e-Residency of Estonia

Kaspar Korjus, former managing director of the e-residency program, said that applicants who had been involved in financial misbehaviour such as money laundering would be rejected.

[5] E-residency allows company registration, document signing, encrypted-document exchange, online banking, tax declaration, and fulfilment of medical prescriptions.

[7] A digital ID smart card issued by the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board in Estonia or at an embassy is used for access to services.

The Estonian side benefits in particular by developing Estonia into an international business center with expanding service offerings for foreign entrepreneurs and investors in the disciplines of finance, consulting, accounting, and law.

[9] Korjus said that registering an Estonian business was "useful for internet entrepreneurs in emerging markets who don’t have access to an online payment provider", and for startups from countries such as Ukraine or Belarus which suffer financial limitations from their governments.

[15][16] Kotka stated that, while the further goal of the project would be to gain millions of e-residents, its purpose was to increase the number of active enterprises in Estonia.

[20] The Estonian virtual residency program shows how established nations may adopt strategies similar to micronations, providing an example of what citizenship might look like in a post-national world.

As a result, criminal investigations, evidence gathering, court hearings, bankruptcy proceedings, and other processes may be slowed or halted.

[citation needed] In 2017, the Estonian government froze[36] the digital ID cards of the e-residency program, two months after discovering a major security flaw that could enable identity theft.