Change of https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-estonia
Change description : 2019-10-02 15:38:00: Brexit update: Driving section updated to reflect new transition period to exchange UK driving licences [Brexit]
Showing diff : 2019-09-23 17:16:20 +00:00..2019-10-02 14:43:48 +00:00
Guidance
Official information for British people moving to and living in Estonia, including Brexit guidance, residency, healthcare and driving.
This page tells you what to do ahead of Brexit. It will be updated if anything changes, including if a deal is agreed.
register as resident in Estonia
register for healthcare as resident in Estonia
check your passport is valid for travel
exchange your UK driving licence for an Estonian one
You can also:
Check the entry requirements for Estonia.
You must register on the Estonian Population Register if you’ll be in Estonia for more than 3 months and apply for an ID card. All Estonian citizens and residents over 15 must have an ID card.
Information on residency after Brexit, and latest updates are on the Estonian Ministry of Interior’s website.
If there are changes to residency rules or registration processes after Brexit, we will update this guidance as soon as information is available.
You can apply for or renew your British passport from Estonia. If you plan to move to or retire in Estonia, read our guidance on moving or retiring abroad.
Read our travel advice for Estonia and sign up for up-to-date information on local laws and customs, safety and emergencies.
After Brexit, the rules on travel will change. Check your passport is valid for travel before you book your trip. You’ll need to renew your passport before travelling if you do not have enough time left on your passport.
If the UK leaves the EU with a deal, nothing will change until the end of 2020. In this time you can continue to travel freely in the Schengen area with your UK passport. What happens after 2020 will form the next part of negotiations.
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, you must have at least 6 months left on an adult or child passport to travel to most countries in Europe (not including Ireland). If you renewed your current passport before the previous one expired, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the 6 months needed.
If there’s no deal, UK nationals will not need visas for short stays elsewhere in the EU. You will be able to stay up to 90 days in another EU, EEA or EFTA country, within a 180 day period. You must retain evidence of travel (such as train and plane tickets), in case these are requested by national authorities. If you hold a residence permit from an EU, EEA or EFTA country, you will be able to transit through other EU, EEA or EFTA countries to reach your country of residence.
Read travel document requirements for visitors in Estonia from the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
You must register for healthcare as a resident in Estonia, as well as registering, where necessary, with a health insurer.
Find out how the health care insurance system in Estonia works. Read the Estonian health insurance fund and Estonian official state portal.
Read the NHS guidance on who is able to access healthcare in Estonia and how to register.
You can use your Estonian ID card or Residence Permit card to get prescriptions.
If you live in Estonia and receive an exportable UK pension, contribution-based Employment Support Allowance or another exportable benefit, you may currently be entitled to state healthcare paid for by the UK. You must apply for a certificate of entitlement known as an S1 certificate.
If you are resident in Estonia, you must not use a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) from the UK for healthcare in Estonia.
When you travel from Estonia for a temporary stay in another European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland, you can use an EHIC to access state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in another European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland
If you are a student, read the NHS guidance on healthcare and studying abroad
You can find English-speaking doctors in Estonia.
You should also check your prescriptions are legal in Estonia.
If there is a deal, your current rights on access to healthcare in Estonia will remain the same until the end of the implementation period, as long as you remain a resident in Estonia.
If there’s no deal, your access to healthcare may change. If you are a permanent or temporary resident you should review your healthcare cover.
If you currently have your healthcare costs paid for by the UK government, we can help if you are asked to pay for treatment during the first 6 months after Brexit. To organise a payment, you must give your healthcare provider’s details to the NHS Business Services Authority’s Overseas Healthcare Services.
You should read the NHS guidance on healthcare for UK nationals in Estonia and how it may change after Brexit.
The UK government has offered to continue paying the country you live in for your healthcare inif thethere’s event of no deal, just as it does now. The government has proposed maintaining current healthcare cooperation with Estonia for S1 form holders until the end of December 2020. If there’s no deal, and there is no arrangement with Estonia to continue reciprocal healthcare, those receiving coverage through the S1 form will not be covered.
You must confirm your residency status and decide how you will ensure access to healthcare if there’s no deal.
Your EHIC may not be valid if there’s no deal. The UK has offered to maintain the EHIC scheme if there’s no deal, however this is reliant on Estonia continuing to accept UK EHICs.
If you are registered as a resident in Estonia, you have the right to work. Read our guidance on working in another EU country. To apply for a job you may need to provide a:
If you require a record of your employment history in Estonia contact the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs.
Read the guidance on providing services after Brexit if you’re planning to start a business, provide a service, or do a job in a regulated profession after Brexit.
If there is a deal, your right to work will stay the same until the end of the implementation period.
For information on education, read studying in the European Union after Brexit.
The European Commission has published guidance on professional qualifications. If you have already been recognised by an EU country as holding valid professional qualifications, this will remain valid after Brexit. If you hold qualifications obtained in the UK before the UK leaves the EU, you should obtain recognition in a EU27 Member State before Brexit day.
The UK has a double-taxation agreement with Estonia to ensure people do not pay tax on the same income in both countries.
You should read the guidance on:
You should get professional advice on paying tax in Estonia. Find an English-speaking lawyer in Estonia.
Find out if you can pay National Insurance while abroad in order to protect your State Pension and entitlement to other benefits and allowances.
If you are employed or self-employed in the EU and you have a UK-issued A1/E101 form, you will remain subject to UK legislation until the end date on the form.
If the end date on your form is after 31 October 2019, you should contact the relevant EU, EEA or Swiss authority to confirm whether you need to start paying social security contributions in that country after 31 October, as well as UK National Insurance contributions.
Find out more about social security contributions after a no-deal Brexit.
Brexit will not change existing double taxation arrangements for UK nationals living in Estonia. Send your taxpayer questions about double taxation to the relevant tax authority.
If there’s no deal, it may become more expensive to use your bank card in Estonia. Read more about using a bank card, insurance or other financial service in the EU.
You will need to tell the UK government offices that deal with your benefits, pension and tax if you are moving or retiring abroad.
If you retire in Estonia, you can claim:
your UK State Pension and new UK State Pension. Contact the International Pension Centre
your Estonian pension if you’ve worked in Estonia
pensions from working abroad, if you’ve worked in other EU countries
If you get a ‘life certificate’ from the UK Pension Service, you need to respond as soon as possible. Your payments may be suspended if you don’t.
The UK government will continue to pay a State Pension to those eligible in the EU after Brexit. Your UK State Pension will be uprated in April 2020, 2021 and 2022 if you live in the EU, EEA or Switzerland.
If there is a deal and you work and pay social security contributions in Estonia, you will still be able to add your UK social security contributions towards your Estonian pension. This will happen even if you claim your pension after the end of the implementation period.
Read our guidance on pensions if there’s no deal.
You may still be able to claim some UK benefits like child and disability benefits if you live in Estonia. You should:
read our guidance on which benefits you can claim if you live abroad
use our tool to check which benefits you can claim while you’re abroad
Many income-related benefits such as Pension Credit and Housing Benefit can’t be paid if you’re abroad for more than 4 weeks
You can request proof of the time you’ve worked in the UK from HMRC if you are asked for this.
Find out about Estonian benefits and Allowances from the Estonian State Portal.
The UK government will continue to pay child benefits, and disability benefits to those eligible after Brexit.
If there is a deal and you work and pay social security contributions in Estonia, your UK social security contributions will be taken into account when applying for Estonian contributions-based benefits. This will happen even if you claim contributions-based benefits after the end of the implementation period.
If you are resident in Estonia, you mustshould exchange your UK licence for an Estonian one with the Estonian Road Administration before the UK leaves the EU, as your licence may not be valid once the UK leaves the EU. You can use your Estonian licence in the UK for short visits or exchange it for a UK licence without taking a test if you return to live in the UK.
For information on driving in Estonia, read the guidance on:
information on motor vehicle documents a driver must carry in Estonia
information on lost and stolen driving licences if you travel in the EU
Read our guidance on taking a vehicle out of the UK. You must read the Estonian Road Administration information on vehicle registration in Estonia
You should read the EU’s guidance on car registration and taxes in Estonia. You may be exempt from some of these taxes. If so you will need certificates of exemption.
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Estonia on the population register. Estonia will still recognise driving licences issued in the UK, but if your UK driving licence was issued before 1990 you may also need an International Driving Permit to drive in Estonia.
Read our guidance on driving in the EU after Brexit if there is no deal.
If there is a deal, driving licence rules will stay the same during the implementation period.
You may be able to vote in some UK elections. You can:
register as an overseas voter if you would like to vote
If you’re resident in Estonia, you can vote in local municipal elections and in European Parliamentary Elections.
After Brexit, you will continue to be able to vote in local elections if you have permanent residence or a long-term residence permit. You will no longer be eligible to vote in European Parliament elections.
If your child is born in Estonia, you will need to register the birth abroad.
If someone dies in Estonia you can:
read our guidance on what to do after someone dies abroad
read guidance for UK nationals on bereavements in Estonia
find a list of English-speaking funeral directors in Estonia
Find out how you can get married abroad.
Find out about notarial and documentary services for UK nationals in Estonia.
You may need:
You will still be able to travel to and from the UK with a cat, dog or ferret when the UK leaves the EU, but the rules will change. Read guidance on pet travel to Europe after Brexit.
While the UK is still an EU Member State you’ll be able to travel with your pet to the EU under the current pet travel rules using your current EU pet passport.
If you’re travelling with your pet for the first time you must visit your vet to get a pet passport.
Read guidance on returning your cat, dog or ferret to the UK. For moving pet horses and other equines read guidance on export horses and ponies: special rules.
You can dial the European emergency number on 112 in Estonia. If calling from outside Estonia about an emergency in Estonia, you can dial (+372) 6000 112 to reach Estonian Response Centre
If you’re the victim of crime, have been arrested, or are affected by a crisis abroad, contact the British Embassy Tallinn
Read our guidance on buying a property abroad.
You should read our guidance on:
access to benefits and services in the UK if there a no deal
access to higher education, 19+ further education and apprenticeship funding
Tell the UK and Estonian authorities if you are returning to the UK permanently. To help prove you are now living in the UK, you should deregister with your:
local health care provider
To move your pension to the UK, contact the International Pension Centre.
If you get healthcare in Estonia through the S1 form, you must contact the Overseas Healthcare Team on +44 (0)191 218 1999 to make sure your S1 is cancelled at the right time.
Please note that this information is provided as a guide only. Definitive information should be obtained from the Estonian authorities. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information.
2025-11-14 12:26
Rewrote guide to make it easier to read and understand.
2024-05-24 10:17
Information on the EU’s new digital border called the Entry/Exit System has been added under “Passports and travel”.
2023-12-18 13:29
Information on mental health support added under “Emergencies”.
2023-11-03 08:14
Full guide review.
2022-11-18 09:47
Additional information of how to apply for Estonian residence permit.
2022-03-11 08:00
Important information in the ‘Working in Estonia’ and ‘National insurance’ sections if you work in Estonia, even if it is for an employer based in the UK.
2021-02-10 15:28
Coronavirus section updated with a link to guidance on vaccines.
2020-09-07 15:09
Passports and travel section updated to include information on passport validity and entry requirements when travelling to other European countries from January 2021
2020-01-23 13:45
Brexit update: includes further details on passport validity, healthcare rights and State Pension uprating if the UK leaves the EU with a deal.
2019-10-02 15:38
Brexit update: Driving section updated to reflect new transition period to exchange UK driving licences
2019-09-23 17:20
Brexit update: healthcare section updated to reflect transitional arrangements announcement
2019-09-03 17:09
Brexit update: Pensions section updated to include further details on State Pension uprating.
2019-06-11 16:16
EU Exit update: added information about EEA and EFTA countries to the “Passports and travel after EU Exit” section
2019-04-25 13:48
EU Exit update: Updated information on passports and travel, pensions and returning to the UK.