We're often asked what types of businesses can be run as an e-resident. In some cases, people even share their business plans or ideas with us and ask, "Is e-Residency the right solution for me?"
The answer depends on individual circumstances. We recommend starting by checking your citizenship to ensure you're eligible to apply for e-Residency. Next, consider your country of residence, as this can affect your access to business banking or payment services. Once these aspects are clear, you can focus on the type of business you plan to run.
- First, it is important to understand that companies registered by e-residents are EU companies like any other company created within Estonia’s trusted business environment. There is no legal distinction for an "e-Residency company" or "virtual company", it's simply an EU company registered in Estonia.
- Secondly, the most common form of business is a private limited company (OÜ in Estonian). There are no additional restrictions to the business activities of companies registered through e-Residency, as long as they are in accordance with legislation.
E-Residency if a good solution for
The business cases share several common characteristics: the need for location-independent business management, a global or EU-based customer base, and a preference for streamlined, online administrative processes.
Many also benefit from the ability to scale without a physical presence, gain credibility through operating within an EU jurisdiction, and access to EU business infrastructure, such as banking, payment services, and legal frameworks.
Entrepreneurs dealing with physical goods have to consider more regulations, for example, import and export rules for the goods. This may mean additional costs for consultation and administration activities.
No need to be intimidated by it though. In Estonia, we have many companies offering consulting and other business services with good value. Many of them are listed on our Marketplace. A good resource also to learn about doing business in Europe is Your Europe portal.
Main offices in Estonia benefit from the e-solutions and legal framework that enables remote business management. You can also learn more in our blog about who benefits from e-Residency.
When e-Residency may not be a good solution
Statistics
1/3 of of e-residents register their company in Estonia within the first 6 months. Other e-residents may take longer to register their company or may have applied for different reasons, such as needing access to Estonian e-services.
Here's a graph of field of activity of e-resident established companies.
More statistics is available at our dashboard.
E-residents stories
Sometimes to understand the value for yourself, it's better to read and hear from other "customers".
- We have many stories written by e-residents in our blog. There you can filter stories by regions, business fields or objective.
- We have a Company List. This product was developed to give e-residents a chance to promote their company and find customers and business partners. We aim to add features to the company list near future. You can use it now to browse, what kind of companies have e-residents established.
- We have envoys and community leaders. They are expert in their fields and successful entrepreneurs. They often host events for the community around the world and foster connections with media, prospective e-residents and also represent e-residents with policymakers.
- And you can reach out to fellow e-residents in social media.