All passengers must present valid identification at check-in as well as upon boarding regardless of whether their flight is international or domestic. When flying to a destination outside the Schengen Area, passengers must also go through passport control.
For Estonian domestic flights, acceptable travel documents are ID cards and passports.
For international flights, acceptable travel documents are ID cards (within the EU) and passports.
Pursuant to the Schengen Borders Code, all citizens of third party states must have a valid travel document entitling them to cross the border upon entering the territory of an EU member state. Upon crossing an external border, the travel document must remain valid for at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the member states. The travel documents must have been issued within the last ten years.
Please make sure already upon booking your flight that your travel document is valid and meets the requirements for entry to the destination country. Please find out whether you have to apply for a visa to enter the destination country or the country where you need to change planes for a connecting flight. Further information is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
All passengers must present valid identification at check-in as well as upon boarding regardless of whether their flight is international or domestic. When flying to a destination outside the Schengen Area, passengers must also go through passport control.
When travelling, you must always have with you the alien’s passport as well as a document proving that you have an Estonian residence permit. New alien’s passports no longer have the residence permit sticker, which means that you need to bring your passport as well as your ID card which proves that you have a residence permit.
Passport control must be passed when arriving from or flying to a country outside the Schengen Area (e.g., Egypt, Great Britain, Turkey, Russia, etc.). Passport control is performed by the Police and Border Guard Board.
The Automated border control an be used by passengers who are citizens of the European Union or Schengen Visa Area countries or holders of a residence permit of the Republic of Estonia, are at least 18 years old and have a valid e-passport.
The new Entry/Exit System (EES) will start operations on 12 October 2025. European countries using the EES will introduce the system gradually at their external borders. This means that data collection will be gradually introduced at border crossing points with full implementation by 10 April 2026.
The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay, each time they cross the external borders of any of the following European countries using the system:
For the purpose of the EES, ‘non-EU national’ means a traveller not holding the nationality of any European Union country or the nationality of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.
‘Short stay’ means up to 90 days within any 180-day period. This period is calculated as a single period for all the European countries using the EES.
The system applies to you if you are a non-EU national who either:
Your entries and exits, or entry refusals will be electronically registered in the EES.
Exemptions to registration in the EES apply – see To whom does the EES not apply?
More information can be found on the official website of the Entry/Exit system: https://travel-europe.europa.eu/ees
Tax and Customs Board officials are authorised to screen passengers and monitor imports in order to prevent prohibited goods from entering the country. Random checks are performed to discover prohibited substances and goods.
Customs procedures at Tallinn Airport are conducted by the Tax and Customs Board. Tax and Customs Board officials are authorised to screen passengers and monitor imports in order to prevent prohibited goods from entering the country. Random checks are performed to discover prohibited substances and goods.
Customs regulations are different for passengers travelling between European Union Member States and passengers arriving to the Member States from outside the European Union. Further information on restrictions is available on the website of the Tax and Customs Board.
The Estonian Tax and Customs Board recommends that you check the limits on the quantities of various goods before you return home from a foreign country. You are also recommended to review the regulations of the foreign country before you travel abroad because the permitted import quantities may differ from one country to another.
Passengers residing outside the European Union are entitled to reimbursement of the VAT included in the purchase price, if the goods purchased are taken along upon leaving the European Union. A service charge is deducted from the final amount of the refund.
Here’s how you can have VAT refunded when leaving the European Union via Tallinn Airport:
Tax Free Forms
When paying for your purchases in the shop, ask for a Tax Free Form from the shop assistant.
2. Customs stamp
The goods you have purchased must not be used before being taken outside the European Union.
A) If you’re going to place the purchased goods in your checked baggage, go to the customs checkpoint (located next to the arriving passengers’ door) to have the goods inspected before you check in for your flight. Present your purchases, passport and receipt(s) to the customs official and the official will certify the export of the goods on the receipt.
B) If you’re going to take the purchased goods along in your hand baggage, after you have checked in for your flight and passed through the security control, you can contact customs officials by calling (+372) 6761801 to have them inspect the goods. Present your purchases, passport and receipt(s) to the customs official and the official will certify the export of the goods on the receipt.
3. Receive the money
VAT refunds are paid out by the CHANGE IT currency exchange office located on the land side to the left of the customs desk, next to the baggage service. Present the purchase receipt(s) with refundable VAT and your passport to the customer service representative there and the refundable amount will be transferred to your credit card or paid out in cash. Complete list of all refund locations.
Further information on customs procedures is available on the website of the Tax and Customs Board or phone (+372) 676 1801.
Global Blue Eesti OÜ
Telephone: (+372) 669 0506
E-mail: info.ee[at]globalblue.com
Website: www.globalblue.com
