.
Visa fee for examining Schengen visa application is 90 Euros. Visa fee for children 6-11 years is 45 Euros. Children under 6 years does not pay visa fee.
Visa fee for citizens of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine is 35 Euros.
Visa fee for citizens of Cabo Verde is 60 Euros.
Following applicants are exempted from paying the visa fee:
Citizens of certain countries can be exempted from paying the visa fee according to Visa Facilitation Agreements.
Visa fee can be paid in the visa centre of VFS Global in US Dollars by bank card or in Euros by bank transfer to the bank account of Estonian Ministry of Finance. For more information please visit this webpage.
Some Schengen States require that they be consulted on visa applications submitted to other Schengen States by citizens of certain countries. The consultation process may take up to seven calendar days and it is carried out by the Embassy, no additional actions from the applicant are required. Such consultation is currently required for nationals of the countries listed here.
Schengen visa applications is examined within 15 days from the day application was lodged at the Embassy. Applicant can come to collect his or her passport from the Visa Center after relevant e-mail notification from the Center.
Mere possession of a visa does not confer an automatic right of entry. The holders of visa are requested to present proof that they fulfil the entry conditions at the external border, as provided in the Schengen Border Code. Border guards, for instance, may ask to present return tickets, hotel reservation or the information of the invitee, travel insurance, proof of sufficient means of subsistence. For more information, see also questions about crossing the border on the website of the Police and Border Guard Board.
Applicant, who was refused to issue a visa, may file an appeal. Appeal can be filed within 30 days as of the date of notification of the decision. Attention! Deadline of filing an appeal should not be restored! For more information about process of appeal please visit website of Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In Estonian Embassy in Washington, D.C appeal may be filed by mail. If you file your appeal by mail, please don’t send us your passport. If Embassy needs your passport, we will inform you about it additionally.
Attention! If appeal is filed by mail, the date of arrival of the application is working day following the day when appeal reached the Embassy or the date when state fee has arrived to the bank account of the Ministry of Finance in Estonia, if it is later.
State fee for examining the appeal (80 Euros) can be paid by check or in Euros to the account of Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For more information please visit this website.
Application to contest decision of refusal to issue visa is examined within 15 days.
Schengen visa applicants may submit complaints about the conduct of the Embassy staff, the external service provider or the visa application process.
A complaint can be submitted to the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by e-mail: [email protected].
General information about applying for a visa to the Schengen area on the website of Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code).
Common list of supporting documents for applicants from USA.
Short-stay calculator on the webpage of European Commission.
Citizens of the Russian Federation
On August 11th, 2022, the Government of the Republic of Estonia approved a sanction imposing a restriction on citizens of the Russian Federation applying for an Estonian visa. The visa restriction applies to all types of visas and purposes of travel, except for those Russian citizens who are:
The sanction will come into effect on 18 August, which means that only Russian citizens listed above can apply for a visa from that date. Russian citizens, who want to apply for a visa as an exception, must together with their application present documents proving that they are eligible for one or several exceptions.
On September 9th, 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted a decision that fully suspends the visa facilitation agreement between the EU and Russia. Consequently, the general rules of the visa code will apply to Russian citizens. This will result in an increase in the visa application fee from €35 to €80, the need to present additional documentary evidence, increased visa processing times and more restrictive rules for the issuance of multiple-entry visas. The decision will enter into force on the day of its adoption and will apply as of 12 September 2022.
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus
On April 8th, 2022, the Government of the Republic of Estonia issued regulation which imposes international sanctions to citizens of the Republic of Belarus who are applying for a visa for employment or entrepreneurship (including Startup entrepreneurship and Remote working). According to this regulation no visas for employment or for entrepreneurship for citizens of the Republic of Belarus are issued until further notice.