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Right now yes, to open a bank account in Estonia you need to visit a local bank physically (although then it is very easy). Part of the money laundering regulat

Right now yes, to open a bank account in Estonia you need to visit a local bank physically (although then it is very easy). Part of the money laundering regulations common in Estonia. Luckily this law will change in spring.

3pt14159 11y ago
Why is this considered hard? A date flexible return flight from Toronto is $935 ($725 USD). Compared to what a developer can make in really any Western country, I don't really see what the issue is.
- icebraining 11y ago
  Compared to what a developer can make in really any Western country. In my Western European country, we make less than $20k/y on average, so that is kind of high (~ 2 months' rent) for developers on the lower end of the scale. I'm not arguing against you, just pointing out that salaries for devs are very variable even in the Western countries.
  - MortenK 11y ago
    What country are you in?
    - icebraining 11y ago
      Portugal.
  - moonchrome 11y ago
    >In my Western European country He quoted you a price from Toronto. You can probably find Ryan air for under 200€ roundtrip - bigger problem will be that you'll probably spend 2 days on it. Also 20k $/year as a developer ?! You earn more in Eastern Europe unless you're a PHP "developer" or something like that.
- SyneRyder 11y ago
  In the Nomad Forum where Estonia is currently giving an AMA, they mentioned that many of the applicants are coming from India & Malaysia, where the cost of a flight would be a much bigger deal. https://nomadforum.io/t/i-m-kaspar-director-of-estonia-s-e-residency-program-ama/4769/13 https://nomadforum.io/t/i-m-kaspar-director-of-estonia-s-e-r...
potrebitel22 11y ago
Not myself, but a very good friend tried that. He submitted all the paperwork electronically and went to Estonia for a week to open a bank account. From the 3 banks that are supporting E-residency they all denied to open the account. One of the managers he talked with explained that the bank do not open accounts without physical address in Estonia. Probably that will change, but that's experience from end of September this year. Not to mention the disappointment for the whole process, which is not as advertised, although he did a very nice trip to the country itself and was worth it (his words).
- kintamanimatt 11y ago
  So why didn't he just get an address in Estonia? There are a number of virtual mailbox companies in Tallinn and elsewhere.

3pt14159 11y ago

Why is this considered hard? A date flexible return flight from Toronto is $935 ($725 USD). Compared to what a developer can make in really any Western country, I don't really see what the issue is.

icebraining 11y ago
Compared to what a developer can make in really any Western country. In my Western European country, we make less than $20k/y on average, so that is kind of high (~ 2 months' rent) for developers on the lower end of the scale. I'm not arguing against you, just pointing out that salaries for devs are very variable even in the Western countries.
- MortenK 11y ago
  What country are you in?
  - icebraining 11y ago
    Portugal.
- moonchrome 11y ago
  >In my Western European country He quoted you a price from Toronto. You can probably find Ryan air for under 200€ roundtrip - bigger problem will be that you'll probably spend 2 days on it. Also 20k $/year as a developer ?! You earn more in Eastern Europe unless you're a PHP "developer" or something like that.
SyneRyder 11y ago
In the Nomad Forum where Estonia is currently giving an AMA, they mentioned that many of the applicants are coming from India & Malaysia, where the cost of a flight would be a much bigger deal. https://nomadforum.io/t/i-m-kaspar-director-of-estonia-s-e-residency-program-ama/4769/13 https://nomadforum.io/t/i-m-kaspar-director-of-estonia-s-e-r...

potrebitel22 11y ago

Not myself, but a very good friend tried that. He submitted all the paperwork electronically and went to Estonia for a week to open a bank account. From the 3 banks that are supporting E-residency they all denied to open the account. One of the managers he talked with explained that the bank do not open accounts without physical address in Estonia. Probably that will change, but that's experience from end of September this year. Not to mention the disappointment for the whole process, which is not as advertised, although he did a very nice trip to the country itself and was worth it (his words).

kintamanimatt 11y ago
So why didn't he just get an address in Estonia? There are a number of virtual mailbox companies in Tallinn and elsewhere.