Estonians in Australia

FAQ – Applying for your first Estonian Passport?

F.A.Q. FOR FIRST TIME APPLICANTS

1. My grandfather was Estonian. Which documents do I need to prove my
citizenship?

You need a document that proves your grandfather (or grandmother) was a citizen of Estonia in 1939. A document like this document can only be issued by Estonian Authorities and only in Estonia. Anything issued in Germany at the refugee camps in 1945-1949, cannot be used as proof of citizenship, sadly. If you don’t have any if his original documents from the pre-war time, you can order certified archive copies from Estonia through your nearest Estonian Consulate. Note that the document you need is not your grandfather’s birth certificate, and that he doesn’t need to be born in Estonia. He just needs to have been a citizen in 1939.

And then, you need to form a logical, descending line of documents from your grandparent to yourself, using birth certificates of yourself and your parent. All cross-referenced names on all documents must match exactly, to form a solid link between you and your grandparent. All Australian issued documents must be apostilled (see #8 below).

2. My great-grandmother was Estonian. Can I get the citizenship?

Yes, but not just you alone. You can only jump over one generation, not two. If you want to skip 2 generations, your eligible parent (i.e. grandchild of your grandmother) must apply together with you. This way, he/she is the principal applicant, their grandparent is the ancestor with citizenship, and you are the child of the principal applicant. You can file the applications together and use one “certified archive copy”
of your great-grandmother (see #1 above).

3. What is my “ISIKUKOOD” (or National ID, Citizenship Number, Personal Code, Personal Number etc…)

If you’re applying for your first Estonian Passport, you don’t have one yet. Just write your date of birth in that field.
Once you get your ID code, you will see that a Personal ID number “37803290211″ reads as…
… 3 – Male,  born in 19xx
… 78 – year
… 03 – month
… 29 – day
… 0211 – control numbers, assigned by The Population Register

4. Am I liable for military service duty in Estonia (conscription) if I travel to Estonia while aged 18 to 28?

No you are not, unless you’re a young male whose permanent place of residence is registered in Estonia. This may happen if you apply for your first passport while in Estonia, and you write your temporary Estonian address on your application (in an attempt to look “more Estonian”). If that happens, changing it to your actual Australian address is easy. Contact your nearest Estonian Consulate and fill in a special form.

5. How do I submit my passport application?

There are 3 ways to do that…

a) while in Estonia, visit any KMA branch (Kodakondsuse ja Migratsiooniamet, i.e. Citizenship and Immigration Department).

b) while travelling in third countries, visit any Estonian Embassy. For a list of embassies, see http://www.mfa.ee

c) wait for an official Estonian Passport Mission to visit Australia. It happens once, sometimes twice a year, but there are no guarantees. Check eesti.org.au on regular basis.

Please note that applying for your passport by mail or via the Internet is absolutely impossible.

6. What is the story with fingerprints in passports?

All applicants older than 6y need to have their fingerprints scanned and identity verified, and this can be done by selected group of authorised Government officials only. Honorary consuls are not authorised to do that.
Contrary to popular belief, your fingerprints are not printed in your passport. A digital image is stored on the microchip instead, together with the image of your face, and all the text-based details. That microchip is embedded in the back cover of your biometric Estonian (EU) Passport.

There are 2 important deadlines with fingerprint scans. Once scanned, they must be used within 4 months. So you cannot have them scanned now and submit your application 6m later.

And also, they expire in 2 years from scanning. Meaning, if you lose your passport in 1 year after getting it, you can apply for a new one by sending your application by post. But if you lose it 2 or more years after getting it, you must go through the whole process again (see #5 above). In practise, it’s far less than 2 years, because they count the time between scanning the fingerprints and receiving the renewal application by the KMA (not between issuing the passport and losing the passport).

7. Can I legally hold two citizenships?

Yes you can. The Constitution of Estonia guarantees your right of
citizenship acquired by birth, and declares clearly that no-one can take
it away from you under no circumstances. But if you are acquiring the
Estonian citizenship by naturalisation (for which you must be living there permanently), then you need to renounce your former citizenship first, before you can be naturalised.

8. How do I get the Apostille and what is it?

It’s a fancy seal on the reverse side of an Australian-issued document,
which makes it valid in all countries, which are members of the Hague
Convention of Apostilles. Without it, the document is valid in Australia
and NZ only, but not in Estonia. Once apostilled, you can use the same
document for an unlimited number of times around the world.

Apostilles are issued by DFAT local offices, but in Sydney and Melbourne, the job is performed by the Passport Office, not the actual State Office of DFAT.

9. Can I get my original supporting documents back once the Passport is issued?

Yes, you always get all the originals back with your newly issued Passport. You or your family members can use them again.

10. How do I collect my Passport?

In your application, you need to choose the place where the Passport is delivered. It can be any KMA office in Estonia, or any Embassy or consulate outside of Estonia, or any consular post around the world, including all honorary consuls. In Australia, there are HC in Sydney, Perth and Hobart. HC posts are coming soon in Brisbane and Adelaide.

The law requires the authorised person (HC) to check your ID and witness your signature when you collect your passport, which is why we cannot send new Passports to you in the mail or by courier service.

11. Should I get the ID card together with my passport?

That depends… Yes, if you are collecting it yourself, while in Estonia or if you intend to live the next 2 months somewhere close to an Estonian Embassy. But definitely NO, if you want your passport to be delivered to Australia. ID cards cannot be delivered to Australia, and if ordered together, both your passport and ID card are automatically sent to Tokyo, which is the nearest Embassy to us.

If you live in Australia only, the only advantage you have out of the Estonian ID card is that you can use it for electronic voting on the internet. Voting is not compulsory in Estonia. For major elections, we do have postal and traditional voting facilities in place via consular posts in Australia.

12. How long does it take from applying to receiving my passport?

If you apply outside of Estonia, allow min 2 months. When in Estonia, it can take max 1 month in theory (average is 2 weeks) or 5 days with a reasonable express surcharge.

13. I think I need my Estonian Passport for when I travel to Estonia next July.

Not really. Australian passport holders do not need a visa to Estonia, and there is no “Estonian Visa” any more, anyway. Estonia is part of the Schengen Area, together with 27 other continental European countries, and there are no border checks or customs inside that area. You may travel freely inside the area as if it was one country. Doesn’t matter which passport you hold – once you’re in, your in. Even air travel inside the area is considered domestic, so a flight from Barcelona to Tallinn leaves from the domestic terminal.

The only thing to remember is to use the same passport when entering and leaving the Schengen Area. Even if you got your Estonian passport in Tallinn in the mean time. Otherwise the records will show an Australian entering, and never leaving, Europe, which results in “overstaying” your intended 3month tourist stay.

The above information was provided by:
Aivo Takis
Honorary Consul of Estonia in Sydney
November 2009