The amount of foreigners who can become e-residents of Estonia is something that the government of Estonia wants to restrict.

A bill on the subject has already been written by Estonia's Ministry of the Interior, which would ban foreign nationals from high-risk nations from obtaining Estonian e-residency.

Although the Ministry did not specify when the new regulations will go into effect, it is anticipated that they will do so in the upcoming year.

The Ministry will have the power to compile a list of high-risk nations and establish regulations that will be applicable to citizens of these nations who wish to become Estonian e-residents if it is allowed to proceed with this proposal.

Elen Kraavik, the adviser at the Ministry of Interior's border guard and migration policy, told Estonian Public Broadcasting that these steps are being considered in response to concerns expressed during an assessment.

According to her, the evaluation's committee stated that Estonia occasionally lacks close collaboration with foreign nations whose citizens have been given Estonian e-residency.

Due to this, it is difficult to verify the foreign nationals’ backgrounds when needed, as the relevant foreign authorities may decide not to provide the required information.

We decided to take this matter more seriously and implement stricter measures, allowing us to refuse e-residency to citizens of certain countries based on legal grounds.
--Adviser at the Ministry of Interior’s Border Guard and Migration Policy, Elen Kraavik

Kraavik further noted that the country has identified cases of attempts to exploit the e-residency programme and use it as a gateway to reach the EU through Estonia.