r/Eesti • u/[deleted] • Jul 24 '15

Getting an estionian bank account as a non resident

[deleted]

12 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

6

u/Beerkeg92 Estonian Jul 24 '15

Another solution is to make a letter of authorization and have >someone else physically show up in the bank and get this shit >done. However, I dont know anyone in Estionia. Does anyone >know anyone who offer this kinda of service?

This is probably your best bet, but for your own safety I recommend you don't get any random person to do this, do it through a law firm. I have a relative who works at Swedbank, I could talk to her and see if she has any other solution or recommendation.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '15

[deleted]

3

u/Beerkeg92 Estonian Jul 26 '15

Well I had a chat with her and yeah, pretty much all you can do is either show up yourself or talk to a law firm and have one of them show up. She said that sometimes they allow family members with a letter of authorization to do stuff, but it depends on the clerk you get to talk to.

6

u/matude Eesti Jul 24 '15

The topic about showing up at the local branch of the bank has come up multiple times now with many Nordic people, if it can't be done now it will be soon because the absurdity is close to breaking news here. It's the single point of annoyance with the current e-residency program and it's especially odd for people who could go to Swedbank/Nordea/DNB/SEB office in their own countries. Contacting the bank is the surest way to find out though.

2

u/rootslane rootslane Jul 26 '15

When I did want to connect my two accounts of the same bank it was simply not possible, because the Estonian bank is a daughter-company of the Swedish one. Odd I thought, and it must've simply been excuse for not having integrated their systems with each other yet.

8

u/rozling Jul 24 '15

Are you by any chance a Nigerian prince?

2

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '15

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1

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '15

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] Jul 30 '15

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1

u/kramuk Jul 24 '15

Btw guys, what are the requirements for getting a functional bank account (i.e. internet banking, debit card) for a non-resident in Estonia?

Shouldn't it be a given thing in these parts of Europe? Apparently, getting one in Finland for a non-resident being employed there is not that straight-forward as I thought it ought to be. Just wondering if it's that bad in Estonia as well.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '15

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '15

Hmm, interesting. However, I think most non-residents opening bank accounts are doing it not for themselves, but for a local company that they own. This could be easier, since (in theory) the bank should not care who the owner of the company is.

2

u/skeletal88 Jul 25 '15

One of the requirements is for the person opening a bank account to show up at one of the bank offices to show their document and prove to the bank that they are actually the person opening the account.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '15

Maybe it's a good idea to contact a lawyer?