Schengen short-stay visa (C visa)
- Fee
- 90 EUR
- Processing
- up to 45 days
- Stay per entry
- 90 days
Children from the age of six and below the age of 12 pay €45; the fee is waived for children under six (Visa Code, Article 16).
The EU lists Estonia among the Schengen area countries. EU law says Member States let Union citizens enter with a valid identity card or passport and may impose no entry visa on them; the EEA Agreement extends this to nationals of the EFTA States, and the EU–Swiss free movement agreement lets Swiss nationals enter on a valid identity card or passport. Nationals of the countries listed in Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 are exempt from the visa requirement for stays of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, and nationals of the countries listed in Annex I must hold a visa; the Visa Code sets the visa fee at €90, and ETIAS is currently not in operation. Estonia's government restricts temporary entry, from 19 September 2022, for Russian citizens who hold a valid short-term Schengen visa.
Every fact on this page verified on or after: Aug 26, 2026· How this site works
Requirements differ by nationality. Select your passport above, or scan the full table below.
90 days in any rolling 180-day period
90 days in any rolling 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen Area rather than per country. The day you arrive counts as the first day and the day you leave counts as the last. Leaving and coming back does not reset the allowance: on any given day, days already spent anywhere in the area during the preceding 180 still count against the 90.
This limit is the one set for travellers who need permission to enter. It does not cap a stay you make under freedom of movement.
Work out your own dates in the stay calculator · Compare every country
Verified Oct 3, 2026 · Source: eur-lex.europa.eu (opens in a new tab) · Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, Article 4(1) · archived copy Jul 18, 2026 (opens in a new tab)Children from the age of six and below the age of 12 pay €45; the fee is waived for children under six (Visa Code, Article 16).
The EU–Armenia visa facilitation agreement (Article 6) sets the fee at €35 and waives it for pensioners and children under the age of 12, among other listed categories.
The EU–Azerbaijan visa facilitation agreement (Article 6) sets the fee at €35 and waives it for pensioners and children under the age of 12, among other listed categories.
The EU–Belarus visa facilitation agreement (Article 6) sets the fee at €35, and €70 where the applicant has requested a decision within two days of submission and the consulate has accepted; it waives the fee for children under the age of 12, among other listed categories. Council Decision (EU) 2021/1940 suspended some of the agreement's provisions, including as regards visa applicants who are members of a Belarusian official delegation.
The EU–Cabo Verde visa facilitation agreement as amended in 2021 (Article 5) sets the fee at 75% of the amount charged under the applicable domestic legislation; the European Commission lists €67.50 for applicants from Cabo Verde. Children at least 12 and below 18 years old are charged 50% of that fee, and no fee is collected from children under 12, among other listed categories.
Under the Visa Code, children from the age of six and below the age of 12 pay €45, and the fee is waived for children under six. Council Decision (EU) 2022/1500 suspended the EU–Russia visa facilitation agreement in whole as regards citizens of the Russian Federation. The European Commission says Russian nationals will no longer be able to receive multiple-entry visas, while allowing exceptions for limited and justified cases such as independent journalists and human rights defenders.
Estonia's Foreign Ministry gives the visa fee as EUR 120 and EUR 60 for children 6–11 years, and exempts children under 6 years. It says a D-visa may be issued for a period of stay of up to 365 days within twelve consecutive months.
Under the Schengen Borders Code, a third-country national's travel document must be valid for at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States and must have been issued within the previous 10 years.
No official source we read lists a vaccination certificate required for entry.
The Visa Code requires applicants for a uniform visa for one or two entries to prove that they hold adequate and valid travel medical insurance, valid throughout the territory of the Member States for the entire intended stay, with minimum coverage of €30,000; Estonia's Foreign Ministry asks Schengen visa applicants for travel medical insurance with coverage of at least 30,000 euros. No official source we could read states an insurance requirement for visa-exempt visitors.
No official source we could read states that a return or onward ticket is required to enter. The Schengen Borders Code lists a return or round-trip ticket among the supporting documents as regards return, and Estonia's Foreign Ministry lists a reservation of a return or round ticket among the documents for assessing a Schengen visa applicant's intention to leave. The UK government tells British travellers they may need to show a return or onward ticket at border control.
The European Commission's table of reference amounts gives Estonia's as EUR 70, and Estonia's Foreign Ministry says the extent of sufficient financial means for each day of stay in Estonia is 70 euros.
Staying in Estonia without a legal basis is a misdemeanour punishable by a fine of up to 300 fine units or by detention. A fine unit is 8 euros; detention for a misdemeanour is up to thirty days. Visa-exempt nationals may stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period, unless an agreement says otherwise. A foreigner staying without a legal basis is issued a precept to leave, with a voluntary departure period of 7 to 30 days. The precept imposes an entry ban of three years from the day it is complied with, or five years if no voluntary departure period is given. A shorter ban may be set if the term would be disproportionate, and the ban may be waived on humanitarian grounds.
If you enter or leave the EU with €10,000 in cash (or its equivalent in other currencies), you must declare it to the customs authorities in the EU country you are entering or leaving, using the EU cash declaration form.
Estonia is a party to both the 1949 Geneva and the 1968 Vienna Conventions on Road Traffic. Estonia's Transport Administration says the driving licences of people in Estonia temporarily, such as tourists, are valid for their whole legal stay, provided the issuing country is on its lists. Entries not in Latin characters need an official Estonian translation, and a licence that lacks the category description and pictogram is valid only with an International Driving Permit or an officially certified translation of a certificate from the issuing authority explaining the categories.
Verified Oct 3, 2026 · Source: treaties.un.org (opens in a new tab) · Convention on Road Traffic · archived copy Aug 25, 2026 (opens in a new tab) Compare every countryNo official source we could read gives a best time to visit Estonia.
Estonia's Foreign Ministry says the government restricts temporary entry into Estonia, from 19 September 2022, for Russian citizens who hold a valid short-term Schengen visa, and that from 31 March 2025 Estonia no longer recognises non-biometric foreign passports issued by the Russian Federation.
The EU's Travel to Europe site says that the first time you arrive at a border crossing point since the EES started, passport control officers will take a photo of your face and/or scan your fingerprints. ETIAS is currently not in operation.
The EU's Your Europe portal lists Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania in the Schengen area, and the UK government tells British travellers visiting other Schengen countries as well to keep the whole visit within the 90-day visa-free limit, counting visits to Schengen countries within the previous 180 days.
| Passports | Visas & entry authorisations | Max stay |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Embassy visa | — |
| Albania | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Algeria | Embassy visa | — |
| Andorra | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Angola | Embassy visa | — |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Argentina | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Armenia | Embassy visa | — |
| Australia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Austria | Free movement | — |
| Azerbaijan | Embassy visa | — |
| Bahamas | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Bahrain | Embassy visa | — |
| Bangladesh | Embassy visa | — |
| Barbados | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Belarus | Embassy visa | — |
| Belgium | Free movement | — |
| Belize | Embassy visa | — |
| Benin | Embassy visa | — |
| Bhutan | Embassy visa | — |
| Bolivia | Embassy visa | — |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Botswana | Embassy visa | — |
| Brazil | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Brunei | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Bulgaria | Free movement | — |
| Burkina Faso | Embassy visa | — |
| Burundi | Embassy visa | — |
| Cabo Verde | Embassy visa | — |
| Cambodia | Embassy visa | — |
| Cameroon | Embassy visa | — |
| Canada | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Central African Republic | Embassy visa | — |
| Chad | Embassy visa | — |
| Chile | Visa-free | 90 days |
| China | Embassy visa | — |
| Colombia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Comoros | Embassy visa | — |
| Costa Rica | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Embassy visa | — |
| Croatia | Free movement | — |
| Cuba | Embassy visa | — |
| Cyprus | Free movement | — |
| Czechia | Free movement | — |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Embassy visa | — |
| Denmark | Free movement | — |
| Djibouti | Embassy visa | — |
| Dominica | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Dominican Republic | Embassy visa | — |
| Ecuador | Embassy visa | — |
| Egypt | Embassy visa | — |
| El Salvador | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Equatorial Guinea | Embassy visa | — |
| Eritrea | Embassy visa | — |
| Estonia | Free movement | — |
| Eswatini | Embassy visa | — |
| Ethiopia | Embassy visa | — |
| Fiji | Embassy visa | — |
| Finland | Free movement | — |
| France | Free movement | — |
| Gabon | Embassy visa | — |
| Gambia | Embassy visa | — |
| Georgia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Germany | Free movement | — |
| Ghana | Embassy visa | — |
| Greece | Free movement | — |
| Grenada | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Guatemala | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Guinea | Embassy visa | — |
| Guinea-Bissau | Embassy visa | — |
| Guyana | Embassy visa | — |
| Haiti | Embassy visa | — |
| Honduras | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Hong Kong | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Hungary | Free movement | — |
| Iceland | Free movement | — |
| India | Embassy visa | — |
| Indonesia | Embassy visa | — |
| Iran | Embassy visa | — |
| Iraq | Embassy visa | — |
| Ireland | Free movement | — |
| Israel | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Italy | Free movement | — |
| Jamaica | Embassy visa | — |
| Japan | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Jordan | Embassy visa | — |
| Kazakhstan | Embassy visa | — |
| Kenya | Embassy visa | — |
| Kiribati | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Kosovo | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Kuwait | Embassy visa | — |
| Kyrgyzstan | Embassy visa | — |
| Laos | Embassy visa | — |
| Latvia | Free movement | — |
| Lebanon | Embassy visa | — |
| Lesotho | Embassy visa | — |
| Liberia | Embassy visa | — |
| Libya | Embassy visa | — |
| Liechtenstein | Free movement | — |
| Lithuania | Free movement | — |
| Luxembourg | Free movement | — |
| Macau | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Madagascar | Embassy visa | — |
| Malawi | Embassy visa | — |
| Malaysia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Maldives | Embassy visa | — |
| Mali | Embassy visa | — |
| Malta | Free movement | — |
| Marshall Islands | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Mauritania | Embassy visa | — |
| Mauritius | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Mexico | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Micronesia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Moldova | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Monaco | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Mongolia | Embassy visa | — |
| Montenegro | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Morocco | Embassy visa | — |
| Mozambique | Embassy visa | — |
| Myanmar | Embassy visa | — |
| Namibia | Embassy visa | — |
| Nauru | Embassy visa | — |
| Nepal | Embassy visa | — |
| Netherlands | Free movement | — |
| New Zealand | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Nicaragua | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Niger | Embassy visa | — |
| Nigeria | Embassy visa | — |
| North Korea | Embassy visa | — |
| North Macedonia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Norway | Free movement | — |
| Oman | Embassy visa | — |
| Pakistan | Embassy visa | — |
| Palau | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Palestine | Embassy visa | — |
| Panama | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Papua New Guinea | Embassy visa | — |
| Paraguay | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Peru | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Philippines | Embassy visa | — |
| Poland | Free movement | — |
| Portugal | Free movement | — |
| Qatar | Embassy visa | — |
| Republic of the Congo | Embassy visa | — |
| Romania | Free movement | — |
| Russia | Embassy visa | — |
| Rwanda | Embassy visa | — |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Saint Lucia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Samoa | Visa-free | 90 days |
| San Marino | Visa-free | 90 days |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | Embassy visa | — |
| Saudi Arabia | Embassy visa | — |
| Senegal | Embassy visa | — |
| Serbia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Seychelles | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Sierra Leone | Embassy visa | — |
| Singapore | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Slovakia | Free movement | — |
| Slovenia | Free movement | — |
| Solomon Islands | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Somalia | Embassy visa | — |
| South Africa | Embassy visa | — |
| South Korea | Visa-free | 90 days |
| South Sudan | Embassy visa | — |
| Spain | Free movement | — |
| Sri Lanka | Embassy visa | — |
| Sudan | Embassy visa | — |
| Suriname | Embassy visa | — |
| Sweden | Free movement | — |
| Switzerland | Free movement | — |
| Syria | Embassy visa | — |
| Taiwan | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Tajikistan | Embassy visa | — |
| Tanzania | Embassy visa | — |
| Thailand | Embassy visa | — |
| Timor-Leste | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Togo | Embassy visa | — |
| Tonga | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Tunisia | Embassy visa | — |
| Turkey | Embassy visa | — |
| Turkmenistan | Embassy visa | — |
| Tuvalu | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Uganda | Embassy visa | — |
| Ukraine | Visa-free | 90 days |
| United Arab Emirates | Visa-free | 90 days |
| United Kingdom | Visa-free | 90 days |
| United States | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Uruguay | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Uzbekistan | Embassy visa | — |
| Vanuatu | Embassy visa | — |
| Vatican City | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Venezuela | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Vietnam | Embassy visa | — |
| Yemen | Embassy visa | — |
| Zambia | Embassy visa | — |
| Zimbabwe | Embassy visa | — |
Stay lengths are for ordinary tourist visits. Click a nationality for its full guide.
Union citizens enter with a valid identity card or passport, and EU law says no entry visa may be imposed on them; the EEA Agreement extends this to nationals of the EFTA States, and the EU–Swiss free movement agreement lets Swiss nationals enter on a valid identity card or passport. Nationals of the countries listed in Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 are exempt from the visa requirement for stays of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period; the UK government says British travellers can visit the Schengen area, which includes Estonia, visa-free on those terms. Nationals of the countries listed in Annex I must hold a visa when crossing the external borders; Estonia's Foreign Ministry says you must lodge a Schengen visa application at the consulate of the country you intend to visit, and the Visa Code sets the visa fee at €90.
Yes. The UK government tells British travellers that the Schengen area includes Estonia, that a whole visit to Schengen countries must stay within the 90-day visa-free limit, and that visits to Schengen countries within the previous 180 days count towards the 90 days. The Schengen Borders Code sets the entry conditions for intended stays of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay.
Estonia's Foreign Ministry says the government restricts temporary entry into Estonia, from 19 September 2022, for Russian citizens who hold a valid short-term Schengen visa, and that restrictions on accepting visa applications apply to all types of visas and purposes of travel, except for Russian citizens in the listed cases — among them visiting a spouse or a direct relative who is an Estonian citizen or long-term resident living in Estonia, people directly involved in the international carriage of goods and passengers, family members of EU citizens using the right of free movement, and entry necessary for humanitarian reasons. It says all questions about crossing the border should be addressed to the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board.
Not yet: ETIAS is currently not in operation and no applications are being collected. The EU's ETIAS website describes it as the new travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers to enter 30 European countries, Estonia among them, with an application fee of EUR 20, and says the EU will announce the start date several months before launch.
The EU's Your Europe portal lists both Estonia and Finland in the Schengen area, and the Schengen Borders Code says internal borders may be crossed at any point without a border check on persons. The UK government tells British travellers visiting other Schengen countries as well to keep the whole visit within the 90-day visa-free limit.
Every fact on this page is compiled from and periodically re-checked against these official sources:
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us, with the official source